I Nanhai Zhudao Are China's Inherent Territory

China's Nanhai Zhudao (the South China Sea Islands) consist of Dongsha Qundao (the Dongsha Islands), Xisha Qundao (the Xisha Islands), Zhongsha Qundao (the Zhongsha Islands) and Nansha Qundao (the Nansha Islands). China is the first to have discovered, named, and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao and relevant waters, and the first to have continuously, peacefully and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over them. Geng Lu Bu (Manual of Sea Routes), which came into being and circulation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and has been handed down and is still in use even today, showed that the Chinese people lived and carried out production activities on, and how they named Nanhai Zhudao. China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea have been established in the long course of history, and are solidly grounded in history and law.

China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao had never been challenged before the 20th century. In 1933, France invaded some islands and reefs of Nansha Qundao, creating the "Incident of the Nine Islets". The Chinese Government took a series of measures to defend China's sovereignty over Nansha Qundao. China's Committee for the Examination for the Land and Sea Maps compiled and published Zhong Guo Nan Hai Ge Dao Yu Tu (Map of the South China Sea Islands of China) in 1935.

Japan invaded and illegally occupied Nanhai Zhudao during its war of aggression against China. With the advance of the World's Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, China, the United States and the United Kingdom solemnly demanded in the Cairo Declaration in December 1943 that all the territories Japan had stolen from the Chinese shall be restored to China. In July 1945, China, the United States and the United Kingdom issued the Potsdam Proclamation. That Proclamation explicitly declares in Article 8: "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out." In August 1945, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation and its unconditional surrender.

▲The leaders of China, the United States and the United Kingdom met in Cairo in November 1943 during World War II (left to right: Chiang Kai Shek, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill).

▲China, the United States and the United Kingdom jointly released the Cairo Declaration in December 1943, demanding Japan to restore to China all the territories that it had stolen from the Chinese.

In November and December 1946, the Chinese Government dispatched senior military and civil officials to Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao to resume exercise of authority over these Islands, with commemorative ceremonies held and sovereignty markers re-erected. In March 1947, the Chinese Government established on Taiping Dao Nansha Qundao Office of Administration.

▲Chinese Government officials arrived in Taiping Dao in December 1946, recovering the sovereignty over Nansha Qundao.

In February 1948, the Chinese Government officially published Zhong Hua Min Guo Xing Zheng Qu Yu Tu (Map of the Administrative Districts of the Republic of China) including Nan Hai Zhu Dao Wei Zhi Tu (Location Map of the South China Sea Islands) on which the dotted line is marked.

▲In February 1948, the Chinese Government published Nan Hai Zhu Dao Wei Zhi Tu (Location Map of the South China Sea Islands).

Since its founding on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China has further upheld its sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea.

In September 1958, China promulgated the Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China's Territorial Sea, explicitly providing that the breadth of China's territorial sea shall be twelve nautical miles, and that such provisions shall apply to all territories of the People's Republic of China, including "Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and all the other islands belonging to China".

In March 1959, the Chinese Government set up, on Yongxing Dao of Xisha Qundao, the Office of Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao.

In April 1983, China Committee on Geographical Names was authorized to publish 287 standard geographical names for part of Nanhai Zhudao.

In April 1988, the Seventh National People's Congress decided at its First Session to establish Hainan Province with jurisdiction over Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao and the relevant maritime areas, among others.

In February 1992, China promulgated the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. This Law explicitly states: "The land territory of the People's Republic of China includes […] Dongsha Qundao; Xisha Qundao; Zhongsha Qundao; Nansha Qundao; as well as all the other islands belonging to the People's Republic of China."

In June 1998, China promulgated the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf. This Law explicitly states: "The provisions in this Law shall not affect the historic rights that the People's Republic of China enjoys."

In June 2012, the State Council approved the establishment of prefecture-level Sansha City with jurisdiction over Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao and the relevant waters.

▲In June 2012, the State Council approved the establishment of prefecture-level Sansha City with jurisdiction over Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao and the relevant waters.

After the end of the Second World War, China recovered and resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao. Many countries recognize that Nanhai Zhudao are part of China's territory.

In 1952, the Japanese Government officially stated that it had renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan, Penghu, as well as Nansha Qundao and Xisha Qundao. In the same year, Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao were all marked as belonging to China in the Standard World Atlas recommended by the then Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuo Okazaki with his signature. In 1972, Japan reiterated its adherence to the terms of Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation in the Joint Communiqué of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan.

On September 14, 1958, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong of the Vietnamese Government sent a diplomatic note to Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of China, solemnly stating that "the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam recognizes and supports the declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on its decision concerning China's territorial sea made on September 4, 1958."

▲The then Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong sent a diplomatic note to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on September 14, 1958, recognizing China's territorial sea.

The 14th Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, held from March 17 to April 1, 1987, deliberated on the Global Sea-Level Observing System Implementation Plan 1985-1990 (IOC/INF-663 REV). The Plan integrated Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao into the Global Sea-Level Observing System, and explicitly listed these two Islands under "People's Republic of China". For the implementation of this Plan, the Chinese Government was commissioned to build five marine observation stations, including one on Nansha Qundao and one on Xisha Qundao.

The encyclopedias, yearbooks and maps published in many countries mark Nansha Qundao as belonging to China. Nanhai Zhudao have long been widely recognized by the international community as part of China's territory.