Beijing asserts control over South China Sea with flag ceremonies

Beijing asserts South China Sea claims with flag ceremonies

The flag raising ceremony held on Tree Island (Photo/CNS)

Flag-raising ceremonies were held by the People’s Liberation Army on nine islands and reefs in the disputed Paracel and Spratly island groups in the South China Sea to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China according to Duowei News, a media outlet run by overseas Chinese.

China took over administrative control of the Paracel islands from South Vietnam after a naval skirmish in 1974. The communist regime in Hanoi reasserted Vietnam’s claim over the islands after the unification of Vietnam the following year.

China deployed an oil rig to the waters of Paracel islands in May of this year, which led to a standoff between the two countries in the region and demonstrations and rallies in Vietnam, during which businesses perceived to be Chinese were attacked.

Eventually, the oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981, was withdrawn from the disputed waters although the two countries did not reach any consensus regarding the islands’ sovereignty. To solidify China’s claims in the South China Sea, flags raising ceremonies were held on Woody Island, Tree Island, North Reef, Drummond Island, He Duck Island, Robert Island, Observation Bank and Antelope Reef in the Paracels and on Mischief Reef in the Spratlys. The events were reported by 40 Chinese news websites simultaneously.

Woody Island is currently the largest island of the Paracels and acts as the capital of the Sansha prefecture established by China in 2012, comprising the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands and Macclesfield Bank, all disputed territories. Various buildings and facilities including a city hall, a bank, a post office, shops and an airfield have been constructed on the island.

The Spratlys are claimed variously by China, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, while sovereignty over the Paracel Islands is contested between Taiwan, China and Vietnam.

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