Tradition of Protecting and Enforcing Sea and Island Sovereignty in the Central Region Before the Nguyen Dynasty

our country, inspect the activities of ships and boats, ensure national security and defense, build the economy, protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country. Those are islands and archipelagos such as: Hoang Sa, Truong Sa, Chang Tay, Tho Chu, Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Phu Quy, Ly Son, Con Co, Co To, Bach Long Vi...

+ Large islands have favorable natural conditions for socio-economic development. These are islands such as: Co To, Cat Ba, Cu Lao Cham, Ly Son, Phu Quy, Con Dao, Phu Quoc.

+ The nearshore islands have conditions for developing fisheries and tourism and are also bases for protecting order and security in our country's sea and coast. These are the islands of Cat Ba island district, Bach Long Vi island district (Hai Phong), Con Co island (Quang Tri), Phu Quy island district (Binh Thuan), Con Son island district (Ba Ria - Vung Tau), Ly Son island district (Quang Ngai), Phu Quoc island district (Kien Giang)...

+ Hoang Sa archipelago (now Hoang Sa island district under Da Nang city) is one of two offshore archipelagos that have long been under Vietnam's sovereignty. Historically, Hoang Sa archipelago was also known as "Golden Sandbank". The international name often shown on nautical charts is Paracels. The archipelago consists of 37 islands, rocks, shoals, reefs and some other geographical features belonging to Hoang Sa district, Da Nang city. The archipelago area lies on a sea area of about 30,000 km 2 . The archipelago's scope is limited by islands and reefs at the North, South, East and West poles.

Regarding the distance to the mainland, from Tri Ton island to Ba Lang An cape, Quang Ngai province is 135 nautical miles, to Ly Son island district (Cu Lao Re), Quang Ngai province is 123 nautical miles. The total surface area of the Hoang Sa archipelago is about 10 km 2 , the largest island is Phu Lam island with an area of about 1.5 km 2. The Hoang Sa archipelago lies across the coast of Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam provinces and part of Quang Ngai province.

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Hoang Sa is located in the "equatorial magnetic" area with a magnetic deviation that does not change or changes very little, very favorable for sea travel. This archipelago has a tropical climate, hot and humid, with lots of rain, often foggy and stormy, especially from June to August every year. On some islands there are fresh water sources, trees, birds and sea turtles living.

Located to the east of Vietnam, Hoang Sa blocks the vital international shipping route from the Pacific Ocean through the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. This sea area has

Great potential for minerals and seafood resources, favorable for economic development, more importantly, this is a strategic military position, controlling sea and air traffic in the northern East Sea region.

+ Truong Sa archipelago: The French call it Archipel des ile Spratley, the British and Americans call it Spratley Islands or Spratlies. China calls it Nansha (Nam Sa). Truong Sa archipelago is about 350 nautical miles from Hoang Sa archipelago to the nearest island, the farthest island is about 500 nautical miles, 305 nautical miles from Vung Tau and 250 nautical miles from Cam Ranh, 240 nautical miles from Phu Quoc island, and 200 nautical miles from Binh Thuan (Phan Thiet).

270 nautical miles. The archipelago stretches from 6o 2' N latitude, 111o28' N latitude, from longitude 112 o E, 115 o E1.4 in a sea area of about 160,000 to 180,000km 2 . Although the sea is large, the area of islands, rocks, and banks above the water surface is very small, only a total of 11km 2 . Regarding the number of islands, according to statistics by Nguyen Hong Thao (Department of Sea, Government Border Committee) in 1988, there are 137 islands, rocks, and banks, not including 5 banks belonging to Vietnam's continental shelf (including Phuc Tran, Huyen Tran, Que Duong, Phuc Nguyen, and Tu Chinh banks). Based on the nautical chart drawn in 1979 by the Military Cartography Department of the General Staff (Socialist Republic of Vietnam), the Spratly Islands can be divided into main clusters from north to south: Song Tu, Thi Tu, Loai Ta, Nam Yet or Ti Gia, Sinh Ton, Truong Sa, An Bang, Binh Nguyen.

The importance of the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the Central region is assessed as blocking many important maritime and air routes of the world and the region. Five out of the ten largest sea routes in the world are related to the East Sea, including the routes from Western Europe, North America through the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Middle East to India, East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the North Pacific sea route from Northwest America to East Asia and Southeast Asia, the route from East Asia to Australia and New Zealand, and from the East to the Middle East. The economies of many countries in the East Asian region such as Japan, Korea, Singapore... depend on these sea routes.

With its important position, throughout history, the sea of Vietnam in general and the Central region in particular has been exploited and protected by our ancestors, exercising territorial sovereignty as a part of the flesh and blood of the Dai Viet nation.

1.2. TRADITION OF PROTECTING AND EXERCISING SEA AND ISLAND SOVEREIGNTY IN THE CENTRAL REGION BEFORE THE NGUYEN DYNASTY

1.2.1. Tradition of protecting the sea

Before the Central region was part of Dai Viet, this area was ruled by the Champa people, a people with a tradition of being seafarers and masters of the sea. The Champa people were very good at seafaring, which was affirmed as a matter of course. The Champa people's seafaring boat building techniques reached a high level of technical sophistication. They were known for their ferocity at sea, mastering the sea and arranging reserve forces at the seaports. According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu , in 1044, when the Ly Dynasty's warships arrived at Tu Dung port, they "heard that Champa had brought troops and elephants to set up battle formations on the south side of Ngu Bo River" [102: 308]. Later, in 1069, Ly Thuong Kiet took the lead in leading 50,000 troops by water to attack Champa, "when they reached Nhat Le gate [Dong Hai gate], their ships were intercepted by the Champa navy... Nhat Le gate is wide and deep, large warships can enter, the Champa navy gathered there to protect the territory, later the Vietnamese navy to attack Champa also stopped there" [98: 44-45]. This also shows that Champa's defense was at the large sea gate, ready to protect and fight Dai Viet warships. In the later period, Champa's defense became weaker, to the point that during the Tran Anh Tong period, Doan Nhu Hai once went on a diplomatic mission to Tra Ban, to the Ti Ni sea gate (Thi Nai gate) of Champa, where merchant ships from all over gathered, declared a ban on trade and hung up a notice board. With their forces gradually weakening, the Champa army often harassed and robbed the coastal people of Dai Viet but were unable to stay and often retreated.

During the period of national division, the war situation in the 16th-17th centuries, along with the need to protect and enforce maritime sovereignty against the invasion of Western colonialists, promoted the development of the navy in two directions: strengthening equipment and combat capabilities; expanding the scope of operations at sea [191: 421]. However, due to the common characteristics of the East, the sea protection activities during this period were not clearly demonstrated and were not professional. The authors of the Navy commented: "Although there were activities at sea, until the 17th century, this Eastern sea area rarely posed the need to compete or protect maritime rights as urgently and regularly as the contemporary Mediterranean.

The lack of large permanent units at sea was a common feature of the Eastern armed forces until modern times" [191: 423]. According to author Tran Quoc Vuong, the Nguyen Lords' reign in Dang Trong was also the period of "the renaissance of the ports of the Central region", and this was also a special breakthrough, so defense had to be closely linked. The map of Giap Ngo nien binh Nam do shows that there were many ports and defense posts in Dang Trong [14]. According to A. de Rhodes, during this period there were about 200 boats, concentrated in three main places: one was the large river wharf (Gianh River) with 68 boats, two was Ke Chiem, three was on the border of Cham (Champa) in today's Khanh Hoa region [174: 45].

Lord Nguyen deployed naval forces in three strategic areas to counter threats from the North (Trinh army), the South (Champa) and a force to protect the seaport of "Ke Chiem", representing the economic and commercial aspects and the "throat" of the lord. Cristoforo Borri said that the Dang Trong people were very proficient in the art of using cannons and naval warfare: "they knew how to load and shoot better than the Europeans. They trained themselves to ensure their ability by constant practice and target shooting, they were quite successful so they were arrogant about it and praised their own worth; when European ships arrived at their ports, the king's sailors immediately challenged our gunners, who knew that they could not compare with them and avoided the challenge as long as they could avoid it" [12: 401]. He added that the Dang Trong people "had more than 100 warships. And thus they became strong on the sea” [12: 402].

Regarding naval training, the Nguyen Dynasty history book states that in July 1642, "one day the lord went by boat to visit Eo Gate [present-day Thuan An], and saw that the navy was not in order, so he ordered the three districts of Huong Tra, Quang Dien and Phu Vang to be naval training grounds... From then on, the navy was well-trained" [149: 55]. The Nguyen Lords ordered the construction of naval bases, author Huynh Ly said: "I have seen an intelligence map sent by a French captain to the Minister of the Navy, drawn in 1757, drawing the coastal area from Hue and Thuan Gate, to Hoi An and Thanh Chiem, in which the Huong River, Co Co River from Da Nang Bay to Hoi An and the Thu Bon River to Thanh Chiem were drawn. We know that Thanh Chiem was a naval camp, also where we collected taxes from merchant ships. In that map, they also drew boats

Our warships, seen from the side, length, and stern- Each boat had 25 rowers, and they said it was about 45m long, 4.5m wide, and had two light cannons” [106: 106].

Under the Nguyen lords, documents recorded the feats of arms in protecting the sea and islands against the threats of outside forces. Documents showed that the Nguyen lords were ready to protect their seas, such as in 1559, when the Spanish ships were warned by the lord's maritime defense force: "At dawn on September 3, 1559, the Spanish army saw a forest of spear blades surrounding the bare mountains where the ships were moored, and at the same time, many boats carrying flammable substances were moving in three rows aimed straight at the approaching Spanish ships; at the same time, cannons from the forts on the shore opened fire. Feeling ambushed and attacked, the Spanish fleet quickly fled and thanks to the west wind, the Spanish army escaped" [93: 89]. In 1585, a mistake but also worth noting about naval power. Dai Nam Thuc Luc Tien Bien recorded: "In the year At Dau (1585), at that time, there was a Western enemy general named Hien Quy who brought 5 large ships to dock at Cua Viet to plunder the coast. The Lord sent the 6th prince to lead more than 10 ships, go straight to the sea gate, and defeat 2 enemy ships. Hien Quy was afraid and ran away... from then on the pirates were silent" [149: 32]. Author Nguyen The Anh still believes that this event was a pirate event: "the truth is that the Japanese pirate, Shirahama Kenki, would be mentioned 16 years later in a letter sent by Lord Nguyen Hoang in 1601 to Ieyasu" [1]. Later, the incident was determined to be a "mistake" attack on a Japanese merchant's ship. Besides the two clashes above, there were two other confrontations that took place in the Dang Trong sea area, in which the victory belonged to Lord Nguyen's navy. One took place between Lord Nguyen's army and Dutch warships in the mid-17th century and another clash took place in the early 18th century when Lord Nguyen's army repelled the British army that wanted to invade Con Dao [40], [42].

Under the Tay Son dynasty, although it did not last long, this dynasty focused on strengthening the navy in the direction of the navy. According to the authors of Quan Thuy , to do that, Tay Son focused on four main tasks: 1. Strengthening the defense system of seaports and ports; 2. Building more large warships and measures to increase the combat power of warships; 3. Using "pirates"; 4. Exploiting Western military technology. Tay Son repeatedly issued edicts to attract the black-flagged force, calling on them to surrender early and "opening a tolerant heart, using according to talent". Author

Author Nguyen Quang Ngoc in an article stated that it was an important and effective policy of this dynasty: "Submitting to the Chinese people who drifted and lived on the sea and using them to participate in the work of preserving the East Sea was an important and highly effective policy of the Tay Son dynasty" [117].

Thus, despite different interests, Vietnamese monarchies always paid attention to defense at seaports and strategic sea areas. Besides the defense system, they regularly equipped warships and weapons. And of course, they were ready to exercise sovereignty when necessary.

1.2.2. Management and exploitation of resources in the Hoang Sa - Truong Sa archipelago before the Nguyen Dynasty

In the maps and ancient documents of our country, there are records confirming that the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to the territory managed and exploited by the feudal dynasties of Vietnam. These are two archipelagos located far from the shore, not the sand strip along the Central coast stretching from Nhat Le estuary (Quang Binh) to Tu Dung (Thua Thien Hue) commonly known as "Dai Truong Sa", "Tieu Truong Sa". Author Phan Huy Le emphasized that it is absolutely necessary not to confuse the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa with the sand strip of Dai Truong Sa and Tieu Truong Sa: "Dai Truong Sa appeared since the Ly dynasty to refer to the coastal sand dune strip from Nhat Le estuary (Dong Hoi, Quang Binh) to Tu Dung estuary (Tu Hien, Thua Thien Hue). After Eo estuary was broken, the sand dune strip from Cua Viet (Quang Tri) to Tu Dung estuary was called Tieu Truong Sa" [101: 7]. In his doctoral thesis, author Nguyen Nha stated: “Bai Cat (Kat) Vang or Con Vang is derived from Nom script, Hoang Sa is derived from Han script, both are synonymous (Sa = Sand, Hoang = Gold; Truong = Long; Dai = Big; Van Ly = Van Dam; bai is a place of land rising on the edge or in the middle of a river or sea; con is a mound rising in the middle of a river or sea. The name from Nom script "Cat Vang" is very popular among the people, and was named by the people early. The name from Han script "Hoang Sa" was translated and written by Confucian scholars later. The Portuguese and Dutch called the archipelago Parcel or Pracel in the early 16th century, at that time Westerners did not know about the islands in the south that were later called Truong Sa; on maps, it was often written "I de Pracell" such as the Bartholomen Velho map (1560), the Fernao Vaz Dourado map (1590), the Van Langren map (1595)... People France and England called it Paracel in the 17th and 18th centuries on nautical maps.

It was not until 1787-1788, when the Kergariou Locmaria survey team clearly and accurately determined the current location of the Paracel Islands, that Westerners began to distinguish the Paracel Islands in the north from the islands in the south, which later, in the 40s of the 20th century, the French called the Spratly Islands, referring to the Truong Sa Islands [124: 1].

At the same time as the nation's southward expansion, the Nguyen Lords continued to manage the offshore archipelagos. The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos were exploited and managed by the Vietnamese very early on and were considered a group of offshore islands. The map Thien Nam Tu Chi Lo Do Thu drawn by Do Ba Cong Dao in the 7th year of Chinh Hoa (1686) recorded the management and exploitation of the Nguyen Lords on the Hoang Sa archipelago. In this map, the parts of Thang Hoa and Quang Ngai prefectures on the sea side have "Bai Cat Vang" drawn and have a commentary clearly stating the Nguyen's management and exploitation of "Bai Cat Vang": "... In the middle of the sea there is a long sandbank, called Bai Cat Vang, about 400 miles long, 20 miles wide, standing in the middle of the sea, from Dai Chiem estuary to Sa Vinh estuary. Every time there is a southwest wind, merchant ships from the countries sailing inland drift there; when there is a northeast wind, merchant ships sailing inland also drift there, all starving to death. All goods were abandoned there. Every year in the last month of winter, the Nguyen family sent 18 boats there to collect goods and wealth, mostly gold, silver, currency, guns and ammunition. From Dai Chiem port to get there, it takes a day and a half to cross the sea. From Sa Ky port to get there, it takes half a day. That long sandy beach also has hills each…” [168].

In Dai Nam Thuc Luc Tien Bien , recorded in 1711, the place name Truong Sa was mentioned for the first time. The book wrote: "In the summer, in the 4th month, the Truong Sa sandbank (Truong Sa Hai Chu) was measured to see how long, wide, and narrow it was" [149: 126]. The place name Truong Sa continued to be mentioned in this book in 1754, stating that Hoang Sa was "commonly called Van Ly Truong Sa" [149: 164].

In the records of Western navigators, the archipelagos in the middle of the East Sea were always considered to have an organic relationship with the coastal area of Dang Trong managed by Lord Nguyen. Author Nguyen Quang Ngoc said: "Western navigators have made many records and drawn maps identifying the archipelago in the middle of the East Sea as Baixos de Chapar ( Champa Reef ) or Pulo Capaa ( Champa Island ) and the coastline is equivalent to the area from Dai Chiem estuary ( Quang Nam ) to the estuary

Sa Ky ( Quang Ngai ) was called Costa da Pracel ( Hoang Sa Coast ). In the 17th century, the number of Western ships going to this sea area became more frequent and their awareness of the archipelagos in the middle of the East Sea was also richer and more accurate. Many documents recorded shipwrecks in Paracel, in which the Dang Trong people went to the scene to rescue and then brought the victims to Quang Nam. The Dang Trong government reserved for itself the right to resolve the consequences and handle the goods and money on the ships that sank in Hoang Sa. That is why in 1701, French priests on the Amphitrite ship affirmed: "Paracel is an archipelago belonging to the kingdom of An Nam" [119].

In the book Overseas Chronicles by the Chinese monk Thich Dai San who came to Dang Trong in 1695, there are 3 paragraphs describing Van Ly Truong Sa, in which it is written: "In the previous King's time, every year, fishing boats were sent along the sandbank to collect gold, silver, and tools from damaged boats that washed up" [161]. Researcher Pham Hoang Quan believes that the above paragraph should not be translated as "fishing boat" but should be translated as "large boat" (dieu xa) which would be more suitable to the context of the paragraph [137: 80].

The documents written before the 19th century mostly have similar content as above. That is, they all describe the location and natural characteristics of Hoang Sa in the middle of the East Sea managed by the Nguyen Lords. Besides, the documents also provide information about the structure, functions and activities of the Hoang Sa team at that time. Among the records about Hoang Sa and Truong Sa before the Nguyen Dynasty, the book Phu Bien Tap Luc written by Le Quy Don in 1776 can be considered the most complete. This book records: "Quang Ngai Prefecture, outside the seaport of An Vinh Commune, Binh Son District, there is a mountain called Cu Lao Re...; further outside there is Dai Truong Sa Island, previously there were many sea creatures and ship's cargo, established Hoang Sa team to collect, traveled 3 days and 3 nights to reach, it is near Bac Hai land.... Before, Nguyen Dynasty established Hoang Sa team of 70 members, recruited people from An Vinh Commune, assigned shifts every year in February to receive a dispatch paper, brought enough food for 6 months, traveled by 5 small fishing boats, went out to sea for 3 days and 3 nights to reach that island. Here, you can freely catch birds and fish to eat. You can get ship's cargo, such as swords, horses, silver flowers, money, silver balls, bronze objects, tin blocks, lead blocks, guns, ivory, beeswax, porcelain, fried food, and also collect tortoise shells, sea turtle shells, sea cucumbers, and many snail seeds. By August,

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