Content deleted Content added
sounds like forum talk; not even ZH-wiki mentions ANYTHING about postponement |
fully amended and updated first section to reflect changing international events. Also attempted to improve layout and standard of English throughout. |
||
Line 1:
{{Infobox settlement
|name =
|other_name =
|native_name = 三沙
|official_name =
|settlement_type = [[
|nickname =
|motto =
Line 92:
|showflag=p}}
'''Sansha''' is a [[prefecture-level city]] of [[Hainan]] province, People's Republic of China. Formerly the ''Administration Office for the Xisha Islands, the Nansha Islands and the Zhongsha Islands'' until June 21, 2012, Sansha exercises political sovereignty, both actual and claimed, over three disputed [[archipelago]]es in the [[South China Sea]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-06/22/content_15517928.htm|title=Administrative level status of islands raised|publisher=China Daily|date=June 21, 2012|accessdate=June 22, 2012|language=English}}</ref><ref name="SanshaRectified">{{cite web|url=http://english.sina.com/china/2012/0621/479131.html|title=China sets up Sansha City to administer South China Sea islands|publisher=[[Sina]]|date=June 21, 2012|accessdate=June 21, 2012|language=English}}</ref> Nationally, it is the smallest prefecture-level city by both population and land area, the largest by water area, and the southernmost.▼
▲
==Administrative divisions==
Line 120 ⟶ 128:
There is a coastal guard station located on Woody Island along with a police station nearby. The town's Residential Committee administers the islands from the same police station. In addition to collected rain water, the islands are resupplied by a freighter which hauls several tonnes of drinking water to Woody Island from [[Hainan Island]]. The guards maintain an acre of vegetable garden on the island. There is a common saying in China that travelling abroad is easy compared to a trip to the Paracels. Indeed, before the 1970s, the only means of transportation to and from the islands were by hiring fishers' boats, and even then only Woody Island was accessible, while the rest of the Paracels, the Zhongsha Islands and the Spratlys were only accessible to military personnel. The situation was improved in 1977 with the construction of a freighter given approval by then Premier [[Zhou Enlai]]. Having a tonnage of 2160 tonnes and a maximum load of 200 personnel, the "Qiongsha 1" (literally "Hainan-South China Sea Islands 1") freighter carried supplies and personnel to and fro between Woody Island and Hainan Island. In 1997, "Qiongsha 1" was destroyed in a typhoon while en route to [[Zhanjiang]], [[Guangdong|Guangdong Province]] for routine maintenance and upkeep. A smaller "Qiongsha 2" freighter at 1410 tonnes and a load of 100 personnel was commissioned that same year. It operated for 10 years, being decommissioned in the January of 2007. As of 2008, the "lifeboat" of the islands is the "Qiongsha 3" freighter (Tonnage: 2500 tonnes; Load: 200 personnel; Payload: 750 tonnes in cargo; Length: 84 metres; Width: 13.8 metres). This is basically the only means of transportation to and from the islands for non-military personnel (mostly fishers and researchers). Its maiden voyage was on the 10 February 2007, and it has been making regular voyages between [[Wenchang]]'s Qinglan Port on southeastern Hainan Island and Woody Island in the Paracels roughly every 20 days. A normal trip takes 13 to 15 hours, navigating between dangerous reefs and banks, through a distance of {{convert|186|nmi|km}}. Although all of the Paracels have been under China's control since the late 1970s, its strategic military position at the frontiers and its status as a disputed island with several claimants' military personnel nearby, have meant a low priority for the development of tourism. Nevertheless, since 2005, the provincial government of Hainan has instituted a small organising panel to investigate and discuss the possibility of opening up tourism to Woody Island and the rest of the Paracels.
==
===2007 county-level city proposal===
On 19 November 2007, ''Sansha'' was reported by [[Mingpao]], a [[Hong Kong]]-based newspaper, through a telephone interview with Mr. Zhang of the Propaganda Department of [[Wenchang]], Hainan. It was said that this [[county-level city]] was to be established by the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|PRC State Council]] in November 2007 to administer three disputed [[archipelago]]s in the [[South China Sea]]<ref name="Stratfor">{{cite news|url=http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=299411&selected=Analyses|title=Vietnam, China: The Dispute over Significant Waterways|work=Free Intelligence Reports|publisher=[[Stratfor]]|date=2007-12-04|accessdate=2007-12-08}}</ref>: the [[Paracel Islands]], [[Macclesfield Bank|Zhongsha Islands]] and the [[Spratly Islands]]. This was to replace the county-level ''Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority''. That the city of Wenchang would provide supplies and logistics to the to-be-established city. The article also stated that Wenchang's municipal party secretary Xie Wenzhang had announced a similar decision at the municipal congress on the 26 October. It was referred to simply as "City X". The article finally concluded with the possibility of the opening of tourism onto Woody Island as a next step.
Line 126 ⟶ 134:
At the time, however, there was no official announcement of such a decision from the Chinese government. The Foreign Ministry of [[Vietnam]] protested the reported establishment,<ref>"Vietnam objects to China's establishment of San Sha city on the Hainan Island" at official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam [http://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns071204135539] {{en}}, [http://www.mofa.gov.vn/vi/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns071204081718] {{vi}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/headlines/2007/12/04/50779/Vietnam-says.htm}}</ref> followed by student protests in [[Hanoi]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]].
On June 21, 2012, the [[Vietnam National Assembly]] passed the [[Vietnamese Law of the Sea]] ({{lang|vi|Luật Biển Việt Nam}}), which describes [[Paracel Islands]] and [[Spratly Islands]] in the South China Sea as being within Vietnam's sovereignty and jurisdiction and thus wrecked the [[Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea]] (DOC) signed in [[Phnom Penh]] on November 4, 2002. China "strongly protests" and "firmly opposes" it.<ref name="VietnamMaritimeLaw">{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-06/21/c_131668632.htm|title=China opposes Vietnamese maritime law over sovereignty claim|publisher=[[Xinhua]]|date=June 21, 2012|accessdate=June 21, 2012|language=English}}</ref> Meanwhile, the [[State Council of the People's Republic of China]] rectified the establishment of '''Sansha''' in response.<ref name="SanshaRectified" />
==See also==
| |||