History and law back China's sovereignty

29. In March 1947, the Chinese government established on Taiping Dao Nansha Qundao Office of Administration and placed it under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province. China also set up a meteorological station and a radio station on Taiping Dao, which started broadcasting meteorological information in June of that year.

30. On the basis of a new round of geographical survey of Nanhai Zhudao, the Chinese government commissioned in 1947 the compilation of Nan Hai Zhu Dao Di Li Zhi Lüe (A Brief Account of the Geography of the South China Sea Islands), reviewed and approved Nan Hai Zhu Dao Xin Jiu Ming Cheng Dui Zhao Biao (Comparison Table on the Old and New Names of the South China Sea Islands), and drew 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 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).

31. In June 1949, the Chinese government promulgated Hai Nan Te Qu Xing Zheng Zhang Guan Gong Shu Zu Zhi Tiao Li (Regulations on the Organization of the Office of the Chief Executive of the Hainan Special District), which placed Hainan Dao, Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and some other islands under the jurisdiction of the Hainan Special District.

32. Since its founding on 1 October 1949, the People's Republic of China has repeatedly reiterated and further upheld its sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea by measures such as adopting legislations, establishing administration and making diplomatic representations. China has never ceased carrying out activities such as patrolling and law enforcement, resources development and scientific survey on Nanhai Zhudao and in the South China Sea.

33. In August 1951, Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, in his Statement on the United States-British Draft Peace Treaty with Japan and the San Francisco Conference, pointed out that "as a matter of fact, just like all the Nan Sha Islands, Chung Sha Islands and Tung Sha Islands, Si Sha Islands (the Paracel Islands) and Nan Wei Island (Spratly Island) have always been China's territory, occupied by Japan for some time during the war of aggression waged by Japanese imperialism, they were all taken over by the then Chinese Government, following Japan's surrender", "Whether or not the United States-British Draft Treaty contains provisions on this subject and no matter how these provisions are worded, the inviolable sovereignty of the People's Republic of China over Nan Wei Island (Spratly Island) and Si Sha Islands (the Paracel Islands) will not be in any way affected."

34. 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, that the straight baselines method shall be employed to determine the baselines of territorial sea 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".

35. 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 March 1969, the Office was renamed the Revolutionary Committee of Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao of Guangdong Province. In October 1981, the name of the Office of Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao was restored.

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

37. In May 1984, the Sixth National People's Congress decided at its Second Session to establish the Hainan Administrative District with jurisdiction over Xisha Qundao, Nansha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao and the relevant maritime areas, among others.

38. 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.

39. In February 1992, China promulgated the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, establishing China's basic system of territorial sea and 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 May 1996, the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress made the decision at its Nineteenth Session to ratify UNCLOS, and at the same time declared that, "The People's Republic of China reaffirms its sovereignty over all its archipelagoes and islands as listed in Article 2 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone which was promulgated on 25 February 1992."

40. In May 1996, the Chinese government announced the baselines of the part of the territorial sea adjacent to the mainland which are composed of all the straight lines joining the 49 adjacent base points from Gaojiao of Shandong to Junbijiao of Hainan Dao, as well as the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Xisha Qundao which are composed of all the straight lines joining the 28 adjacent base points, and declared it would announce the remaining baselines of the territorial sea at another time.

41. In June 1998, China promulgated the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf, establishing China's basic system of exclusive economic zone and 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."

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

43. China attaches great importance to ecological and fishery resource preservation in the South China Sea. In 1999, China began to enforce summer fishing moratorium in the South China Sea and has done so since that time. By the end of 2015, China had established six national aquatic biological nature reserves and six such reserves at provincial level, covering a total area of 2.69 million hectares, as well as seven national aquatic germplasm resources conservation areas with a total area of 1.28 million hectares.

44. Since the 1950s, the Taiwan authorities of China have maintained a military presence on Taiping Dao of Nansha Qundao. For a long time, they have also maintained civil service and administration bodies and carried out natural resources development on the island.

iii. China's sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao is widely acknowledged in the international community

45. 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.

46. In 1951, it was decided at the San Francisco Peace Conference that Japan would renounce all right, title and claim to Nansha Qundao and Xisha Qundao. 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, which Japan renounced under the San Francisco Peace Treaty, together with Dongsha Qundao and Zhongsha Qundao, were all marked as belonging to China on the 15th map, Southeast Asia, of the Standard World Atlas recommended by the then Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuo Okazaki with his signature.

47. In October 1955, the International Civil Aviation Organization held a conference in Manila, which was attended by representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines, the authorities from South Vietnam and China's Taiwan authorities. The Filipino and French representatives served as chair and vice chair respectively. It was requested in Resolution No. 24 adopted at the conference that China's Taiwan authorities should enhance meteorological observation on Nansha Qundao, and no opposition or reservation was registered.

48. On 4 September 1958, the Chinese government promulgated the Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China's Territorial Sea, proclaiming a twelve-nautical-mile territorial sea breadth, and stipulating that, "This provision applies to all territories of the People's Republic of China, including [...] Dongsha Qundao, Xisha Qundao, Zhongsha Qundao, Nansha Qundao, and all other islands belonging to China." On 14 September, 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 4 September 1958" and "the government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects this decision."

49. In August 1956, First Secretary Donald E. Webster of the United States institution in Taiwan made an oral request to China's Taiwan authorities for permission for the United States military personnel to conduct geodetic survey in Huangyan Dao, Shuangzi Qunjiao, Jinghong Dao, Hongxiu Dao and Nanwei Dao of Zhongsha Qundao and Nansha Qundao. China's Taiwan authorities later approved the above request.

50. In December 1960, the United States government sent a letter to China's Taiwan authorities to "request permission be granted" for its military personnel to carry out survey at Shuangzi Qunjiao, Jinghong Dao and Nanwei Dao of Nansha Qundao. China's Taiwan authorities approved this application.

51. 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.

52. It was reported by AFP that, on 4 February 1974, the then Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik stated that, "si nous regardons les cartes actuelles, elles montrent que les deux archipels des Paracels[Xisha Qundao] et des Spratleys [Nansha Qundao] appartiennent à la Chine", and that because we recognize the existence of only one China, "cela signifie que, pour nous, ces archipels appartiennent à la République populaire de Chine".

53. The 14th Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, held from 17 March to 1 April 1987, deliberated on the Global Sea-Level Observing System Implementation Plan 1985-1990 (IOC/INF-663 REV) submitted by the Commission's Secretariat. 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.