Battle of the Paracel Islands
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Lâm Ngươn Tánh Hà Văn Ngạc Hồ Văn Kỳ Thoại Ngụy Văn Thà † Huỳnh Duy Thạch † | ||||||||
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The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: 西沙海战; pinyin: Xisha haizhan; Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was an engagement between the Chinese and South Vietnamese navies near the Paracel Islands from 19 to 20 January 1974. The battle was part of an attempt by the South Vietnamese navy to remove the Chinese navy from the area towards the end of the Vietnam War.
Prior to the conflict, part of the Paracel Islands was controlled by China and another part was controlled by South Vietnam. The battle resulted in a victory for China over South Vietnam. Consequently, China occupied the portion formerly controlled by South Vietnam and established full de facto control over the Paracels. The battle made South Vietnam conduct a campaign to station troops on unoccupied islands in the Spratlys from 30th.