ABSTRACT
Many official historical records produced during the period from 1802 to 1909 have demonstrated Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. Being official historical records of the Nguyen Dynasty, the various summary chronicles, in addition to the Thuc luc, also recorded the exercise of sovereignty by the Royal Navy in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. Beside the official historical records, there were also numerous historical documents prepared privately by the historians mentioning the Paracel Islands. Western documents as well as Chinese documents produced before 1909 are objective evidences that demonstrate Vietnam's sovereignty over Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands. They are numerous, with highly precise data, and very definite on the issue of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos. During the time when the conflict over sovereignty had not started yet, i.e. before 1909, many Chinese documents, indirectly or directly, recognized Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.
