Our country’s sea area is more than 1 million square kilometres, with over 4,000 big and small islands. Within the Northeast sea, there are over 3,000 islands. In the North Central Coast, there are more than 40 islands, while the rest together with the two archipelagos of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa are located in the South Central Coast and the Southwest. Based on their geographic positions, economic conditions, and population, our islands and archipelagos are classified into categories as follows.

1. The system of outpost islands plays an important role in the Homeland construction and protection. On those islands, it is possible to establish bases and centres to control the airspace and seas, examine vessels’ operations, ensure defence and security, facilitate economic development, and defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

2. Large inhabited islands possess favourable natural conditions for socio-economic development, defence-security consolidation, and the Homeland protection.

3. Coastal islands have potential for developing fisheries and tourism and provide a foundation for safeguarding order and security in our country’s waters and coastal regions.

4. The two offshore archipelagos

- Hoang Sa is located at the same latitude as Hue and Da Nang, with 30 islands within a sea of about 15,000 square kilometres. Hoang Sa is a district of Da Nang City.

- Truong Sa is about 200 nautical miles south east of Hoang Sa archipelago and about 248 nautical miles far from Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa province). Truong Sa, consisting of 100 small islands, coral islands, and shoals, located in a sea of about 180,000 square kilometres, is a district of Khanh Hoa province. 

Our country’s system of islands and archipelagos plays a role of paramount importance to creating the living space of Vietnam and fostering socio-economic development, particularly marine economic sectors, such as maritime transport, shipbuilding, fishing, aquaculture, seafood processing, sports, and tourism. This is a favourable condition for turning Vietnam into a marine powerhouse. Besides, our country’s seas and islands act as a space of strategic importance to ensuring defence and security, forming a multi-layer, multi-tier defensive line, and establishing strongholds and outpost checkpoints from the sea as part of the inter-connected sea – island – coast defensive posture. In our national history, 10 out of 14 invasions of our country commenced with attacks from the sea. In recent years, disputes over seas and islands in the East Sea have been increasingly intense and complex and posed threats to Vietnam’s national independence, peace, stability, national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security. Therefore, the entire Party, Military, and people as well as sectors, forces, localities, and the whole political system must frequently heighten revolutionary vigilance, promote a sense of responsibility, and resolutely, persistently implement our Party’s guidelines and viewpoints to firmly protect our sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands and avoid falling into passivity in any situation.

TRAN TOAN