China South Vietnam American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post-Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations 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 on January 19, 1974.
Confrontations between the fishing ships and Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN) warships began in November 1973.
The frigate was joined by the destroyer HQ-4 on 17 January, which landed commandos to remove more flags on Robert and Money Islands.
[5] On 16 January, two Kronshtadt-class submarine chasers, 271 and 274, were ordered to Woody Island in the Amphitrite Group from the Yulin Naval Base in Hainan.
A Shenyang J-6 escorted the ships south, but it was operating at extreme range and had only five minutes of loiter time over the Paracels.
[4] More distant PLAN ships were ordered south as 271 and 274 reached the Crescent Group: the Guangzhou-based T010 minesweepers 389 and 396, and the Shantou-based Hainan class submarine chasers 281 and 282.
The South Sea Fleet deployed three amphibious assault flotillas to capture the Crescent Group islands.
Shortly after, the second flotilla attacked Pattle Island; 30 South Vietnamese troops, including an RVN army major, and a United States (US) liaison officer were captured.
The South Sea Fleet's three Type 033 submarines conducted patrols; at the height of the crisis one was authorized to attack RVNN ships moving toward the islands.
By July 1974, tensions had eased and China began its effort to expand its permanent presence in the Paracels.
[9] South Vietnam tried to raise a complaint against China in the United Nations Security Council, but gave up on 25 January due to the Chinese veto.
75 South Vietnamese soldiers, including Captain Ngụy Văn Thà of Nhật Tảo, were killed, and 16 were wounded.
After their successful amphibious assault on January 20, the Chinese held 48 prisoners, including an American advisor.
Gerald Emil Kosh, 27, a former U.S. Army captain, was captured with the South Vietnamese on Pattle Island.
He was described as a “regional liaison officer” for the American embassy in Saigon on assignment with the South Vietnamese Navy.
[17][18] The leaders of North Vietnam gave a glimpse of their worsening relationship with China by conspicuously not congratulating their ally.
An official communique issued by the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam mentioned only its desire for a peaceful and negotiated resolution for any local territorial dispute.
In the wake of the battle, North Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyễn Cơ Thạch told the Hungarian ambassador to Hanoi that "there are many documents and data on Vietnam's archipelago."
Other North Vietnamese cadres told the Hungarian diplomats that in their view, the conflict between China and the Saigon regime was but a temporary one.