Battle of the Paracel Islands

Battle of the Paracel Islands
Part of the Vietnam War
Date 19–20 January 1974 (1 day) Location Paracel Islands Result Chinese victory Territorial changes China establishes full control over the Paracels
Belligerents
China People's Liberation Army Navy of China	South Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Navy
Commanders and leaders
Zhang Yuanpei Wei Mingsen	Lâm Ngươn Tánh Hà Văn Ngạc Hồ Văn Kỳ Thoại [vi] Ngụy Văn Thà † Huỳnh Duy Thạch [vi] †
Strength
2 minesweepers 2 submarine chasers Patrol ships Infantry Militia	1 destroyer 2 frigates 1 minesweeper Commandos
Casualties and losses
18 killed[1] 67 wounded[1] 2 minesweepers damaged[1] 2 submarine chasers damaged[1]	100+ killed and wounded[1] 48 captured[1] 1 minesweeper sunk 1 destroyer heavily damaged 2 frigates damaged

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. 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.^[2]

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.^[2]