Vietnam

→ Burmese: ဗီယက်နမ် (biyaknam)

→ Japanese: ベトナム (Betonamu)

/ˌvjɛʔˈnɑːm/

US, rare, perhaps modeled on piece etc, or the South Vietnamese pronunciation

Borrowed from Vietnamese Việt Nam. Extended senses come from the Vietnam War.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Socialist Republic of Vietnam#English

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Capital: Hanoi.


South China Sea

The Philippine Islands are an archipelago southeast of Asia. They extend almost due north and south from Formosa to Borneo, and they separate the South China Sea from the Pacific Ocean.

1898 May, “The Philippine Islands”, in The Locomotive, volume XIX, number 5, Hartford, Conn.: Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, →OCLC, page 77:

Ignoring international law, the Chinese have claimed sovereignty over most of the South China Sea and are embarked upon a massive land reclamation and construction program to bolster these claims.

2015, Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney, Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America, Threshold Editions, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 222:

The western arm of the Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland and Taiwan, Borneo and the Philippines.


Vietnamese

As I rubbed my face, a middle-aged man gripped my neck, the way Vietnamese fathers or uncles often do when trying to pour their strength into you.

2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 228:


Vietnamese

en-noun

Vietnamese (countable and uncountable, plural Vietnamese)

They were buried in a gravesite near Kai Tak, alongside other Vietnamese who hadn’t made it safely to shore.

2023, Cecile Pin, Wandering Souls, 4th Estate, page 36:

(countable, chiefly in the plural) A person or people from Vietnam or of Vietnamese descent.


Vietnamese

The Vietnamese I own is the one you gave me, the one whose diction and syntax reach only the second-grade level.

2019, Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Jonathan Cape, page 31:

The Austroasiatic language spoken predominantly in Vietnam.


dong

Borrowed from Vietnamese đồng, from Middle Chinese 銅 (duŋ, “copper”), from Old Chinese 銅 (*doːŋ). Cognate with Mandarin 銅 /铜 (tóng, “copper”).

The currency of Vietnam, 100 xus. Symbol: ₫

(historical) The currency of South Vietnam, 100 xus. Symbol: Đ.


Gulf of Thailand

An inland body of water in the Pacific Ocean that is southeast of Southeast Asia below the countries of Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia, and is close to the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia.

थाईलैण्ड की खाड़ी

thāīlaiṇḍ kī khāṛī

ਥਾਈਲੈਂਡ ਦੀ ਖਾੜੀ

thāīlaiṇḍ dī khāṛī


Annam

Borrowed from Vietnamese An Nam, from Chinese 安南 (Ānnán).

(history) A former colonial province of China, now part of Vietnam's present-day Tonkin.


yem

Borrowed from Vietnamese yếm, from Proto-Vietic *ʔiɛmʔ (“breastplate”), from Old Chinese 裺 (/*qromʔ/, /*qoms/, “bib worn by infants”).

der

(underbodice):

(outer garment):

(clothing) A Vietnamese bodice with a halterneck and a V-shaped bottom worn by women on the torso, originally as an underbodice and now also as an outer garment.

肚兜

Vietnamese bodice with a halterneck and V-shaped bottom


hào

A subdivision of currency, equal to one tenth of a Vietnamese dong.


Vietraq

Blend of Vietnam + Iraq; coined shortly before the Iraq War that began in 2003.

Or for some of the unlucky things, like Enron et al that went nuts stealing on his watch, or Vietraq that lacks enough troops according to three out of four multi-starred generals but not Rumsfeld, or the falling dollar that hasn't created sales, or the collapse of US respect which might see some recovery if we ever send troops to a country that doesn't have oil.

2003 July 9, Hobdbcgv, “The Prez - 2 wars, depression, lies, jail w/o trial ?”, in alt.politics.bush (Usenet):

Who knows, he may just hit the jackpot with the US style legal system they are installing in Vietraq.

2005 June 22, Kevin V. Russell, “Re: Ten's exclusive with Wood.”, in aus.tv (Usenet):

They know when they are paying record prices and can't afford the energy to pump water to irrigate wilting crops. They know whodunnit. Bush on bended knee has to go to China to borrow money to keep up the Vietraq War and mother hubbard's^([sic]) cupboard is bare in washington^([sic]) and getting bare in the heartland.

2006 August 2, Righturds Doing More than Al Qaeda in Gutting America, “Re: Heat wave cooks local Jersey farmers' crops”, in alt.global-warming (Usenet):

(US, slang, derogatory) The Iraq War, implying similarity with the Vietnam War where an earlier cessation of conflict might have avoided needless casualties.


Sino-Vietnamese

Pertaining to the Chinese-derived elements in the Vietnamese language.

漢越 /汉越

pertaining to the Chinese-derived elements in the Vietnamese language


Sino-Vietnamese

The Chinese-derived elements in the Vietnamese language.

漢越詞 /汉越词

the Chinese-derived elements in the Vietnamese language


Vietnam War

The country’s first black president, and its first president to reach adulthood after the Vietnam War and Watergate, Mr. Obama seemed like a digital-age leader who could at last dislodge the stalemate between those who clung to the government of the Great Society, on the one hand, and those who disdained the very idea of government, on the other.

2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times:

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(historical) The war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia between 1955 and 1975 between South Vietnam (backed by the United States and SEATO) and North Vietnam aiding the South Vietnamese communist guerrilla army known as the Vietcong (supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union) for the struggle for total Communist control of Vietnam as one state.


Socialist Republic of Vietnam

the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (canonical)

جُمْهُورِيَّة فِيِتْنَام الاِشْتِرَاكِيَّة

សាធារណរដ្ឋសង្គមនិយមវៀតណាម

saa tʰie nɑɑ roat sɑŋkum ni’yum viet naam

ສາທາລະນະລັດ ສັງຄົມນິຍົມ ຫວຽດນາມ

sā thā la na lat sang khom ni nyom wīat nām

สาธารณรัฐสังคมนิยมเวียดนาม

săa-taa-rá-ná rát săng-kom-ní-yom wîat-naam


Tonkin

From French Tonkin, from Vietnamese Đông Kinh (“Hanoi; its former kingdom”), from đông (“east, eastern”) + kinh (“capital”), from Middle Chinese 東京 (tuŋ kˠiæŋ), q.v.

(archaic) Synonym of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

(historical) A former kingdom in northern Vietnam.

(historical) A former protectorate in northern Vietnam, a colony of France.

Short for Gulf of Tonkin, a gulf in northern Vietnam.


Paracel Islands

ABOUT the third day out we passed the dreaded Macclesfield Bank, which, with the adjacent Paracel Islands and reefs, forms a pretty trap for the careless or unskilful navigator.

1897, Carlton Dawe, Captain Castle: A Tale of the China Seas (Fiction), London: Smith, Elder, and Co., →OCLC, →OL, page 31:

The Republic of China has reiterated its sovereignty over the Nansha and Hsisha Islands (Spratly and Paracel Islands).

1976 June 6, “ROC reiterates ownership of southern islets”, in Free China Weekly, volume XVII, number 22, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:

Gales in the South China Sea, off Guangdong's east coast and near the Paracel Islands, were forecast to reach moderate magnitudes of 6-7 but the wind in some parts of the sea could be stronger, the forecasters said.

2022 June 29, Beijing newsroom, Hong Kong newsroom, Liz Lee, “Typhoon may be forming ahead of Hong Kong handover anniversary”, in Robert Birsel, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-06-29, China:

A group of South China Sea islands administered under Sansha, Hainan, China, as Xisha (claimed by Taiwan (ROC) and Vietnam).


Chinese numeral

en-noun

Chinese numeral (plural Chinese numerals)

From their original development and chief use in China.

A number represented using a Chinese system involving the characters 一, 二, 三, etc.


Viet Minh

From Vietnamese Việt Minh, shorted form of Việt-Nam Độc-Lập Đông-Minh (Vietnam Independence League).

(historical) A Vietnamese Communist independence and nationalist movement led by Hồ Chí Minh in 1941 organized to wage a guerrilla war against the invading Imperial Japanese forces and later the French in an effort to drive colonialist powers out of Indochina.


Sinaic

en-adj

Sinaic (comparative more Sinaic, superlative most Sinaic)

more Sinaic (comparative)
most Sinaic (superlative)

From Sinae + -ic, q.v., under influence of Judaic, Altaic, etc. and French sinique.

We will separate [the 'Yellow Race'] into three branches—the Hyperborean, the Mongolian, and the Sinaic branches.

1872, Guillaume Louis Figuier, The Human Race, page 205:

(rare, obsolete) Synonym of East Asian, with especial focus on Chinese people and culture: of or related to the Sinosphere.


songthaew

From Thai สองแถว (sɔ̌ɔng-tɛ̌o), from สอง (sɔ̌ɔng, “two”) + แถว (tɛ̌o, “row”).

(Thailand) A pickup truck converted into a shared taxi by the addition of a bench or row of seats along each side of the bed.

Songtaeo

truck used as a shared taxi — see also shared taxi, pickup truck


South Vietnam

China is so large, looms so high just beyond the frontiers, that if South Vietnam went, it would not only give them an improved geographic position for the guerrilla assault on Malaya but would also give the impression that the wave of the future in Southeast Asia was China and the Communists. So I believe it.

1971, Lyndon Johnson, quoting John F. Kennedy, The Vantage Point, Holt, Reinhart & Winston, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 61:

(historical) A state, officially the Republic of Vietnam, that governed southern Vietnam from 1955–1975.


North Vietnam

When we visited Laos, I had lunch with Souvanna Phouma. During the course of the lunch, he said we ought to bomb Red China, that it was the effective way to stop their aid to North Vietnam.

1976, Hubert H. Humphrey, The Education of a Public Man: My Life and Politics, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 333:

Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Democratic Republic of Vietnam

(historical) A state (officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) that governed northern Vietnam in 1945–1975.

Vietnam i Veriut

(historical) a state (officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) that governed northern Vietnam in 1945–1975


Rade

Borrowed from Bahnar Rađe or Eastern Mnong Rađê.

A minor ethnic group in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.


Saigonese

(linguistics) A dialect of Vietnamese spoken in and around Saigon.


Vietnamize

en-verb

Vietnamize (third-person singular simple present Vietnamizes, present participle Vietnamizing, simple past and past participle Vietnamized)

Vietnamizes (present singular third-person)
Vietnamizing (participle present)
Vietnamized (participle past)
Vietnamized (past)

(historical) Especially, to reduce US involvement in the Vietnam War by replacing American troops with Vietnamese troops.


Champa

(historical) A collection of Cham polities in what is now Vietnam from the 2nd century through 1832.


Hạ Long Bay

A bay in the Gulf of Tonkin, adjacent to the city of Hạ Long in Vietnam; now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination.


era name

Cities were not infrequently named after the era name in which they were founded (e.g., Shaoxing 紹興 in Zhejiang, after the Shaoxing era, 1131-62).

2000, Endymion Wilkinson, “Geography”, in Chinese History: A New Manual, Rev. & enl. edition, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 135:

The regnal year, reign period, or regnal title used when traditionally numbering years in an emperor's reign and naming certain Sinospheric rulers.


Dai Nam

For the time being, French troops withdrew from the north, trade on the Red River resumed, and Dai Nam remained independent, albeit in its reduced form.

2016, Christopher Goscha, The Penguin History of Modern Vietnam, Penguin, published 2017, page 62:

(historical) Vietnamese territory, especially the Vietnamese state under the Nguyen dynasty from 1802–1945.


Republic of Vietnam

(historical) Official name of South Vietnam.


V-pop

From V- (“Vietnamese”) + pop, by analogy with J-pop.


nine-dash line

Calque of Chinese 九段線 /九段线 (Jiǔduànxiàn).

calque

Hollywood certainly has a cynical heart: Barbie was banned this week from opening in Vietnam for including on a map the “nine-dash line” that China uses to claim sovereignty over territory in the South China Sea.

2023 July 8, John Gapper, “Barbie is a brand that keeps changing with the times”, in FT Weekend, page 9:

A set of line segments on various maps that have accompanied the claims of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China to various contested areas in the South China Sea.


Sinesian

From Sinese + -ian and Sinesia + -an. Compare earlier Chinesian.

The almost total absence of the warrior-spirit from the poetry of the Far East is a remarkable fact in the history of Sinesian civilisation.

1899 April, Frederick Victor Dickins, "The Origins of the Japanese State", The English Historical Review, No. LIV, p. 226

In this admirable work an authentic account is given of that tract of the earth's surface to which in these columns we have sometimes ventured to give the name Sinesia—the Far East, that immense Asiatic region which nature has isolated from the rest of the world by deserts, mountains, and seas... Now, through Japan, the West has made a definite breach in Sinensian exclusiveness; even China is assuredly following....

1905 September 16, “Literature: The Far East. By Archibald Little...”, in Athenæum, number 4064, page 361:

(archaic, now rare) Synonym of East Asian, with especial focus on Chinese people and culture: of or related to the Sinosphere.


Zalo

An instant messaging service from Vietnam.


vietnamist

A student or expert in Vietnamese studies.

Vietnamist

a student, or expert in Vietnamese studies


Iraqnam

Remember how the US troops were told that after the “Shock and Awe” knockout blow and the Iraqis welcomed them in with open arms, they would largely all be off home by the 4th July! Well, welcome to IraqNam.

2003 September 20, Paul Shallard, “Feedback: Comment on A sad case of schadenfreude by Andrew Gimson (13/09/2003)”, in The Spectator:

It was one of the worst days of my life, as I had to admit that Vietnam had been a waste. When the Iraq war began, it became evident to me that it was going to be an IRAQNAM—as mismanaged as Vietnam had been or worse.

2006, Jerry Autry, “Preface”, in Gun-Totin' Chaplain: A True Memoir, San Francisco, CA: Airborne Press, →ISBN, page xiii:

Now can we leave IraqNam and Afghanistan? We pissed away billions to support US oil fascism, and ruined our nation's reputation in so-doing. Meanwhile, record numbers of homeless people and families, undernourished children, and failling^([sic]) young people grow, even as we pump up the BS for BC's version of the Olympic Follies.

2008 November, Joseph E Fasciani, “Letters to the editor: Ruined reputation”, in Common Ground, number 208, →ISSN, page 10:

Aided by our Uncle Toms—Brokaw and Hanks—the rich, who had not served in the first quagmire because they had other priorities, grew nostalgic for those so-called greatest generation wars. When attacked in 2001, we were pumped up and ready. We gave ourselves rhetorical goose bumps about freedom goose-stepping. Iraqnam.

2009, Kate Clinton, I Told You So, Boston, MA: Beacon Press, →ISBN, page 58:

(often derogatory) The country of Iraq during the Iraq War (2003–2011) that began with a controversial invasion by a United States-led coalition, seen as analogous to the Vietnam War (1955–1975) which was also marked by American military involvement.


Vietnamese studies

(humanities) An academic discipline that includes the study of literature written in the Vietnamese language, Vietnamese linguistics, Vietnamese history, and Vietnamese ethnology.


Woody Island

According to Japanese sources, Peking has maintained some sort of naval bases on Woody (Yung-hsing) Island and Lincoln (Tung) Island in the eastern Paracels since at least 1958. Several patrol vessels and supply ships were sighted there in mid-1971, along with shore-based radar installations; and the flotilla that clashed with the Vietnamese in 1974 numbered seven ships, including Komar-class gunboats equipped with Styx missiles.

1977, Selig S. Harrison, “Danger Zones in the South China Sea”, in China, Oil and Asia: Conflict Ahead?, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 192:

Initial plans call for ships to visit Woody Island, called Yongxing Island by China, though tourists would not be allowed to leave their boat.

2012 April 10, “China stakes claim to islands with "Princess Coconut" voyage”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 2024-03-18, Business:

Recently, Professor Sam Bateman, a Senior Fellow in the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, presented another line of argument. He pointed out that China's oil rig is 120 miles from Vietnam's coast, and 80 miles from China's Woody (Yongxing) Island which is unquestionably subject to the island regime under the current UNCLOS provisions, and consequently entitled to its own EEZ and continental shelf.

2014 May 20, Gabriel Domínguez, “Beijing 'prepared to defend rights' in South China Sea”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2019-10-25, Asia:

China has reportedly deployed anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles, along with electronic jammers and other equipment, on islands it built on disputed reefs in the Spratly Islands, some of which have runways.
It also landed a bomber aircraft on Woody Island in the Paracels group, sparking alarm among rival claimants and the United States. Washington has no territorial claims in the region but has declared that freedom of navigation and overflight in the waters is in U.S. national interest.

2018 July 2, “Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2024-03-21:

In April, it created two new administrative districts to govern the islands it controls in the Paracel and Spratly chains. China’s Navy also said that it had succeeded it growing cabbage and other vegetables in the sand of Woody Island, helping to feed the growing number of troops stationed there.

2020 May 24, Steven Lee Myers, “Why China’s Move to Rein in Hong Kong is Just the Start”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-05-24, Asia Pacific:

An island of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea administered under Sansha, Hainan, China (claimed by Taiwan (ROC) and Vietnam).


Tong-King

From irregular romanization of Vietnamese Đông Kinh (“Hanoi; its former kingdom”), from đông (“east, eastern”) + kinh (“capital”), from Middle Chinese 東 (tuŋ) + 京 (kˠiæŋ), q.v.


Lincoln Island

LINCOLN ISLAND, in lat. 16° 40ʹ N., lon. 112° 42ʹ E., is about 3 miles in circuit, surrounded by a reef to the distance of a mile ; it is low, covered with small brush-wood, and has a spring of excellent water near three coco-nut trees in its centre. There are 20 fathoms close to the rocks at the south and west sides, and the soundings appear to extend about 2 miles off, but the water is deep on the east side. This is the easternmost island of the Paracels.
PYRAMID ROCK, in lat. 16° 36ʹ N., lon. 112° 37ʹ E., about 6 miles to the S.W. of Lincoln Island, has no soundings close to; but the pilot said that soundings were continued in a narrow line, from the south part of Lincoln Island to the shoal seen by the ship Bombay Merchant in 1800.

1843, James Horsburgh, “The Paracels, with the Banks and Dangers in the Northern part of the China Sea”, in The India Directory, or, Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, Australia, and the Interjacent Ports of Africa and South America: comp. Chiefly from Original Journals of the Honourable Company's Ships, and from Observations and Remarks, Resulting from the Experience of Twenty-one Years in the Navigation of those Seas, volume II, London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., →OCLC, page 358:

LINCOLN ISLAND, the S.E. point of which is in lat. 16° 39ʹ 34" N., long. 112° 44ʹ 23" E., is 1¼ mile long, N.W. and S.E., three-quarters of a mile wide, and about 20 ft. high ; it is covered with brushwood, and surrounded by a coral reef, dry at low water, which extends 1¼ mile from its S.E. point, half a mile from its North and East sides, and about a cable's length from its S.W. side. A narrow coral shoal runs off to the southward from its S.E. point, which is said by Horsburgh to extend 11 miles ; time did not admit of its being properly examined by the Rifleman, but judging from the soundings that were obtained, the dangerous part of this shoal does not appear to extend farther than 3 miles from the island. Grood anchorage can be obtained in the N.E. monsoon under its lee in 8 to 10 fathoms, coral, about half a mile from the shore. The spring of excellent water in the centre of this island, mentioned by Horsburgh, is merely a well dug by the Hainan fishermen close to a stunted cocoa-nut tree, into which the salt water filters.
PYRAMID ROCK bears S.W. ¼ W., distant 7½ miles, from the S.E. point of Lincoln Island, and 10½ miles N.W. by W. from the South end of the bank extending southwards from that island. Between Lincoln Island and the Pyramid there are depths of 27 to 31 fathoms.
H.M.S. Dido, in 1844, observed a shoal about 10 miles to the eastward of Lincoln Island. It is shown on the chart as a doubtful danger in lat. 16° 45ʹ N., long. 112° 54ʹ E.

1878, Alexander George Findlay, A Directory for the Navigation of the Indian Archipelago, China, and Japan, 2nd edition, Richard Holmes Laurie, page 643:

The Captain was extremely anxious, as the Typhoon struck him when his ship was between the Paracels and Macclesfield Bank. After the weather cleared he found himself in soundings about 20 miles South of Lincoln Island.

1912 October 16, “THE LAST TYPHOON.”, in The China Mail, number 15,485, →OCLC, page 5, column 3:

LINCOLN ISLAND
LATITUDE 16° 40ʹ N., LONGITUDE 112° 44ʹ E.
The eastern island of the Paracel group, about 2 kilometers long, with a maximum elevation of about 5 meters. It is covered with bushes and has a well in its center. Lincoln Island, according to Aso, has an area of 1,720,000 m², of which 756,000 m² are covered by phosphate.

1950, George Evelyn Hutchinson, “Guano Islands in the South China Sea, in the Seas of the East Indian Archipelago, and in the Adjacent Parts of the Indian Ocean”, in Survey of Existing Knowledge of Biogeochemistry. 3, The Biogeochemistry of Vertebrate Excretion (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History), volume 96, →OCLC, page 280, column 1:

However, with the potential for oil and the presence of fish in the vicinity, jurisdiction over these resources under an EEZ or Continental Shelf claim would be valuable. Macclesfield Bank would fall within such a claim radiating from Lincoln Island in the Paracel Group.

1985, Daniel J. Dzurek, “Boundary and Resource Disputes in the South China Sea”, in Ocean Yearbook 5, University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 272:

1. The U.S. side has made a full investigation of the incidents that the Chinese side brought to its attention on March 24, 1972.²
The U.S. side has verified that the ship and aircraft in question on the dates cited went within twelve nautical miles of the Paracel Islands but at no time moved closer to the Islands than three nautical miles. The ship and aircraft were conducting surveillance on an infiltration trawler engaged in carrying contraband in the vicinity of Lincoln (Tung) Island in the Paracels.
In the interest of U.S.-Chinese relations the U.S. side has issued instructions that henceforth a distance of at least twelve nautical miles should be maintained from the Paracel Islands. This is without prejudice to the U.S. positions either on the territorial sea question or the various claims to the Paracel Islands.

2006 [1972 April 3], “Message From the Government of the United States to the Government of the People's Republic of China”, in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969-1972, volume XVII, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 873:

Ly Son fishermen confirm they get very close, sometimes working within 10 nautical miles of the islands and reefs inside what China claims as territorial waters.
They seek shellfish and edible seaweeds in shallow water as well as fish such as tuna, mackerel and jacks further out, sometimes on trips that can take 35 days.
Significantly, they confirm not only fishing near Triton Island - the nearest to Vietnam - but also Bombay reef and Lincoln Island further east and up to North Reef, a route that passes the Chinese naval base on Woody Island.

2011 May 30, Greg Torode, “Disputed islands are prized catch”, in South China Morning Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-04-16:

The Chinese research team first found evidence of a destructive historical wave on Lincoln Island (Hewu Island, 和五島) located in the middle of the South China Sea, in 2013.
They discovered rocks and corals that had been moved 200m from the shoreline and concluded only a major force of water could have been responsible.

2019 January 5, “Huge tsunami struck China in 1076”, in Taipei Times, sourced from AFP, HONG KONG, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-01-04, World News, page 5:

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported that Wednesday’s incident happened near Lincoln Island, a rock in the Paracels that is occupied by China but claimed by both China and Vietnam.[…]
Lincoln Island is roughly 25 nautical miles southeast of Woody Island, China’s largest military base in the Paracels and one of China’s main administrative centers in the South China Sea.

2020 June 12, Drake Long, “China Rams Vietnamese Fishing Vessel Near Paracel Islands”, in Radio Free Asia, archived from the original on 2020-06-13:

Ma, who did not give his full name, said he filmed Liaoning's operational drills on the morning and afternoon of April 16 before his trawler left the Paracel Islands ahead of a planned live-fire exercise the next day.
"All the fishing vessels in the area left on the evening of April 16," he said, adding that he lost signal on his phone after the Chinese military shut down the cell towers on Lincoln Island, which he referenced with the Chinese name "Dong Dao."

2021 April 21, John Feng, “U.S. Navy Warship Shadows China Aircraft Carrier in Video”, in Newsweek, archived from the original on 2021-04-21:


Triton Island

THIS was a case of salvage by the master, owners, and crew of the Blakely, against the proceeds of goods and stores saved out of the Martha, a wreck on Triton Island, in lat 15° 47' N., long, 111° 11' E..[…]
The Martha, on a voyage from Liverpool to Canton, with a very valuable cargo, was wrecked in the China Sea, about 500 miles S.S.W. of Macao, on the reef of Triton Island, only a few feet above the level of the sea—surrounded perpendicularly by coral rocks,[…]

1840, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the High Court of Admiralty, volume III, pages 434-435:

TRITON ISLAND, or BANK, in lat. 15° 46ʹ N., lon. 111° 11ʹ E., by chronometers, extends in a N.W. and S.E. direction about 3 or 4 miles, according to a plan of it sent to me by Captain Brown, of the Triton ; the north part is a sandy lump, about 20 feet high, sloping down in a low point to the S. Eastward, with high breakers projecting a great way in that direction ; another reef projects from its N.W. end, and, like the preceding dangers, there are no soundings near it.
This is thought to be the southernmost and westernmost danger of the Paracels ; it bears from Pulo Canton, which is the nearest land of Cochin-China, E. by N., distant 122 miles.

1843, James Horsburgh, “The Paracels, with the Banks and Dangers in the Northern part of the China Sea”, in The India Directory, or, Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, Australia, and the Interjacent Ports of Africa and South America: comp. Chiefly from Original Journals of the Honourable Company's Ships, and from Observations and Remarks, Resulting from the Experience of Twenty-one Years in the Navigation of those Seas, volume II, London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., →OCLC, page 359:

On the 16th inst., they arrived at the Paracels, where they found the Phra Nang in the same position as before—aground on a coral reef on Triton Island, the south-western unit of the group.

1902 November 25, “The Return of the 'Phra Nang.'”, in China Mail, number 12,380, →OCLC, page 5, column 4:

The United States vessel, the missile destroyer Curtis Wilbur, entered the waters off Triton Island in the Paracel Islands chain on Saturday without giving China notice in an exercise intended to challenge “excessive maritime claims” by China and two other countries, said Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. Vietnam and Taiwan also claim Triton Island, though the Navy operation appeared to be aimed at China.[…]
Triton Island, known by the Chinese as Zhongjian Island, is close to the area in the South China Sea where the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, a major energy company, moved an oil rig in 2014, resulting in a standoff between vessels of Vietnam and China, and a sharp deterioration in relations between the countries.

2016 January 30, Jane Perlez, “U.S. Challenges China’s Claim of Islands With Maritime Operation”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2016-01-30, Asia Pacific:

The USS Stethem, an American guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, a small landmass in the Paracel Islands chain, on Sunday, a U.S. defense official said, marking the second such operation since President Trump took office.[…]
Triton Island is claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.[…]
Many of these nations have laid claim to islands in the South China Sea, some of which are no more than tiny strips of sand and reef. The last time the U.S. Navy sailed near Triton Island was in January 2016, when the USS Curtis Wilbur came within 12 miles of its shores. The Pentagon did not notify any of the island’s claimants before that operation.

2017 July 3, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Simon Denyer, “China accuses U.S. of ‘serious provocation’ as warship sails near disputed island”, in The Washington Post, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-07-03, World:

In the Paracel Islands, a new helipad, wind turbines and large radar towers have been built. The radar towers on Triton Island could be used in China's disputes with Vietnam and with the US over freedom of navigation operations, which the US Navy has used to back its perceived right to free passage in international waters.

2018 May 19, “China lands nuclear strike-capable bombers on disputed South China Sea island”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 2018-05-20, News:

China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press.
The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been equipped with airstrips, docks and military systems, although it currently appears to be somewhat more modest in scale.

2023 August 16, Jon Gambrell, “China appears to be building an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island”, in AP News, archived from the original on 2023-08-16, World News:


CIVETS

(geopolitics, economics) Acronym of Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa: an international economic organization comprising these fast-growing economies.


Tree Island

The Paracel Islands stretch 105-nm from northeastern Tree Island to southwestern Triton Island and 100-nm from northwestern North Reef to southeastern Herald Bank.

2014 June, Clarence J. Bouchat, “Introduction”, in The Paracel Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches in the South China Sea, Carlisle, PA: United States Army War College Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 3:

The pictures, provided by private satellite firm Planet Labs, follow reports in January showing work undertaken on nearby Tree Island (Jhaoshu Island, 趙述島) and other features in the Paracels, which are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.

2017 March 16, “China begins new construction work in Paracel Islands”, in Taipei Times, sourced from Reuters, HONG KONG, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-03-15, Front Page, page 1:

Smaller-scale work had continued in the Paracel Islands, including a new helipad and wind turbines on Tree Island and two large radar towers on Triton Island.

2017 December 15, David Brunnstrom, Sue-Lin Wong, “While focus is on North Korea, China continues South China Sea buildup: think tank”, in James Dalgleish, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2024-05-02, World:

Zhaoshu Island (ZSI) is one of the main coral reef islands of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea. Its geographical coordinates are 16°59′N, 112°16′E, and an area of about 0.22 km2. It is formed by the accumulation of white coral skeletal and shell sands on a reef platform, and is about 4.4 m above sea level. There are lots of hard disk phosphorous lime soil on the island, and the vegetation is mostly Scaevola sericea.

2021, Ming Chen, Fenzhen Su, Fei Cheng, Yu Zhang, Xuege Wang, “Development of a comprehensive assessment model for coral reef island carrying capacity(CORE-CC)”, in Scientific Reports, volume 11, number 3917, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-11-18: