The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and by potential oil and gas reserves, which makes them
quite valuable. French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island in 1932. Maintenance
of the islands were continued by its successor, Vietnam. Chine has occupied the Paracel Islands since 1974. This
occured when Chinese troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands of the Paracel Islands.
The islands today arte also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Paracel Islands are located in Southeastern Asia. They are a group of small islands and reefs in the South
China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietname to the northern Philippines. The square kilometers of land
is currently unknown, but 518 kilometers of coastline is said to exsist!
The climate of the Paracel Islands is tropical. The terrain of the Paracel Islands is mostly low and flat.
With this the lowest point of the Paracel Islands is zero meters at the South China Sea, and the highest point is fourteen
meters tall at an unnamed location on Rocky Island. 100% of the islands land, according to a 1998 estimate, are used
for other purposes. The main natural hazard of the Paracel Islands is typhoons. On a geography note, the Paracel
Islands are composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent
Group.
There are no indigenous inhabitants on the Paracel Islands, but there are scattered Chinese garrisons which sometimes
contain people. The conventional short form of the Paracel Islands is the Paracel Islands.
There is a chance at an economy for islands, for in 1997 China announced plans to open the islands for tourism!
There is a small Chinese prt facilities on Woody Island and Duncan Island being expanded. There is one paved
runway airport.
On a military note, the islands are occupied by China. And there is one main international dispute, the Paracel
islands are occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam.
