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Woody Island
Woody Island (South China Sea) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFishing activities in the South China Sea region surrounding the island have been documented in the records of earlier Chinese dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), Zheng He plotted the location of surrounding islands on a map. In 1909 Zhang Renjun, the Viceroy of Liangguang ordered Guangdong Fleet Admiral Li Zhun to sail to the island. His mission landed in June 1909. In 1932, the island was occupied by French Indochina.
The island was occupied by Japan during World War II. Following Japan's surrender at the end of the war, the Nationalist Chinese government sent naval expeditions to the South China Sea in November 1946 to claim the Spratly and Paracel Islands, and established a permanent presence on Woody Island and Itu Aba. They (re)named Woody Island "Yongxing (Yung-hsing) Island" after one of the Republic of China Navy warships, ROCS Yung-hsing. The ROCS Yung-hsing was formerly the USS Embattle (AM-226) transferred to the ROC navy after the war. In January 1947, after making a failed attempt to dislodge the Chinese garrison from Woody Island, France established a permanent presence, on behalf of Vietnam, on Pattle Island in the western Paracels.
After the Hainan Island Campaign in 1950 during the Chinese Civil War, the ROC garrison on Woody Island and Itu Aba were withdrawn to Taiwan. France had a chance to take over the islands, but decided not to, for fear of compromising its interests with the newly established PRC. The islands were thus unoccupied for six years, except for seasonal inhabitation by fishermen from Hainan. In 1956, the PRC established a permanent presence on Woody Island.
The Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) continued to exercise its sovereignty over the Crescent Group in the western part of the Paracel Islands after assuming control from the departing French colonialists, by maintaining a military garrison from the mid-1950s (per a decision by Ngo Dinh Diem's administration). Within the 20 years thereafter, conflicts between the two sides repeatedly erupted within the region. In January 1974, the PLA Navy captured the archipelago during the Battle of the Paracel Islands.