It is one of the most flagrant atrocities in
modern times. The perpetrator did not report it but,
surprisingly, neither did the victim. On June 2012, a video of the incident
was released. It was done so, by the perpetrator, raising the question as to
why. It was March 1988; the countries involved were China
and Vietnam. The incident took place in the South China Sea where a dispute
between the two over ownership of the Spratly Islands was ongoing and exists to
this day. The Spratlys are an archipelago of approximately 750 reefs, islets,
atolls, and islands. The incident involved three
reefs/atolls in close proximity to each other In
anticipation the Chinese would attempt to occupy the reefs, two Vietnamese
transport ships, HQ-604 and HQ-605, carrying 73 Vietnamese soldiers were
ordered to land workers there to begin the construction of forts.
Vietnamese soldiers landed on Gac Ma reef, known on Western maps as the
Johnson South Reef, on the evening of March 13. It was there that the incident
took place. The two Vietnamese transport ships presented
only a cursory military threat. They were commercial vessels pressed into service
to carry troops and construction materials and, as such, were lightly armed.
They had to be within 500 meters of a target for their guns to be effective.
With Vietnamese forces dropped there, the two transport
ships headed for the other two atolls. As dawn came,
Chinese warships approached the reefs. Not only did they have their own landing
force aboard transport ships but their accompanying destroyers provided ample
fire power to support them ashore. Vietnamese flags had
been raised on Johnson South reef and, by this time, on one other atoll, Co
Lin. Around 6 am, several small assault boats, each loaded
with well-armed marines, were launched from the Chinese transport and headed
for Johnson South Reef. The Vietnamese immediately formed
a 360 degree defensive perimeter with their flag in the center—in a
configuration dubbed “the immortal circle”—demonstrating
their resolve to defend the reef at all costs. The Chinese
unsuccessfully attempted to penetrate the perimeter.
Lieutenant Phuong grabbed the Vietnamese flag to prevent its capture, he was
shot in the head. It was immediately picked up by Nguyen Van Lanh, who held on
to it until he was repeatedly stabbed and shot. Miraculously surviving his
attack, and as the Chinese withdrew, he and other survivors found themselves
subjected to an intense naval bombardment and machine gun fire.
Simultaneously, the bombardment was directed at the Vietnamese
transports which, as expected, proved incapable of returning return fire as the
Chinese ships remained well out of range. What is most
disturbing about the video is what happened next. At this point, the Vietnamese
survivors on the reef posed absolutely no threat to the Chinese. But the video
shows Chinese naval gunfire being concentrated on Johnson South Reef where the
survivors had no cover. Gunfire rakes the reef as the
defenseless Vietnamese stoically stand, awaiting the final onslaught—their fate
sealed as one-by-one they fall into the water in defense of their soil. For
Chinese attackers, the challenge was the proverbial “shooting fish in a barrel.”
The video leaves one in disbelief. The Vietnamese were sitting
ducks. One can only sense the helplessness they felt as the Chinese mercilessly
began to cut them down. Nine Vietnamese survivors were held for three years.
Today, China occupies the reef on which it has built a
base and is constructing an airfield. The Vietnamese lost
64 courageous soldiers that day. Among the survivors was the badly wounded Lanh.
But why would China, after 24 years of silence, release
the video? The answer lies with China’s Haiyang Shiyou
981, a semi-submersible oil rig deployed on May 2, 2014 in the South China Sea
near the Paracel islands—another island chain, whose ownership is also disputed
by the two countries. The move by China triggered a number of confrontations at
sea between the two. A month later, China unabashedly
released the video as a veiled threat to Vietnam that what happened in 1988
could happen again. Clearly China intends to use the
threat of its military might—unchallenged by any of its regional
neighbors—rather than diplomacy to “negotiate” the
ownership issue. While the 1988 atrocity by China at
Johnson South Reef was the massacre “not heard ‘round the world,”
Beijing’s subsequent brazen release of a video documenting it provides another
chance to ensure this time it is. A retired Marine, Lt. Colonel Zumwalt served in
the Vietnam war, the U.S. invasion of Panama and the first Gulf war. He
regularly writes oped pieces on foreign policy and defense issues for various
publications. He is the author of three books: "Bare Feet, Iron
Will—Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam's Battlefields," "Living
the Juche Lie: North Korea's Kim Dynasty" and "Doomsday: Iran—The
Clock is Ticking."
(The opinions
expressed in the columns written by US Daily Review's writers only reflect the
opinion
of the individual writer. If you disagree with something, we invite you to engage our writers and carry
on a thoughtful dialogue.)
of the individual writer. If you disagree with something, we invite you to engage our writers and carry
on a thoughtful dialogue.)
Sources:
The
Massacre “Not Heard Around the World”
author:
brionnamuyco 10:02 am EST August 13, 2014
By James Zumwalt
China´s Massacre in Spratly Island.
Uploaded
on May 27, 2009. Created
by ottovonstierlitz (Wehrmacht) in Germany, May 2009Full video HD: http://www.mediafire.com/?h9ei5ofd66q...
64 Vietnamese sailors were killed by 37mm anti-craft guns from Chinese warships in a few seconds.
