 Jodocus Hondius’s “India Orientalis” map |
Assoc. Prof. Kawashima, former lecturer of the Tokyo University, cited the documents in his book entitled “What the Japanese are misunderstanding about Southeast Asia’s early modern and modern history” published by the Fushosha Publishing House.
Dutch cartographer Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612)’s “India Orientalis” map includes the Paracel and Spratly archipelagos, which were drawn connected with each other like the point of a knife and named Pracel. Vietnam’s central coastal area in the opposite side to the archipelago was named Costa de Pracel, indicating that the cartographer noticed the close link with Vietnam’s territories and Pracel.
 “Siam and the Malay Archipelago” map published by The Times Atlas - Printing House Square in 1896 |
The 2nd important document mentioned by the Japanese scholar is the map “Siam and the Malay Archipelago” published by The Times Atlas - Printing House Square in London in 1896. The map clearly distinguished between islands of the Paracel (Hoang Sa archipelago) and islands of the Spratly (Truong Sa archipelago) and islands near Vietnam’s central coast. Particularly islands in the Spratly were written in Vietnamese language like Thị Tứ island and Loại Ta island. This shows the European cartographers accepted that the Vietnamese administered and named these islands.
By making public the two historical documents, Asoc. Prof. Kawashima refuted China’s groundless claim of its sovereignty over islands in the East Sea when the Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties closed their border and banned their citizens from setting sail abroad. During that period, European oceanographers acknowledged Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes.