| Battle of the Paracel Islands | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Vietnam War | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 China |
 South Vietnam | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Rear admiral Lâm Ngươn Tánh Colonel Hà Văn Ngạc Brigadier general Hồ Văn Kỳ Thoại | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
| ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: 西沙海战, Pinyin: Xisha Haizhan；Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was an engagement between the Chinese and South Vietnamese navies near the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The battle was part of an attempt by the South Vietnamese navy to remove the Chinese navy from the area towards the end of the Vietnam War.
Prior to the conflict, part of the Paracel Islands was controlled by China and another part was controlled by South Vietnam. The battle resulted in a victory for China over South Vietnam. Consequently, the PRC occupied the portion formerly controlled by South Vietnam and established full de facto control over the Paracels.