The edict No. 10 of King Bao Dai on February 29 of the year of Bao Dai the 13th (March 30, 1938) ordered that the Hoang Sa archipelago be separated from Nam Ngai province and merged with Thua Thien province. The content of the edict is as follows:

“The Hoang Sa archipelago has been the age-old sovereignty of Viet Nam and under the previous dynasties, the archipelago belonged to Nam Ngai province, and until Cao Hoang de (Emperor Gia Long), it remained intact as all the communication to the archipelago was through the estuaries of Nam Ngai province.

Now thanks to the progress of maritime activities, the transport and communication have changed and the interior minister representing the Protectorate Government reported that it was better to merge the Hoang Sa archipelago with Thua Thien province for more conveniences.

The Edict:

The Single Clause: It is approved that Hoang Sa archipelago is to be merged with Thua Thien Province: in terms of the administrative aspect, this archipelago falls under that province’s authority”.