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Serving on the Xisha Islands: Endurance and Obligation

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-29 16:16

Duty at the People's Liberation Army Navy Dong Island garrison in China's Xisha Islands, an archipelago in the South China Sea, is a test of endurance.

Chinese soldiers stationed there to defend the island must endure boredom, loneliness, high temperatures, a lack of fresh vegetables, as well as the small size of their unit: 22 people, rather than the usual 120 in a typical PLA company.

Dong Island itself is barely 1.66 square kilometers, making it the second largest of the Xisha Islands. It is 24 miles southwest of Yongxing Island, the capital of the archipelago, which has a total 1,200 soldiers, officials, and fishermen living on it.

Vietnam also claims the islands, however. But as early as Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the Chinese government dispatched warships to patrol in waters around Xisha. The presence of the current garrison dates from 1974.

"This place needs to be garrisoned, no matter how poor the living condition here," Song Desheng, political instructor of Dong Island garrison company, said when asked why the soldiers agree to serve in such a bleak location. "Servicemen on the island are simple and honest and they believe garrisoning the island is just fulfilling the obligation as a soldier."

Since 1992, living conditions here have gradually improved. A soldier who did not want to give his name said that now, they were able to watch satellite TV programs, and that it was easier to stay in touch with friends and relatives.

The soldier, who has been working on Dong Island for nine years, said when he first arrived in 2001, there was no telephone service, and it usually took several months to send and receive mails to relatives on the mainland.

"Now we can use telephones and mobile phones here," the soldier said.

In their spare time, the 22 men at the garrison usually play cards and basketball, and watch TV, he said. Internet service is not available there. Air-conditioning has also been installed this year, to help fight the extremely hot temperatures on the island.

The soldiers do receive some bonuses for serving on the island too. They get higher pay; Song said he received around 5,000 yuan ($732) per month, about 400 yuan more than officers of a similar rank in Hainan.

Serviceman on Dong Island also get a two-month long holiday each year, 15 days more than their fellow soldiers in Sanya, a wealthy city in Hainan Province.

"There are certain preferential policies for soldiers after they retired from military service but the effect of the policy is quite limited," Song said. "They have few chances to contact with the outside world or study in the library."

In the army, soldiers are not allowed to choose where they serve, and some men on the island have been there for many years.

"A sergeant who has been here for 16 years retired from military service last year. This is the longest length of service I have known," Song said.

However, soldiers who have worked on Dong Island for more than three years are eligible to apply for a transfer.

"It takes some time for new comers to get familiar with the island, so frequent personnel transfer is bad for our work," Song explained.