New town amid the ocean

It is not like what I thought of a severe Truong Sa with only sunlight, wind, coral, sand, stone and salty water. Having putting the first steps on the island, the thing that surprised me the most was that the whole island is now covered by a “green forest” – the green colour of peace and powerful vitality against tempest and typhoon.

We visited the Truong Sa Island on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the liberation of the whole Truong Sa Archipelago (29th April 1975). Participating in the delegation were generals and high-ranking officers of the army, including former officers and men who stationed on various islands belonging to the archipelago. Many of them could not manage to hide their emotion when witnessing Truong Sa having changed for the better.

According to Colonel Pham Van Son, head of the personnel department of the Navy Politics Department, who was a commissar of the Big Truong Sa Island in late 1990s, there were only a few square-fruit malabar almond trees in front of the command’s houses and several storm trees growing at the edge of the island. Before, if viewing the island from the deck, the island looked like a white sand dune surfacing the sea. In the old days, there were also water wells on the island but the water was salty and brackish, so it was difficult to use.