Talk:South China Sea
From Academic Kids
Discussion:
I note that the Chinese name for the South China Sea is given (Nan Hai) at this entry. Would it not also be useful to note the Vietnamese name, Dong Bien (diacritics omitted), which means 'Eastern Sea'? Although giving the Chinese name obviously doesn't imply upholding Chinese claims to the sea (after all, Chinese is a major language), giving the Vietnamese (and if relevant any other names) would underline the concept of competing claims and demonstrate that the sea does not historically or notionally only belong to China.
Incidentally, although Nan Hai is the official name, many Chinese here in Hainan, at least, use an unofficial alternative name that is a direct translation from English: Nan Zhongguo Hai.
Greg Pringle Hainan
