2nd century B.C.E — Early Chinese voyages through the South China Sea during Han Dynasty.

3rd century — SCS islands described in written documents of the Three Kingdom period, circa 220.

11th century — Song dynasty records describe and give names to many of the islands, reefs, and sand cays of the Spratly and Paracel island groups.

15th century — Ming Dynasty Indian Ocean voyages of Admiral Zheng He, who reportedly explored and left artifacts on several islands in the Spratly group.

29 March 1843 — British Captain Richard Spratly discovers Spratly Island.

1877 — British Crown formally claims Spratly Island and Amboyna Cay to allow for merchants in northern Borneo to exploit guano deposits.

1883 — German naval unit sent to Spratlys to conduct survey. Operation terminated due to Chinese protests.

1887 — Sino-French Convention on boundary between Annam (Vietnam) and China's Guangdong province states that the islands to the east of meridian of 105° 43’ longitude belong to China.

1900 — Vietnam's Nguyen Dynasty continued to assert that the state Bac Hai Company had exercised Vietnam's sovereignty in the Spratlys since the eighteenth century.

6 June 1909 — Admiral Li Xun raised a Chinese flag over Duncan Island in the Paracels.

September 1909 — Qing government renames the Naval Reorganization Council as the Ministry of the Navy.

1909 and 1910 — China formally annexed many of these islands to Guangdong province.

10 October 2011 — Chinese revolution leads to abdication of the Qing emperor and the creation of the Republic of China (ROC) in 1912.

1925-1927 — French Research ship De Lanessan sent on survey mission to Spratlys.

1930 — French ship La Milicieuse expedition to Spratlys; plants French flag on one island.

1932 — ROC sends the French government a memorandum contesting their sovereignty over the Paracels, stating that the Paracels were the extreme south of Chinese territories based on the Chinese interpretation of the 1887 treaty ending the Sino-French War.

1933 — Fourth French expedition of three ships to the Spratlys; on completion, France places six groups of islets under its control.

21 July 1933 — Decree No. 4762 attaching the Paracels to Baria Province in Vietnam.

1933 — French briefly occupy nine islands in Spratlys including Loaita Island; Paris claims jurisdiction on behalf of Vietnam.