Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, notable, Cold War

Johnson South Reef skirmish

Johnson South Reef skirmish was a naval engagement fought on 14 March 1988 at Johnson South Reef, in what is now Vietnam. It was part of Q796498. The recorded result: Chinese victory.

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Map of the Union Banks in the South China Sea.
Map of the Union Banks in the South China Sea.. vi:User:RobertJordan from the Vietnamese Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought14 March 1988
WhereJohnson South Reef, Vietnam9.717N, 114.283E
OutcomeChinese victory
BelligerentsChina; China; ChinaagainstVietnam; Vietnam; Vietnam
Part ofQ796498

Record

Date14 March 1988
PlaceJohnson South Reef, Vietnam
9.717N, 114.283E
KindNaval engagement, Cold War
Territorial changeChina establishes control over Johnson South Reef; Vietnam retains control over Collins Reef and Lansdowne Reef.
Casualties and lossesPer China:* 1 wounded; Per Vietnam:* 6 killed; 18 wounded; 3 landing craft damaged64 killed; 11 wounded; 9 captured; 2 transporters sunk; 1 tank landing ship destroyed
Commanders
  • Chen Weiwen
  • Trần Đức Thông
  • Lê Lệnh Sơn
  • Vũ Phi Trừ
  • Vũ Huy Lê
Johnson South Reef skirmishJohnson South Reef skirmish100 km9.717N, 114.283E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1988

Johnson South Reef skirmish is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 140 in present-day Vietnam.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q175767, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Johnson South Reef skirmish, revision 1370625071, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.