Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2016-07/21/content_26170884.htm
By Shen Yi (chinadaily.com.cn)

The South China Sea Arbitration cannot be accepted and the Xisha Islands are the research outcome of the Sun Yat-sen University, according to a statement from the university on July 12.

According to the statement, a group of 15 experts and geologists from the university visited the Xisha Islands, located in the South China Sea, for on-site exploration in May 1928, marking the first time that the islands were explored by geologists in Chinese history.

After investigation and analysis, they found the islands to be an excellent place to establish a maritime education base. Approved by the government, the islands came under the management of the university.

Later, the university drew up several development plans, including one for combining guano ore from the islands with Chilean nitrate to produce a new type of explosive.

The connection between the islands and the university has never been interrupted. A group of experts, one third of which came from the university, conducted a second scientific investigation on the Xisha Islands on April 14, 1947.

In the 1980s, the connection between the two parties deepened, with a couple of experts from the university visiting the islands for the purpose of scientific research, which included coastal zone investigation and measuring carbonate deposits.

In 2008, the university established the School of Marine Sciences and more than 10 major disciplines, such as marine biological resources exploitation, physical marine science, marine geology and other subjects.

In June of this year, the Ministry of Education approved for the university to build a multi-functional marine research vessel to monitor the islands.