Viceroy of Liangguang
In 1909 Zhang Renjun (), the Viceroy of Liangguang ordered Guangdong Fleet Admiral Li Zhun to sail to the island. His mission landed in June 1909. In 1932 French Indochina announced its claim to the archipelago. A Franco-Vietnamese garrison was established on Woody Island (called 'ile Boisée' in French) in 1938, regularly supplied by the French Navy until 1945.