Vietnam has more than 3,000 coastal islands and two offshore islands, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa. The nearest Hoang Sa archipelagos is 120 nautical miles to the east of Quang Ngai. The nearest point of the Truong Sa archipelago is about 250 nautical miles to the east of Cam Ranh Bay, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province. These two archipelago are an integral part of Vietnam's territory. The State of Vietnam has exercised its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in accordance with international law and recognized by a wide range of legal and historical evidence.

The Hoang Sa archipelago is a collection of over 30 atolls, sand dunes, coral reefs in general (including many cays or atolls) and underground beach in the East Sea which is about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines. The archipelago stretches from 15°43′10" to 17°06′53" North and from 111°11′12" to 112°53′20" East, with four extreme points north, south, west and east respectively at the North rock, Oc Tai Voi beach, Tri Ton island and Go Noi beach. The length of the coastline reaches 518 kilometers.

Hoang Sa island district was established in February 1982, belongs to Quang Nam- Da Nang provinve, to January 1997 belongs to Da Nang city, with an area of 305 square kilometers, accounting for 23.76% of the area of Da Nang city. It is located far from Da Nang city with about 170 nautical miles (about 315 km) to the mainland of Danang. The district includes the following islands: Hoang Sa island, Da Bac island, Huu Nhat island, Da Loi island, Bach Quy island, Tri Ton island, Trees island, North island, Central island, South island, Phu Lam island, Linh Con island, Quang Hoa Island, Bong Bay hillock, Observation hillock, West Sand Dunes, Chim Yen Rock, Da Thap...