In the Battle of the Paracel Islands (1974), the PLAN sent the RVN Navy packing, despite sending 4 corvettes and 2 sub chasers against the RVN's force of 3 frigates and 1 corvette. The Chinese have since established a permanent physical presence on the island chain, including a 737-capable airstrip on Woody Island.
Re: Battle of the Paracel Islands (1974)... PLAN sent the RVN Navy packing...
The info I had was that two RVN frigates were crippled beyond repair with smoke billowing from their decks and superstructure.
After the incident had subsided, it was suggested that RVN command dispatched further units to the region and had the two crippled frigates sunk. A number of Vietnamese fishing trawlers used as naval vessels also took part in the battle.
However, like Vietnam’s other crude Soviet era frigates and Corvettes, their guns did not have the range that PLA-N forces have. As a result, RVN was out ranged by guns from PLA-N forces and suffered massively.
Pics uploaded in the Internet depicted and suggested that between two to three hundred RVN sailor from the two crippled RVN frigate were snatched from the water and taken prisoner and later released.
Western sources however had either honestly misquoted the event or they may have intentionally made discrediting accounts of what had happened either for pure political reasons or purely to keep the truth from reaching other countries in the region.