The commemoration of the Gac Ma Battle in March is an occasion to honor officers and soldiers who live and work on the DK platforms amid the vast sea, many of whom sacrificed their lives to safeguard the national sovereignty at sea.
90-year-old Colonel Nguyen Quy, who used to be director of the Technical Department of the High Command of the Sapper Arm (Ministry of National Defense), is one of the first people to participate in the construction of works on Truong Sa Island and the DK platforms, from the 1/1 to the 1/16 platforms during the period from 1988 to 1996.
Quy said the Defense Ministry was determined to build the cluster of DK platforms to protect the national sovereignty in the 80,000 sq.km waters, which has a special importance in terms of security-defense. The waters, which is on the international maritime routes across the East Sea, is also rich in marine resources and minerals.
The veteran colonel recalled that at the proposal of the Naval Command and the Defense Ministry on October 17, 1988, then Party General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh signed a decision on the construction of economic, scientific – technological services platforms on six submerged reefs in the country’s continental shelf in southern East Sea. Later, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers issued an instruction on the establishment of a so-called DK1 steering committee headed by Vice President Tran Duc Luong.
The first three DK platforms were installed in June and July 1989, which were DK1/1 on Tu Chinh (Vanguard) Bank on July 4, 1989, and DK1/3 on Phuc Tan Bank and DK1/4 on Ba Ke Bank on June 14.
According to Quy, the design and structure of DK platforms have been improved many times, with the current structures being the third generation. Some of them even have a helicopter pad on top.
The DK platforms not only serve the collection of scientific information on the ocean and sea economy but also are sovereignty marks in Vietnam’s continental shelf, said the old colonel.- (VNA/VLLF)
