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Flecker: Early Voyaging in the South China Sea NSC Working Paper No. 19a shipwreck survey licence. The license allowed his company, Ocean Surveys Pte Ltd,to conduct a remote sensing survey at Ladd Reef (Da Lat), West London Reef (Da Tay),Central London Reef (Dao Sa Truong Don), East London Reef (Da Dong), and SpratlyIsland (Dao Truong Sa Lon), in the presence of representatives from joint-venture partner,the Vietnam Salvage Corporation (Visal), the Navy, and the Marine Police.The 21 m long ferro-cement ketch, Four Friends, was mobilised from Singaporewith two marine magnetometers, diving equipment, four tonnes of diesel, and a bundleof lumber. En-route to Vung Tau, the port at the mouth of the Saigon River, the lumberwas transformed into a pseudo deckhouse amidships and a false sheared bow. On arrival,the main mast was unstepped. With the Chinese occupying Cuarteron Reef just 12nautical miles from East London Reef, the aim was to keep a low profile by disguisingFour Friends as a fishing boat (Fig. 2). This was a complete failure. With the mizzen maststill required for the radar, the end result resembled nothing more than an ungainly yachtwith the mainmast removed. As an upside, the deckhouse provided an airy refuge for theVietnamese representatives.Fig. 2. Four Friends disguised as a fishing boatCredit: Author.Having motored the 300 miles from Vung Tau to Spratly Island, we paid ourrespects to the Vietnamese commanding officer. The few small buildings and water tanksthat constituted the garrison were defended by anti-aircraft guns and some ancient tanks.The tanks had been dug into the sand leaving only their turrets exposed.On 29 March 1843, Captain Richard Spratly of the whaler Cyrus observed firstLadd Reef and then Spratly Island, later commenting:3