evidence: Both Vietnam and China say that the Paracels are mentioned in their ancient texts. The name Paracel, however, was adopted in the 16th century after Portuguese explorers named the islands "Ilhas do Pracel". "Pracel", or parcel, is a Portuguese term used by navigators to refer to a submerged bank or reef. France claimed the archipelago as part of the French Indochinese Union in the 19th century and put it under the same colonial administration as Vietnam's southern mainland, known at the time as Cochinchina. The Chinese nationalist Kuomintang, now one of the main political parties in Taiwan, claimed the Paracels as territory of the Republic of China in January 1921. [...] In 2012, China established Sansha City, headquartered on Woody Island, the largest Paracel island, which China calls Yongxing. The administrative headquarters is in charge of all of the features China claims in the South China Sea, including the Paracels and the Spratlys to the south.