The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km2 of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi).
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines, and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands, encompassing an area of around 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi). It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, and the Java Sea via the Karimata and Bangka Straits. The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are part of the South China Sea.
West York Island, also known as Likas Island, and several other names. With an area of 18.6 hectares, it is the third largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands, and the second largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is 530 yards (485 m) wide, 330 yards (302 m) long, and its highest elevation is 30 feet (9 m).
Kalayaan, officially the Municipality of Kalayaan, is a 5th class municipality under the jurisdiction of the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 193 people making it the least populated town in the Philippines.
The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) is a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special operations missions.
Thitu Island, also known as Pag-asa Island ; Đảo Thị Tứ ; Zhongye Dao, having an area of 37.2 hectares, it is the second largest of the naturally occurring island in Spratly Islands. It lies about 500 kilometers (310 mi) west of Puerto Princesa. Its neighbors are the North Danger Reef to the north, Subi Reef to the west, and the Loaita and Tizard Banks to the south. As the poblacion of the Kalayaan municipality of Palawan province in the Philippines, it also administers nearly a dozen other islets, cays and reefs in the Spratly Islands. The island is 270 nautical miles west from Palawan, Philippines.
Loaita Island also known as Kota Island, with an area of 6.45 hectares -- is the tenth largest of the naturally-occurring Spratly Islands, and the fifth largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is located just to the west of the northern part of Dangerous Ground, and is 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Philippine-occupied Thitu Island (Pag-asa) and 22 miles (35 km) north-northeast of Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba Island.
Swallow Reef, also known as Malay: Pulau Layang-Layang; Vietnamese: Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin Chinese: 燕子島; pinyin: Yànzi Dǎo; Celerio Reef, is an oceanic atoll of the Spratly Islands administered by Malaysia.
The Philippines has claims on territories which include the Spratly Islands, portions of North Borneo, and the Scarborough Shoal.
Philippines and the Spratly Islands – this article discusses the policies, activities and history of the Republic of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands from the Philippine perspective. Non-Philippine viewpoints regarding Philippine occupation of several islands are currently not included in this article.
Northeast Cay, also known as Parola Island, with a land area of 12.7 hectares, is the fifth largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands and the third largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is part of the North Danger Reef and is located to the northwest of Dangerous Ground.
Nanshan Island, also known as Lawak Island, is the eighth largest natural island of the Spratly Islands, and the fourth largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It has an area of 7.93 hectares. It is located 98 miles (158 km) east of Thitu Island (Pag-asa).
The Free Territory of Freedomland was a micronation that covered the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea from 1956 to 1974. It was established by Tomás Cloma.
The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute among Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" located in the South China Sea. The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of military pressure techniques in the advancement of national territorial claims. All except Brunei occupy some of the maritime features.
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the South China Sea made by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Vietnam. The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, and other features of the region, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and various boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin. The waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands, which some regard as geographically part of the South China Sea, are disputed as well.
Reed Tablemount is a large tablemount or guyot in the South China Sea north-east of Dangerous Ground and north-east of the Spratly Islands. It covers an area of 8,866 square kilometres (3,423 sq mi), but with depths between only 9 and 45 metres. The submerged but hydrocarbon-rich area includes Nares Bank and Marie Louise Bank.
Irving Reef, also known as Balagtas Reef, is a coral atoll in the Spratly Islands, South China Sea. It is occupied by the Philippines as part of Kalayaan, Palawan, and is also claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Vietnam.
Antonio Bautista Air Base is a military airbase of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), located in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. The base shares the single 2,600 metres long runway with Puerto Princesa International Airport. The PAF base was named as an honour to Colonel Antonio Bautista, who was killed in action on 11 January 1974 as a F-86 Sabre pilot while engaged in a close air support (CAS) mission against Muslim rebels.
The article covers events relevant to the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Even before the common era, maritime trading networks had already been established in the high seas of the region. Prior to World War II, China, France, and Japan disputed over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. After the war, Brunei, Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam became involved in the conflict.
Philippines 