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 the Indonesian islands of 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.
The Karimata Strait is a wide strait that connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea, separating the Indonesian islands of Belitung to the west and Borneo (Kalimantan) to the east. It is the widest strait between the South China Sea and the Java Sea, but its numerous islands and reefs reduce its navigability. Its weather and current is influenced by the annual southeast and northwest monsoon.
The Bangka Belitung Islands is a province of Indonesia. Situated off the southeastern coast of Sumatra, the province comprises two main land masses — Bangka and Belitung — and numerous smaller islands. Bangka Belitung is bordered by the Bangka Strait to the west, the Natuna Sea to the north, the Java Sea is to the south and the Karimata Strait to the east. The province's capital and largest city is Pangkalpinang. The province shares maritime borders with South Sumatra to the west, Riau Islands to the north, Banten, the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, West Java, and Central Java to the south, and West Kalimantan to the east. Bangka Belitung covers a land area of 16,690.54 km2 (6,444.25 sq mi) and had a population of 1,455,678 according to the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 1,494,621.
The Riau Islands is a province of Indonesia - not to be confused with neighbouring Riau Province from which the islands were separated in 2002. The capital of the province is Tanjung Pinang and the largest city is Batam. It shares a maritime border with Riau and Jambi to the east, Bangka Belitung Islands to the south, Singapore to the northeast, Malaysia and West Kalimantan to the west, and Vietnam and Cambodia to the north. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes along the Malacca Strait and the Natuna Sea, the province shares water borders with neighboring countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Riau Islands also have relatively large potential mineral resources and energy, as well as marine resources.
Natuna Regency is an islands regency located in the northernmost part of the Province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. It contains at least 154 islands, of which 127 of them are reported as uninhabited. This archipelago, with a land area of 1,978.31 km2 out of a total area of 264,198.37 km2 area, contains 15 districts, including the island district of Pulau Laut, Bunguran/Greater Natuna Island, the island district of Pulau Tiga, the island district of Midai, the island district of Subi, and the island district of Serasan.
Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in Indonesia, it had a population of 1,146,581 at the 2020 census. It is the location of the provincial capital of Pangkal Pinang, and is administratively divided into four regencies and a city. The island itself and the surrounding sea suffers considerable environmental damage from its thriving tin mining industry which operates on- and offshore.
Belitung is an island on the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia in the Java Sea. It covers 4,800.6 km2 (1,853.5 sq mi), and had a population of 309,097 at the 2020 Census. Administratively, it forms two regencies within the province of Bangka-Belitung Islands. The island is known for its pepper and for its tin. It was in the possession of the United Kingdom from 1812 until Britain ceded control of the island to the Netherlands in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. Its main town is Tanjung Pandan. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared 17 tourist attractions in the Belitung Geopark as world geoparks.
Anambas Islands Regency is a small archipelago of Indonesia, located 150 nautical miles northeast of Batam Island in the North Natuna Sea between the Malaysian mainland to the west and the island of Borneo to the east. Geographically part of the Tudjuh Archipelago, it is administratively a regency within the Riau Islands Province. It covers a land area of 590.14 square kilometres (227.85 sq mi) and had a population of 37,411 at the 2010 Census and 47,402 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as at mid 2022 was 50,296. The administrative centre is at Tarempa on Siantan Island.
The Lingga Regency is a group of islands in Indonesia, located south of Singapore, along both sides of the equator, off the eastern coast of Riau Province on Sumatra island. They are south of the populated Riau Archipelago, known for the industrial island of Batam and the tourist-frequented island of Bintan, although the Lingga Islands themselves are rarely visited due to the infrequent local transportation. The equator goes through the northern tip of Lingga Island, the main island in the archipelago.
Gonyosoma oxycephalum, known commonly as the arboreal ratsnake, the red-tailed green rat snake, and the red-tailed racer, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.
Bintan Regency is an administrative area in the Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Bintan Regency includes all of Bintan Island and also includes many outlying islands including the Tambelan Archipelago and Badas Islands situated between Bintan and West Kalimantan.
Tambelan archipelago is a group of 68 islands off the west coast of West Kalimantan, (Borneo), Indonesia, just north of the equator. The archipelago is located on the north opening of Karimata Strait which separates Borneo and Belitung island. Geographically it is part of the Tudjuh Archipelago, and administratively forms a district (kecamatan) of Bintan Regency within the Riau Islands Province. It covers a land area of 90.4 km2 and had a population of 4,975 at the 2010 Census. Major islands include Big Tambelan, Mendarik, Uwi, Benua, and Pejantan. The islands are divided into eight administrative villages (kelurahan) - Batu Lepuk, Kampung Hilir, Kampung Melayu, Kukup, Pengikik, Pulau Mentebung, Pulau Pinang and Teluk Sekuni. As a historical side note; It was the first Dutch territory captured by the Japanese in World War 2.
Badas Islands is a group of islands in the Tudjuh Archipelago in the South China Sea between the Malaysian mainland to the west and the island of Borneo to the east. Administratively it is part of Bintan Regency within the Riau Islands province of Indonesia under island district/kecamatan of Tambelan.
The Tudjuh Archipelago is a large group of islands in north-western Indonesia, off the west and north-west coast of the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. Administratively the islands belong to the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. The Tudjuh Archipelago consists of four island groups, the Badas Islands, the Tambelan Islands, the Natuna Islands, and the Anambas Islands. The south-westernmost extent of the archipelago is 1°4′S105°10′E.
Jemaja Island is the most westerly of the main islands in the Anambas Islands Regency, part of the province of Riau Islands within Indonesia. The island is administered as three districts of the regency.
The North Natuna Sea is a shallow body of water located north of Natuna Regency. Named by the Indonesian government in July 2017, Indonesia changed the northern part of its Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea to the North Natuna Sea, bordering the southern part of Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone. The North Natuna Sea lies between the Natuna Islands and the Natuna Sea and Cape Cà Mau south of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.
