The Paracel Islands,also known as the Xisha Islands and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago,are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea currently under de facto administration by the People's Republic of China.
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).
Macclesfield Bank is an elongated sunken atoll of underwater reefs and shoals in the South China Sea. It lies east of the Paracel Islands,southwest of Pratas Island and north of the Spratly Islands. It is about 130 km (81 mi) long from southwest to northeast,and about 70 km (43 mi) wide at its broadest part. With an ocean area of 6,448 km2 (2,490 sq mi) it is one of the largest atolls in the world. The Macclesfield Bank is part of what China calls the Zhongsha Islands,which includes a number of geographically separate submarine features,and also refers to a county-level administrative division.
The Zhongsha Islands is a Chinese term for a collection of two skerries,many entirely submerged banks,seamounts,and shoals in the South China Sea. There are no islands in the Macclesfield Bank,the main part of Zhongsha. The Scarborough Shoal,which consists of two skerries,is not contiguous with the Macclesfield Bank but Chinese sources treat them as one chain of geographical features. The whole of the region is claimed by both the PRC and the ROC,and various bits of the eastern parts are claimed by the Philippines. No country has constant control of the whole region,and there are disputes - for example,see the Scarborough Shoal standoff.
The Kerama Islands are a subtropical island group 32 kilometres (20 mi) southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan.
Woody Island,also called Yongxing Island by China and Taiwan and PhúLâm Island by Vietnam,is the largest of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea (SCS),with an area of 2.1 square kilometres (0.81 sq mi). As of 2014,it has a population of almost 1,500,with roads,banks and an air strip.
Scarborough Shoal,also known as Panacot,Bajo de Masinloc,Huangyan Island, Minzhu Jiao,and Panatag Shoal,are two skerries located between Macclesfield Bank to the west and Luzon to the east. Luzon is 220 kilometres (119 nmi) away and the nearest landmass. The atoll is a disputed territory claimed by the Republic of the Philippines through the Treaty of Washington in 1900 via the 1734 Velarde map,as well as the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The atoll's status is often discussed in conjunction with other territorial disputes in the South China Sea,such as those involving the Spratly Islands,and the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. In 2013,the Philippines initiated arbitration against China under UNCLOS. In 2016,the tribunal ruled that China's historic title within the nine-dash line was invalid but did not rule on sovereignty.
James Shoal is a shoal (bank) in the South China Sea,with a depth of 22 metres (72 ft) below the surface of the sea,located about 45 nautical miles off the Borneo coast of Malaysia. It is claimed by Malaysia,the People's Republic of China,and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The reef and its surrounds are administered by Malaysia.
Sansha City is a prefecture-level city under the Hainan province of the People's Republic of China (PRC),and is the southernmost and least populated prefecture in China by far,with the smallest land area but the largest maritime territory. The city's seat is located on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea,and administers several island groups,atolls,seamounts and a number of other ungrouped maritime features within the nine-dash line,although the PRC's de facto control over the area varies. The name "Sansha",literally meaning "three sands",refers to the three archipelago districts of Xisha,Zhongsha and Nansha.
Huaguangjiao One is a Chinese merchant ship,built during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279),that sank off the coast of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The ship's name translates as "Magnificent China Reef Wreck #1". It was discovered in 1996 and is currently the oldest hull that China has discovered in the open seas.
Sansha Yongxing Airport is a civilian-military dual-use airport located on Yongxing Island,the largest of the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Yongxing/Woody Island is occupied and administered by China (PRC) as the seat of Sansha city of Hainan Province. The airport was expanded in 1990 to increase the combat range of Chinese warplanes. Further construction and reclamation of land commenced in 2012 to lengthen the airstrip. This work was completed in October 2014.
Xisha Airport may refer to:
Nansha District is the municipal district of Sansha,Hainan that governs the islands and reefs of the disputed Spratly Islands and their sea areas. The People's Government of Nansha District is located in Yongshu Reef.
Yagong Island is an island in the Crescent Group of the Paracel Islands,in the South China Sea. It is also known as "He Duck" due to its shape. It is located a few hundred metres southwest of Observation Bank in the northeast of the Crescent Group.
Robert Island,also known as Round Island and Ganquan Island is an island in the Paracel Islands,in the South China Sea.
Layang-Layang Airport is located on Swallow Reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. It is about 300 kilometres (190 mi) north of Kota Kinabalu,Sabah. The airport serves a Royal Malaysian Navy naval station and a 3-star diving resort as well as a marine research facility,MARSAL.
Terpios hoshinota is a species of sea sponge belonging to the family Suberitidae. It is found on rocky shores in the Indo-Pacific region. This sponge forms blackish sheets which overgrow and kill corals,and is the causal agent for the so-called "black disease" of corals. Since being discovered in Guam in 1973,this sponge has been spreading to other areas of the Indo-Pacific region and threatening coral reefs from the Maldives to the South China Sea and eastern Australia.
USS PCE-869 was a PCE-842-class patrol craft for the United States Navy during World War II. She was renamed ROCSYong Xing (PCE-42) and ROCS Wei Yuan (PCE-68) after being acquired by the Republic of China Navy on 28 August 1945.
West London Reef;West Reef;Mandarin Chinese:西礁;pinyin:Xījiāo,is an atoll on the western part of the London Reefs of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The Atoll has been occupied by Vietnam since 1987. It is also claimed by China (PRC),the Philippines,and Taiwan (ROC).
