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{{Short description|Disputed archipelago in the South China Sea}}
{{Infobox Disputed Islands
{{Distinguish|Spratly Island}}
| plural = yes
{{Redirect|Spratly|the surname|Spratly (surname)}}
| name = Spratly Islands
{{pp|small=yes}}
| image name = Spratly_Islands-CIA_WFB_Map.png
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
| image caption = Spratly Islands
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
| image size = 250px
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=April 2023}}
| locator map =
{{Location map+|South China Sea|float=right|width=250|alt=Spratly Islands|caption=Location of the Spratly Islands|places=
| map_custom =
{{Location map~|South China Sea|lat=10|long=114|position=left|label=<div style="position: relative; top: 0.4em;">'''Spratly Islands'''</div>}}
| native name =
| native name link =
| other_names =
| location = [[West Philippine Sea]] ([[South China Sea]])
| coordinates = {{coord|10|22|N|114|22|E|display=inline,title}} <br />(Itu Aba Island)
| archipelago =
| total islands = over 750
| major islands = [[Itu Aba Island]]<br/>[[Namyit Island]]<br/>[[Northeast Cay]]<br/>[[Sin Cowe Island]]<br/>[[Southwest Cay]]<br/>[[Spratly Island (proper)|Spratly Island]]<br/>[[Swallow Reef]]<br/>[[Thitu Island]]<br/>[[West York Island]]
| area = less than {{convert|5|km2|mi2}}
| length =
| width =
| coastline ={{convert|926|km|mi}}
| highest mount = on [[Southwest Cay]]
| elevation = {{convert|4|m|ft}}
| country claim = Brunei
| country claim divisions title = [[Exclusive Economic Zone|EEZ]]
| country claim divisions = Brunei zone
| country 2 claim = Malaysia
| country 2 claim divisions title = [[States of Malaysia|State]]
| country 2 claim divisions = [[Sabah]]
| country 3 claim = [[Philippines]] ([[Manila]])
| country 3 claim divisions title = [[Municipalities of the Philippines|Municipality]]
| country 3 claim divisions = [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan]]
| country 4 claim = People's Republic of China
| country 4 claim divisions title = [[County (People's Republic of China)|County]]
| country 4 claim divisions = [[Administration Office for Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands]]
| country 5 claim = Republic of China (Taiwan)
| country 5 claim divisions title = [[Direct-controlled municipality|Municipality]]
| country 5 claim divisions = [[Kaohsiung]]
| country 6 claim = Vietnam
| country 6 claim divisions title = [[Provinces of Vietnam|Province]]
| country 6 claim divisions = [[Khanh Hoa Province|Khanh Hoa]]
| country = none
| country admin divisions title =
| country admin divisions =
| population = no indigenous population
| population as of =
| density =
| ethnic groups = various
| additional info =
}}
{{Chinese
|qn=Quần Đảo Trường Sa
|hantu=群島長沙
|p=Nánshā Qúndǎo
|j=nam4 saa1 kwun4 dou2
|t=南沙群島
|s=南沙群岛
|tgl=Kapuluan ng Kalayaan
|msa=Kepulauan Spratly
}}
}}
{{Spratly Islands}}


The '''Spratly Islands''' ({{langx|fil|Kapuluan ng Kalayaan}};<ref>{{cite news |last=Anda |first=Redempto |date=17 July 2012 |title=Government told of China buildup 2 months ago |newspaper=Philippine Inquirer |url=http://globalnation.inquirer.net/44553 |access-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102073530/http://globalnation.inquirer.net/44553 |archive-date=2 November 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] {{lang-zh|c=南沙群島/南沙群岛|s=|t=|p=Nánshā Qúndǎo}}; {{langx|ms|Kepulauan Spratly}}; {{langx|vi|Quần đảo Trường Sa}}) are a [[Spratly Islands dispute|disputed]] [[archipelago]] in the [[South China Sea]]. Composed of islands, [[islet]]s, [[cay]]s,<ref name="Madrolle 1939">{{cite journal |last=[[Claudius Madrolle]] |date=1939 |title=La question de Hai-nan et des Paracels |trans-title=The question of Hai-nan and Paracel |url=http://www.persee.fr/doc/polit_0032-342x_1939_num_4_3_5631 |language=fr |journal=Politique étrangère |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=302–312 |doi=10.3406/polit.1939.5631 |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180605020349/https://www.persee.fr/doc/polit_0032-342x_1939_num_4_3_5631 |archive-date=5 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and more than 100 [[reef]]s, sometimes grouped in submerged old [[atoll]]s,<ref name="ECO" /> 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 {{Convert|200|ha|acre|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} of naturally occurring land area that is spread over hundreds of square km of the South China Sea.
The '''Spratly Islands''' are a group of more than 750 [[reefs]],<ref name="ECO" /> [[islets]], [[atolls]], [[cays]] and [[islands]] in the [[West Philippine Sea]] ([[South China Sea]]). The [[archipelago]] lies off the coasts of the [[Philippines]] and [[Malaysia]] ([[Sabah]]), about one third of the way from there to southern [[Vietnam]]. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land area spread over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea. The Spratlys are one of three archipelagos of the South China Sea which comprise more than 30,000 islands and reefs and which complicate governance and economics in that region of Southeast Asia. Such small and remote islands have little economic value in themselves, but are important in establishing international boundaries. There are no native islanders but there are rich fishing grounds and initial surveys indicate the islands may contain significant reserves of oil and natural gas.


The Spratly Islands are one of the major archipelagos in the South China Sea which complicate governance and economics in this part of [[Southeast Asia]] due to their location in strategic shipping lanes. The islands are largely uninhabited, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves, and as such are important to the claimants in their attempts to establish international boundaries. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, [[China|China (PRC)]], [[Taiwan|Taiwan (ROC)]], the Philippines, and Vietnam. Additionally, [[Brunei]] has claimed an [[exclusive economic zone]] in the southeastern part of the Spratly Islands, which includes the uninhabited [[Louisa Reef]].
About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from [[Vietnam]], the [[People's Republic of China]], the [[Republic of China|Republic of China (Taiwan)]], [[Malaysia]] and the [[Philippines]]. [[Brunei]] has also claimed an [[Exclusive Economic Zone|EEZ]] in the southeastern part of the Spratlys encompassing just one area of small islands above mean high water (on Louisa Reef.)


==Geographic and economic overview==
==Geographic and economic overview==
[[Image:SpratISS006-E-21713.PNG|thumb|right|[[NASA]] picture of a [[cay]] in the Spratly group.]]
{{Further|List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands}}
{{Infobox islands
*Coordinates: {{coord|8|38|N|111|55|E|type:isle|name=Spratly Island}}
| disputed = yes
*Area ''(land)'': less than 5&nbsp;km²
| name = Spratly Islands
**''note'': includes 148 or so islets, [[coral reef]]s, and [[seamount]]s scattered over an area of nearly 410,000&nbsp;km² of the central South China Sea
| plural = yes
*Coastline: 926&nbsp;km
| image_name = Spratly_Islands-CIA_WFB_Map.png
*Political divisions:
| image_size = 250px
** Vietnam: Part of [[Khánh Hòa Province]];
| image_caption = The Spratly Islands
** Brunei: Claims [[Louisa Reef]] itself, as well as an [[Exclusive Economic Zone]] ([[EEZ]]) around that and neighboring reefs;<ref name="Brunei">[http://web.archive.org/web/20080228205656/http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html Borneo Post: When All Else Fails] (archived from [http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html the original] on 2008-02-28) Additionally, pages 48 and 51 of "The Brunei-Malaysia Dispute over Territorial and Maritime Claims in International Law" by R. Haller-Trost, Clive Schofield, and Martin Pratt, published by the [http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ International Boundaries Research Unit], University of Durham, UK, points out that this is, in fact, a "territorial dispute" between Brunei and other claimants over the ownership of one above-water feature (Louisa Reef)</ref>
| location = [[South China Sea]]
** Malaysia: Part of the state of [[Sabah]];
| coordinates = {{Coord|10|N|114|E|region:XP_scale:2500000|display=inline,title}}
** Philippines: Part of [[Palawan]] province;
| total_islands = 18 islands and [[cay]]s
** People's Republic of China: Part of the [[Hainan Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority|Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority]], [[Hainan]] province;
| major_islands = {{Plainlist|
** Republic of China: Part of [[Kaohsiung]] municipality
* [[Itu Aba Island]]
*Climate: tropical
* [[Thitu Island]]
*Terrain: flat
* [[West York Island]]
*Elevation extremes:
* [[Spratly Island]]
**lowest point: South China Sea (0 m)
* [[Northeast Cay]]
**highest point: unnamed location on [[Southwest Cay]] (4 m)
* [[Southwest Cay]]
*Natural hazards: serious maritime hazards because of numerous banks, reefs and shoals
* [[Sin Cowe Island]]<ref>See [[List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands]] for information about individual islands.</ref>
}}
| area_ha = 200
| coastline_km = 926
| elevation_m = 4
| highest_mount = [[Southwest Cay]]
| country1 = Brunei
| country1_admin_divisions_title = [[Exclusive economic zone|EEZ]]
| country1_admin_divisions = Brunei zone
| country3 = People's Republic of China
| country3_admin_divisions_title = [[Prefecture-level city]]
| country3_admin_divisions = [[Sansha]], [[Hainan]]<ref>[http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/mzyw/201206/20120600325063.shtml 民政部关于国务院批准设立地级三沙市的公告-中华人民共和国民政部] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625055300/http://www.mca.gov.cn/article/zwgk/mzyw/201206/20120600325063.shtml |date=25 June 2012}}, Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC</ref>
| country4 = Malaysia
| country4_admin_divisions_title = [[States and federal territories of Malaysia|State]]
| country4_admin_divisions = [[Sabah]]
| country5 = Philippines
| country5_admin_divisions_title = [[Municipalities of the Philippines|Municipality]]
| country5_admin_divisions = [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan]], [[Palawan]]
| country6 = Taiwan
| country6_admin_divisions_title = [[Special municipality (Republic of China)|Municipality]]
| country6_admin_divisions = [[Kaohsiung]]
| country7 = Vietnam
| country7_admin_divisions_title = [[List of districts of Vietnam|District]]
| country7_admin_divisions = [[Trường Sa District|Trường Sa]], [[Khánh Hòa Province|Khánh Hòa]]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|vie = Quần đảo Trường Sa
|hn = 群島長沙
|p = Nánshā Qúndǎo
|j = nam4 saa1 kwun4 dou2
|y = Nàhmsaa Kwùhndóu
|t = 南沙群島
|s = 南沙群岛
|poj = Lâm-soa Kûn-tó
|hain = Nâm-so Kún-tō
|tgl = Kapuluan ng Kalayaan
|msa = {{unbulleted list
|Kepulauan Spratly
|Gugusan Semarang Peninjau<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil.my/pusmastldm/index.php/penubuhan-unit/markas-wilayah-laut-2/pasukan-gugusan-semarang-peninjau |title=PASUKAN GUGUSAN SEMARANG PENINJAU |access-date=2013-06-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626114904/http://www.navy.mil.my/pusmastldm/index.php/penubuhan-unit/markas-wilayah-laut-2/pasukan-gugusan-semarang-peninjau |archive-date=26 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=22 November 2011 |title=Slow progress on capability growth |publisher=Defence Review Asia.com |url=http://www.defencereviewasia.com/articles/140/Slow-progress-on-capability-growth |access-date=4 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219103640/http://www.defencereviewasia.com/articles/140/Slow-progress-on-capability-growth |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nav.mil.my/index.php/component/k2/item/2479-warga-gugusan-semarang-peninjau-tldm-diraikan-di-pulau-layang-layang |title=LAWATAN OPERASI KAPAL TENTERA DARAT AMERIKA SYARIKAT, CW3 HAROLD C CLINGER KE PULAU PINANG}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>}}
}}
[[File:Spratly Islands in the South China Sea Department of State map 2016587286 (2015).jpg|thumb|250px|The Spratly Islands]]
[[File:Mapspratly.jpg|thumb|A geographic map of Spratly Islands{{efn|Black type is used for islands, and for those reefs and shoals that have portions above water at high tide. Blue type is used for submerged features. '''Erratum''': [[Hughes Reef]] is wrongly labelled '''Chigua Reef''', a name of [[Johnson South Reef]] in Chinese, part of the same [[Union Banks]] sunken atoll.}}]]


In 1939, the Spratly Islands were coral islets mostly inhabited by seabirds.<ref name="Madrolle 1939" /> Despite the Spratly Islands naturally consisting of 19 islands ''(see below)'', according to a Chinese 1986 source, the Spratly Islands consist of 14 islands or islets, 6 banks, 113 submerged reefs, 35 underwater banks and 21 underwater shoals.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Impact of Artificial Islands on Territorial Disputes Over The Spratly Islands, by Zou Keyuan |url=http://nghiencuubiendong.vn/en/conferences-and-seminars-/second-international-workshop/597-the-impact-of-artificial-islands-on-territorial-disputes-over-the-sparatly-islands-by-zou-keyuan |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410112848/http://nghiencuubiendong.vn/en/conferences-and-seminars-/second-international-workshop/597-the-impact-of-artificial-islands-on-territorial-disputes-over-the-sparatly-islands-by-zou-keyuan |archive-date=10 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
The islands are most likely volcanic in origin.<ref name="volcanic">MARA C. HURWITT, [http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=A272828&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf U.S. STRATEGY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: THE SPRATLY ISLANDS DISPUTE] (Masters Thesis), Defense Technical Information center.</ref> The islands themselves contain almost no significant [[arable land]] and have no indigenous inhabitants, although twenty of the islands, including Itu Aba, the largest, are considered to be able to sustain human life. Natural resources include [[fish]], [[guano]], undetermined [[Petroleum|oil]] and [[natural gas]] potential. [[Economics|Economic]] activity includes commercial [[fishing]], [[shipping]], and [[tourism]]. The proximity to nearby [[Petroleum|oil]]- and [[gas]]-producing [[sediment]]ary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation of [[hydrocarbons]] has yet to be developed. The Spratly Islands have at least three fishing ports, several docks and harbors, at least three heliports, at least four territorial rigging style outposts (especially due west of [[Namyit]]),<ref>[http://www.panoramio.com/photo/14072167 A Chinese Outpost].</ref> and six to eight [[airstrip]]s. These islands are strategically located near several primary shipping lanes.


The northeast part of the Spratly Islands is known as [[Dangerous Ground (South China Sea)|Dangerous Ground]] and is characterised by many low islands, sunken reefs, and degraded, sunken atolls with [[coral]] often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than {{convert|1000|m|ft|sigfig=1}} – all of which makes the area dangerous for navigation.
==Ecology==
===Coral reefs===
[[Coral reefs]] are the predominant structure of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.<ref name="ECO">[http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/im/im0148_full.html World Wild Life: Terrestrial Ecoregions – South China Sea Islands], World Lildlife Fund.</ref>


The islands are all of similar nature; they are [[cay]]s (or keys): sand islands formed on old degraded and submerged coral reefs.
===Vegetation===
Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense [[monsoons]].<ref name="ECO" /> Larger islands are capable of supporting [[tropical forest]], [[scrub forest]], [[coastal scrub]] and grasses.<ref name="ECO" /> It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans.<ref name="ECO" /> [[Itu Aba]] Island was reportedly covered with [[shrubs]], [[coconut]], and [[mangroves]] in 1938; [[pineapple]] was also cultivated here when it was profitable.<ref name="ECO" /> Other accounts mention [[papaya]], [[banana]], [[Palm tree|palm]], and even [[white peach trees]] growing on one island.<ref name="ECO" /> A few islands which have been developed as small tourist resorts have had soil and trees brought in and planted where there were none.<ref name="ECO" />


The Spratly Islands contain almost no [[arable land]], are largely uninhabited, and very few of the islands have a permanent drinkable water supply.<ref name="BBC 2011-06-13" /><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/china-has-much-to-gain-from-the-south-china-sea-ruling/ |title=China Has Much to Gain From the South China Sea Ruling |author=Mark E. Rosen |work=The Diplomat |date=18 July 2016 |access-date=2017-04-27 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428051012/https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/china-has-much-to-gain-from-the-south-china-sea-ruling/ |archive-date=28 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Wildlife===
The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles.<ref name="ECO" />


Natural resources include fish, [[guano]], [[Petroleum|oil]] and natural gas.<ref>Note, however, that a 2013 US EIA report questions the economic viability of many of the potential reserves.</ref> Economic activity has included [[commercial fishing]], shipping, guano mining, oil and gas exploitation, and more recently, tourism. The Spratly Islands are located near several primary shipping lanes.
Both the [[Green Turtle]] ([[Chelonia mydas]], [[endangered]]) and the [[Hawksbill Turtle]] ([[Eretmochelys imbricata]], [[critically endangered]]) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation.<ref name="ECO" /> These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as [[Pratas]]) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.<ref name="ECO" />


The islands and cays, listed in descending order of naturally occurring area, are:
Seabirds use the islands for resting, breeding, and [[wintering]] sites.<ref name="ECO" /> Species found here include [[Streaked Shearwater]] ([[Calonectris Leucomelas]]), [[Brown Booby]] ([[Sula Leucogaster]]), [[Red-Footed Booby]] ([[S. sula]]), [[Great Crested Tern]] ([[Sterna bergii]]), and [[White Tern]] ([[Gygis Alba]]).<ref name="ECO" /> Little information is available regarding current status of the islands’ seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting site to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of [[Song Tu]], a small island in the [[eastern Danger Zone]].<ref name="ECO" />


{| class="wikitable sortable"
Unfortunately, this [[ecoregion]] is still largely a mystery.<ref name="ECO" /> Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.<ref name="ECO" />
! # || Island name ||in Atoll|| Area<br/>(ha.) || Location || Currently occupied by || Reclaimed<br />area
|- <!-- Leading zeros and degrees & minutes only are both required to make sorting work -->
| 1 || [[Itu Aba Island]] ||[[Tizard Bank]] || 46.00 || {{coord|10|23|N|114|21|E}} || Taiwan (Taiping Island) || ~6&nbsp;ha
|-
| 2 || [[Thitu Island]] ||Thitu Reefs || 37.20 || {{coord|11|03|N|114|17|E}} || Philippines (Pagasa Island) ||
|-
| 3 || [[West York Island]] ||West York Island || 18.60 || {{coord|11|05|N|115|01|E}} || Philippines (Likas Island) ||
|-
| 4 || [[Spratly Island]] ||Spratly Island || 13.00 || {{coord|08|38|N|111|55|E}} || Vietnam (Trường Sa Island) ||
|-
| 5 || [[Northeast Cay]] ||North Danger Reef || 12.70 || {{coord|11|28|N|114|21|E}} || Philippines (Parola Island) ||
|-
| 6 || [[Southwest Cay]] ||North Danger Reef || 12.00 || {{coord|11|26|N|114|20|E}} || Vietnam (Song Tử Tây Island) || ~8&nbsp;ha
|-
| 7 || [[Sin Cowe Island]] ||Union Banks || 08.00 || {{coord|09|52|N|114|19|E}} || Vietnam (Sinh Tồn Island) || ~1&nbsp;ha
|-
| 8 || [[Nanshan Island]] ||Nanshan Group || 07.93 || {{coord|10|45|N|115|49|E}} || Philippines (Lawak Island) ||
|-
| 9 || [[Sand Cay]] ||Tizard Bank || 07.00 || {{coord|10|23|N|114|28|E}} || Vietnam (Sơn Ca Island) || ~2.1&nbsp;ha<ref name="CSIS">{{cite web |url=http://amti.csis.org/vietnam-island-building/ |title=Sandcastles of their own: Vietnamese Expansion in the Spratly Islands |access-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103053/http://amti.csis.org/vietnam-island-building/ |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 10 || [[Loaita Island]] ||Loaita Bank || 06.45 || {{coord|10|40|N|114|25|E}} || Philippines (Kota Island) ||
|-
| 11 || [[Swallow Reef]] ||Swallow Reef || 06.20 || {{coord|07|22|N|113|50|E}} || Malaysia (Layang-Layang Reef) ||
|-
| 12 || [[Namyit Island]] ||Tizard Bank || 05.30 || {{coord|10|11|N|114|22|E}} || Vietnam (Nam Yết Island) ||
|-
| 13 || [[Amboyna Cay]] ||Amboyna Cay || 01.60 || {{coord|07|51|N|112|55|E}} || Vietnam (An Bang Island) ||
|-
| 14 || [[Grierson Reef]] ||Union Banks || 01.60 || {{coord|09|51|N|114|29|E}} || Vietnam (Sinh Tồn Đông Island) ||
|-
| 15 || West London Reef ||[[London Reefs]] || 01.10 || {{coord|08|52|N|112|15|E}} || Vietnam (Đá Tây A Island) ||
|-
| 16 || Central London Reef ||[[London Reefs]] || 00.88 || {{coord|08|56|N|112|21|E}} || Vietnam (Trường Sa Đông Island) ||
|-
| 17 || [[Flat Island (Spratly)|Flat Island]]
| Nanshan Group || 00.57 || {{coord|10|49|N|115|49|E}} || Philippines (Patag Island) ||
|-
| 18 || [[Lankiam Cay]] ||Loaita Bank || 00.44 || {{coord|10|43|N|114|32|E}} || Philippines (Panata Island) ||
|}


The total area of the archipelago's naturally occurring islands is {{Convert|177|ha|acre|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|200|ha|acre|abbr=on}} with reclaimed land.
===Ecological hazards===
Political instability, tourism and the increasing industrialization of neighboring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, [[over-exploitation]] of natural resources, and [[environmental pollution]].<ref name="ECO" /> Disruption of nesting areas by human activity or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands.<ref name="ECO" /> Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale.<ref name="ECO" /> The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese customs and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.<ref name="ECO" />


Due to confusion, the Spratly Islands at times were also referred to as the [[Paracel Islands|Paracels]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of the Kingdom of Colonia St John |url=http://www.colonia.asia/history%20-%20the%20history%20of%20the%20kingdom%20of%20colonia%20st%20john.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724135604/http://www.colonia.asia/history%20-%20the%20history%20of%20the%20kingdom%20of%20colonia%20st%20john.htm |archive-date=24 July 2012 |website=Kingdom of Colonia St John Information Services}}</ref>
Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Though it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of [[bottom trawls]] fitted with [[chain rollers]].<ref name="ECO" /> In addition, during a recent routine patrol, more than 200&nbsp;kg of [[Potassium cyanide]] solution was confiscated from fishermen who had been using it for fish poisoning. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.<ref name="ECO" />


== Geology ==
Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems.<ref name="ECO" /> [[J.W. McManus]] has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a [[marine park]].<ref name="ECO" /> One region of the Spratly Archipelago, called [[Truong Sa (Spratley Islands)|Truong Sa]], was proposed by Vietnam’s Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment ([[MOSTE]]) as a future protected area.<ref name="ECO" /> The 160 sq. km site is currently managed by the [[Khanh Hoa]] Provincial People’s Committee of Vietnam.<ref name="ECO" />
The Spratly Islands consist of islands, reefs, banks and shoals made up of biogenic [[Carbonate rock|carbonate]]. These accumulations of biogenic carbonate lie upon the higher crests of major submarine ridges that are uplifted [[fault block]]s known by geologists as [[Horst (geology)|horsts]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XrICEAAAQBAJ|title=Marine Geology and Geotechnology of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait|last=Chaney|first=Ronald C.publisher=CRC Press|year=2020|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XrICEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 20]|publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-000-22217-3}}</ref> These horsts are part of a series of half-grabens and rotated fault-blocks which lie parallel and en echelon. The long axes of the horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-[[grabens]] form well-defined linear trends that lie parallel to [[Magnetic anomaly|magnetic anomalies]] exhibited by the [[oceanic crust]] of the adjacent South China Sea. The horsts, rotated fault blocks, and the rock forming the bottoms of associated grabens consist of stretched and subsided [[continental crust]] that is composed of [[Triassic]], [[Jurassic]], and [[Cretaceous]] [[strata]] that include [[Calc-alkaline magma series|calc-alkalic]] [[extrusive]] [[igneous]] rocks, intermediate to acid [[Intrusion|intrusive]] igneous rocks, [[sandstone]]s, [[siltstone]]s, dark-green [[claystone]]s, and [[metamorphic rocks]] that include [[biotite]]–[[muscovite]]–[[feldspar]]–[[quartz]] [[migmatites]] and [[garnet]]–[[mica]] [[schists]].<ref name="Hutchison2010a">Hutchison, C. S., and V. R. Vijayan, 2010, ''What are the Spratly Islands?'' Journal of Asian Earth Science. vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 371–385.</ref><ref name="Wei2011a">Wei-Weil, D., and L, Jia-Biao, 2011, ''Seismic Stratigraphy, Tectonic Structure and Extension Factors Across the Dangerous Grounds: Evidence from Two Regional Multi-Channel Seismic Profiles.'' Chinese Journal of Geophysics. vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 921–941.</ref><ref name="Zhen2013a">Zhen, S., Z. Zhong-Xian, L. Jia-Biao, Z. Di, and W. Zhang-Wen, 2013, ''Tectonic Analysis of the Breakup and Collision Unconformities in the Nansha Block.'' Chinese Journal of Geophysics. vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 1069–1083.</ref>


The dismemberment and subsidence of continental crust into horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens that underlie the Spratly Islands and surrounding sea bottom occurred in two distinct periods. They occurred as the result of the tectonic stretching of continental crust along underlying deeply rooted detachment faults. During the Late Cretaceous and Early [[Oligocene]], the earliest period of tectonic stretching of continental crust and formation of horsts, half-grabens, and rotated fault-blocks occurred in association with the rifting and later sea-floor spreading that created the South China Sea. During the Late Oligocene-Early [[Miocene]] additional stretching and block faulting of continental crust occurred within the Spratly Islands and adjacent Dangerous Ground. During and after this period of tectonic activity, corals and other marine life colonised the crests of the horsts and other ridges that lay in shallow water. The remains of these organisms accumulated over time as biogenic carbonates that comprise the current day reefs, shoals and cays of the Spratly Islands. Starting with their formation in Late Cretaceous, fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments accumulated within the numerous submarine half-grabens that underlie sea bottom within the Dangerous Ground region.<ref name="Hutchison2010a" /><ref name="Wei2011a" /><ref name="Zhen2013a" />
Military groups in the Spratlys have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests, and fishing with explosives.<ref name="ECO" />

The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands.<ref name="ECO" />
The geological surveys show localised areas within the Spratly Islands region are favourable for the accumulation of economic oil and gas reserves.<ref name="Owen2012a">Owen, N. A. and C. H. Schofield, 2012, ''Disputed South China Sea hydrocarbons in perspective.'' Marine Policy. vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 809–822.</ref><ref name="BBC 2011-06-13">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349?piano-modal|title=Why is the South China Sea contentious?|date=July 12, 2016|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Q&A: South China Sea dispute |publisher=BBC News |date=13 June 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349 |access-date=30 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017162612/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13748349 |archive-date=17 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> They include thick sequences of [[Cenozoic]] sediments east of the Spratly Islands. Southeast and west of them, there also exist thick accumulations of sediments that possibly might contain economic oil and gas reserves, which lie closer to the Spratly Islands.<ref name="Owen2012a" /><ref name="Blanche1997a">Blanche, J. B. and J. D. Blanche, 1997, ''An Overview of the Hydrocarbon Potential of the Spratly Islands Archipelago and its Implications for Regional Development.'' in A. J. Fraser, S. J. Matthews, and R. W. Murphy, eds., pp. 293–310, Petroleum Geology of South East Asia. Special Publication no. 126, The Geological Society, Bath, England 436 pp.</ref>
Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.<ref name="ECO" />

== Ecology ==
In some cays in the Spratly Islands, the sand and pebble sediments form the beaches and spits around the island. Under the influence of the dominant wind direction, which changes seasonally, these sediments move around the island to change the shape and size of the island. For example, Spratly Island is larger during the northeast monsoon (about {{convert|700|×|300|m|ft}}), and smaller during the southwest monsoon (approximately {{convert|650|×|320|m|ft}}).<ref>{{cite web |author=Tran Duc Thanh |date=May 1994 |title=Động lực bồi tụ, xói lở bờ và sự thay đổi hình dạng đảo san hô Trường Sa |trans-title=Deposition and erosion dynamics and shape change of the Spratly coral island |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258736867 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

Some islands may contain fresh groundwater fed by rain. Groundwater levels fluctuate during the day with the rhythm of the tides.<ref>{{cite web |author=Tran Duc Thanh |date=May 1994 |title=Kết quả khảo sát bước đầu nước ngầm đảo san hô Trường Sa |trans-title=Results of preliminary survey for groundwater in Spratly coral Island |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258736839 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

Phosphates from bird faeces ([[guano]]) are mainly concentrated in the beach rocks by the way of exchange-[[endosmosis]]. The principal minerals bearing phosphate are podolite, lewistonite and dehonite.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258627956 |title=Một số đặc điểm địa chất đảo san hô Trường Sa – Some geological features of Spratly coral Island |date=21 May 2014 |access-date=28 July 2014}}</ref>

=== Coral reefs ===
[[Coral reefs]] are the predominant structures of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.<ref name="ECO">{{WWF ecoregion|id=im0148|name=South China Sea Islands}}</ref> In April 2015 ''The New York Times'' reported that China were using "scores of dredgers" to convert Fiery Cross Reef and several other reefs into military facilities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/asia/china-building-airstrip-in-disputed-spratly-islands-satellite-images-show.html|title=China Building Aircraft Runway in Disputed Spratly Islands|date=17 April 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Perlez|first1=Jane|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515220758/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/world/asia/china-building-airstrip-in-disputed-spratly-islands-satellite-images-show.html|archive-date=15 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/30/world/asia/what-china-has-been-building-in-the-south-china-sea.html|title=What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea|date=30 July 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Watkins|first1=Derek|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223070750/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/30/world/asia/what-china-has-been-building-in-the-south-china-sea.html|archive-date=23 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Vegetation ===
Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense [[monsoons]]. Larger islands are capable of supporting [[tropical forest]], [[scrub forest]], [[coastal scrub]] and grasses. It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. [[Taiping Island]] (Itu Aba) was reportedly covered with [[shrubs]], [[coconut]], and [[mangroves]] in 1938; [[pineapple]] was also cultivated there when it was profitable. Other accounts mention [[papaya]], [[banana]], [[Palm tree|palm]], and even [[white peach]] trees growing on one island. A few islands that have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there was none.<ref name="ECO" />

=== Wildlife ===
A total of 2,927 marine species have been recorded in the Spratly Sea, including 776 [[benthic zone|benthic]] species, 382 species of hard coral, 524 species of marine fish, 262 species of algae and sea grass, 35 species of seabirds, and 20 species of marine mammals and sea turtles.<ref name="researchgate1">{{Cite book |author1=Trần Đức Thạnh |author2=Lê Đức An |author3=Nguyễn Hữu Cử |author4=Lan Tran Dinh |author5=Tạ Hoà Phương |author6=Nguyen Quan Van |title=Vietnamese sea and islands – position, resources and typical geological and ecological wonders |doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.3586.8403 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258698786}}</ref> Terrestrial vegetation in the islands includes 103 species of vascular plants of magnolia branches ([[Magnoliophyta]]) of 39 families and 79 genera.<ref name="researchgate1" /> The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles.<ref name="ECO" /> Both the [[green turtle]] (''Chelonia mydas'', [[endangered species|endangered]]) and the [[hawksbill turtle]] (''Eretmochelys imbricata'', [[critically endangered]]) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as [[Pratas]]) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.<ref name="ECO" />

Seabirds use the islands as resting, breeding, and [[wintering]] sites. Species found here include [[streaked shearwater]] (''Calonectris leucomelas''), [[brown booby]] (''Sula leucogaster''), [[red-footed booby]] (''S. sula''), [[great crested tern]] (''Sterna bergii''), and [[white tern]] (''Gygis alba''). Little information is available regarding the current status of the islands' seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting sites to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of [[Southwest Cay]], a small island in the eastern Danger Zone.<ref name="ECO" /> A variety of [[cetacean]]s such as [[dolphin]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyhuaren.net/2013/china_0513/10949_4.html|title=中国海南赴南沙捕捞船队遇海豚领航 – 中国新闻 – 纽约华人网|access-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205173148/http://www.nyhuaren.net/2013/china_0513/10949_4.html|archive-date=5 February 2016}}</ref> [[orca]]s, [[pilot whale]]s, and [[sperm whale]]s are also present around the islands.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hoyt E.|year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QiEK_7D0e08C&pg=PA307 |title=Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises: A World Handbook for Cetacean Habitat Conservation and Planning |page=307 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-136-53830-8 |access-date=6 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Ponnampalam S.L.|url=http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/60/60rbz221-231.pdf|title=Opportunistic observations on the distribution of cetaceans in the Malaysian South China, Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and an updated checklist of marine mammals in Malaysia|pages=221–231|journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|year=2012|volume=60|issue=1|access-date=6 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814020857/http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/60/60rbz221-231.pdf|archive-date=14 August 2016}}</ref><ref>opheliaH. 2017. [http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/7432397.html 2017、5月南沙最新航拍更新】出海偶遇鲸鱼&海警船和我们的船相伴航行全记录游记来蚂蜂窝,更多南沙群岛旅游攻略最新游记] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923194333/http://www.mafengwo.cn/i/7432397.html |date=23 September 2017}}. Retrieved on September 25, 2017</ref>

This [[ecoregion]] is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.<ref name="ECO" />

=== Ecological hazards ===
<!--{{Spratly Islands OSM}} or {{Spratly Islands MAP}} (last is poorer mapping solution as of Jun 2024 -->
{{Spratly Islands OSM}}
<!--{{Spratly Islands OSM}} or {{Spratly Islands MAP}} -->

Political instability, tourism, and the increasing industrialisation of neighbouring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, [[over-exploitation]] of natural resources, and [[environmental pollution]]. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity and/or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.<ref name="ECO" />

Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Although it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of [[bottom trawling|bottom trawlers]] fitted with chain rollers. In 1994, a routine patrol by Taiwan's marine navy confiscated more than {{cvt|200|kg|lb|sigfig=1}} of [[potassium cyanide]] solution from fishermen who had been using it for [[cyanide fishing]]. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cheng|first1=I-Jiunn|title=Sea Turtles at Dungsha Tao, South China Sea|journal=Marine Turtle Newsletter|date=July 1995|volume=70|pages=13–14|url=http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn70/mtn70p13.shtml|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221015942/http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn70/mtn70p13.shtml|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus, professor of marine biology and ecology at the [[University of Miami]]'s [[Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science School]], has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a [[marine park]]. One region of the Spratly Archipelago, named Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The site, with an area of {{convert|160|km2|0|abbr=on}}, is currently managed by the [[Khánh Hòa Province|Khánh Hòa]] Provincial People's Committee of Vietnam.<ref name="ECO" />

Military groups in the Spratly Islands have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood, and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.<ref name="ECO" />

A 2014 [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) report said: "Sand is rarer than one thinks".<ref name="UNEP201403">{{cite web |url=http://www.unep.org/pdf/UNEP_GEAS_March_2014.pdf |title=Sand, rarer than one thinks |page=41 |date=1 March 2014 |access-date=13 May 2016 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20160322024059/http%3A//www.unep.org/pdf/UNEP_GEAS_March_2014.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The average price of sand imported by Singapore was [[United States dollar|US$]]3 per [[tonne]] from 1995 to 2001, but the price increased to US$190 per tonne from 2003 to 2005.<ref name="UNEP201403" /> Although the Philippines and China had both ratified the UNCLOS III, in the case of and [[Johnson South Reef]], [[Hughes Reef]], [[Mischief Reef]], the PRC dredged sand for free in the EEZ the Philippines<ref name="philstarDiola2014" /> had claimed from 1978<ref name="PD1599">{{cite web|url=http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1599.html|title=PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1599 ESTABLISHING AN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES|date=11 June 1978|publisher=Chan Robles Law Library|access-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120517035648/http://www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1599.html|archive-date=17 May 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> arguing this is the "waters of China's Nansha Islands".

Although the consequences of substrate mining are hidden, they are tremendous.<ref name="UNEP201403" /> Aggregate particles that are too fine to be used are rejected by dredging boats, releasing vast dust plumes and changing water turbidity.<ref name="UNEP201403" />

John McManus, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the [[University of Miami]]'s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, said, "The worst thing anyone can do to a coral reef is to bury it under tons of sand and gravel&nbsp;... There are global security concerns associated with the damage. It is likely broad enough to reduce fish stocks in the world's most fish-dependent region." He explained that the reason the world has heard little about the damage inflicted by the People's Republic of China to the reefs is that the experts can't get to them and noted "I have colleagues from the Philippines, Taiwan, PRC, Vietnam and Malaysia who have worked in the Spratly area. Most would not be able to get near the [[artificial island]]s except possibly some from PRC, and those would not be able to release their findings."<ref name="Breakingdefense 2015-11-18">{{Cite web |title='Absolute Nightmare' As Chinese Destroy South China Reefs; Fish Stocks at Risk |url=http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/absolute-nightmare-as-chinese-destroy-south-china-reefs-asian-fish-stocks-at-risk/ |website=breakingdefense.com |first=Colin |last=Clark |date=18 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160515154057/http://breakingdefense.com/2015/11/absolute-nightmare-as-chinese-destroy-south-china-reefs-asian-fish-stocks-at-risk/ |archive-date=15 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
Evidence of human presence in the region extends back nearly 50,000 years at [[Tabon Caves]] on Palawan. Therefore, it is difficult to say when humans first came upon this island group. Within historical times, several groups may have passed through or occupied the islands. Between 600&nbsp;BC to 3&nbsp;BC there was an east to west migration by members of the seafaring [[Sa Huỳnh culture]]. This may have led them through the Spratly Islands on their way to Vietnam. These migrants were the forebears of the [[Cham people]], an [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian-speaking]] people that founded the Old [[Champa]] empire that ruled what was known for centuries as the Champa Sea.<ref>{{Cite book
===Early cartography===
[[Image:Mapspratly.jpg|thumb|Geographic map of Spratlys. Click for more detailed image. For a satellite images of the islands, tagged by occupying country, see [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112047810770307867127.0004460b96d655257cc9c&ll=11.070603,115.708008&spn=9.563619,20.566406&t=k&z=6 here].]]
The first possible human interaction with the Spratly Islands dates back between 600 BCE to 3 BCE. This is based on the theoretical migration patterns of the people of [[Nanyue]] (southern [[China]] and northern Vietnam) and Old [[Champa]] kingdom who may have migrated from Borneo, which may have led them through the Spratly Islands.<ref>{{Citation
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|last=Thurgood
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|publisher=University of Hawaii Press
|publisher=University of Hawaii Press
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|isbn=9780824821319
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|page=[http://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC&pg=PA16 16]
|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC&pg=PA16 16]
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC
|access-date=16 December 2015
}}.</ref>
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521043053/https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC
|archive-date=21 May 2016
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="NatGeo 2015-06-18">{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |title=The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines |access-date=29 June 2015 |date=18 June 2014 |magazine=National Geographic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924055038/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-date=24 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


===Early records and cartography===
Ancient Chinese maps record the "Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] Stretch of Sands"; ''Qianli Changsha'' (千里長沙) and the "Ten-Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] of Stone Pools"; ''Wanli Shitang'' (萬里石塘),<ref>[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GeneralMapOfDistancesAndHistoricCapitals.jpg Image: General Map of Distances and Historic Capitals], Wikimedia Commons.</ref> which China today claims refers to the Spratly Islands. The Wanli Shitang have been explored by the Chinese since the [[Yuan Dynasty]] and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries.
In the [[Song Dynasty]] work ''[[Zhu fan zhi]]'' by [[Zhao Rugua]], the name "Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] Stretch of Sands" (''Qianli Changsha'', {{lang|zh-hant|千里長沙}}) and the "Ten-Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] of Stone Pools/Beds" (''Wanli Shitang'' {{lang|zh-hant|萬里石塘}}, or ''Wanli Shichuang'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|萬里|石|床}}}}) were given, interpreted by some to refer to [[Paracel Islands|Paracel]] and Spratly respectively.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA157 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |author=Jianming Shen |editor=Myron H. Nordquist |editor2=John Norton Moore |pages=156–159 |publisher=Brill |year=1998 |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016023230/https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''Wanli Shitang'' is also recorded in the ''[[History of Yuan]]'' to have been explored by the Chinese during the Mongol-led [[Yuan dynasty]] and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Jianming Shen |editor1-last=Nordquist |editor1-first=Myron H. |editor2-last=Moore |editor2-first=John Norton |chapter=Territorial Aspects of the South China Sea Island Disputes |date=1998 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |pages=165–166 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&q=%22wang+dayuan%22+spratly&pg=PA163}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Evidence To Support China's Sovereignty over Nansha Islands |date=2000-11-17 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/3754/t19231.htm |access-date=2 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220023649/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/3754/t19231.htm |archive-date=20 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Yuan Dynasty Territorial Map">[[History of Yuan]] geographical records: ''Yuan Dynasty Territorial Map'' (元代疆域图叙)</ref> However, the Yuan also ruled over [[Korea]], [[Mongolia|Outer Mongolia]], and parts of modern [[Russia]]. They are also referenced, sometimes with different names, in the Ming dynasty.<ref name="Hainan Commandery Comprehensive Public Memorial Records">{{Citation|script-title=zh:《海南卫指挥佥事柴公墓志铬》|trans-title=[[Hainan]] [[Commandery (China)|Commandery]] Comprehensive Public Memorial Records}}</ref><ref name="miscrec">''Miscellaneous Records of the South Sea Defensive Command'' 《海南卫指挥佥事柴公墓志》</ref> For example, in the [[Mao Kun map]] dating from [[Zheng He]]'s voyage of the early 15th century, ''Shixing Shitang'' ({{lang|zh|石星石塘}}) is taken by some to mean Spratly,<ref name="security">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA168 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |author=Jianming Shen |editor1=Myron H. Nordquist |editor2=John Norton Moore |pages=168–169 |publisher=Brill |year=1998 |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |access-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510102428/https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> however different authors interpret the identities of these islands differently.<ref name="mills" /> Another Ming text, ''Haiyu'' (海語, On the Sea), uses ''Wanli Changsha'' ({{lang|zh|萬里長沙}}) for Spratly and noted that it is located southeast of ''Wanli Shitang'' (Paracels).<ref name="security" /> When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the [[Qing dynasty]] continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724,<ref>''Qing dynasty provincial map from [[tianxia]] world map'' 《清直省分图》之《天下总舆图》</ref> 1755,<ref>''Qing dynasty circuit and province map from Tianxia world map'' 《皇清各直省分图》之《天下总舆图》</ref> 1767,<ref>''Great Qing of 10,000-years Tianxia map'' 《大清万年一统天下全图》</ref> 1810,<ref>'' Great Qing of 10,000-years general map of all territory'' 《大清万年一统地量全图》</ref> and 1817,<ref name="Great Qing tianxia overview map">''Great Qing tianxia overview map'' 《大清一统天下全图》</ref> but did not officially claim jurisdiction over these islands.
<ref>
{{Citation
| editor1-last=Nordquist
| editor1-first=Myron H.
| editor2-last=Moore
| editor2-first=John Norton
| last=Jianming Shen
| chapter=Territorial Aspects of the South China Sea Island Disputes
| year=1996
| title=Security Flashpoints
| publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
| isbn=9789041110565
| DUPLICATE DATA: year=1998
| pages=165–166
| url=http://books.google.com/?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=%22wang+dayuan%22+spratly#PPA166,M1
}}, ISBN 90-411-1056-9 ISBN 978-90-411-1056-5.</ref><ref>[http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/3754/t19231.htm Historical Evidence To Support China's Sovereignty over Nansha Islands]</ref> They are also referenced in the 13th century,<ref name="autogenerated1">《元史》地理志;《元代疆域图叙》</ref> followed by the Ming Dynasty.<ref name="autogenerated4">《海南卫指挥佥事柴公墓志铬》</ref> When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the [[Qing Dynasty]] continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724,<ref name="autogenerated3">《清直省分图》天下总舆图</ref> 1755,<ref>皇清各直省分图》之《天下总舆图</ref> 1767,<ref>《大清万年一统天下全图》</ref> 1810,<ref>《大清万年一统地量全图》</ref> and 1817.<ref name="autogenerated2">《大清一统天下全图》</ref> A Vietnamese map from 1834 also includes the Spratly Islands clumped in with the [[Paracel]]s (a common occurrence on maps of that time) labeled as "Wanli Changsha".<ref>[http://www.nansha.org.cn/maps/7/da_nan_yi_tong_quan_tu.html Alleged Early Map of the Spratly Islands near the Vietnamese Coast]</ref>


An early European map, ''A correct chart of the China Seas'' of 1758 by William Herbert, left the Spratly Islands region (known then as the Dangerous Ground) as largely blank, indicating that region has yet to be properly surveyed, although some islands and shoals at its western edge were marked (one appears at the same place as [[Thitu Island]]).<ref name="hancox">{{cite journal |journal=Maritime Briefing |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=31–32 |author=David Hancox and Victor Prescott|year=1995 |title=A Geographical Description of the Spratly Islands and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Herbert |first=William |orig-year=1758 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232145983/view |title=A correct chart of the China Seas: containing the coasts of Tsiompa Cochin China, The Gulf of Tonquin, Part of the coast of China and the Philippine Islands |via=Trove, National Library of Australia |access-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140019/http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232145983/view |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> A number of maps of the South China Sea were later produced, but the first map that gives a reasonably accurate delineation of the Spratly Islands region (titled ''[South] China Sea, Sheet 1'') was only published in 1821 by the hydrographer of the East India Company James Horsburgh after a survey by Captain Daniel Ross. A later 1859 edition of the map named the Spratly Island as Storm Island.<ref name="hancox" /> The islands were sporadically visited throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries by mariners from different European powers (including [[Richard Spratly]], after whom the island group derives its most recognisable English name, who visited the group in the 1840s in his [[whaler]] [[Cyrus (1800 whaler)|''Cyrus'']]).<ref>MARITIME BRIEFING, Volume I, Number 6: A Geographical Description of the Spratly Island and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands, 1995 by David Hancox and Victor Prescott. Pages 14–15</ref> However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and the Paracel Islands but eventually withdrew the survey, after receiving protests from the [[Guangdong]] government representing the [[Qing dynasty]]. China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands.<ref name="Severino2011">{{cite book |title=Where in the World is the Philippines?: Debating Its National Territory |first=Rodolfo |last=Severino |edition=illustrated |year=2011 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83BIxG7Ig2cC&pg=PA76 |isbn=978-981-4311-71-7 |pages=74, 76 |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101102529/https://books.google.com/books?id=83BIxG7Ig2cC&pg=PA76 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
According to [[Hanoi]], old Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (''Golden Sandbanks'', referring to both [[Paracels]] and the Spratly Islands) which lay near the Coast of the central Vietnam as early as 1838.<ref name="KING" /> In ''Phủ Biên Tạp Lục'' (Frontier Chronicles) by the scholar [[Le Quy Don]], Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the [[Le Dynasty]], 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.<ref name="KING" />


A Vietnamese map from 1834 also combines the Spratly and Paracel Islands into one region known as "Vạn Lý Trường Sa", a feature commonly incorporated into maps of the era ({{script|Hani|萬里長沙}}) ‒ that is, the same as the aforementioned Chinese island name ''Wanli Changsha''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nansha.org.cn/maps/7/da_nan_yi_tong_quan_tu.html|title=大南一统全图|work=nansha.org.cn|access-date=7 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303074856/http://www.nansha.org.cn/maps/7/da_nan_yi_tong_quan_tu.html|archive-date=3 March 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Hanoi]], Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (''Golden Sandbanks'', referring to both the Spratly and Paracel Islands), which lay near the coast of the central Vietnam, as early as 1838.<ref name="KING" /> In ''Phủ Biên Tạp Lục'' (''The Frontier Chronicles'') by scholar [[Lê Quý Đôn]], both [[Hoàng Sa]] and [[Trường Sa]] were defined as belonging to the Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the [[Lê dynasty]], 200&nbsp;years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.<ref name="KING" /> Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that its neighbour had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.<ref name="KING">{{wikicite|reference=King C. Chen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C China's War with Vietnam] (1979) [https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C&pg=PA42 ''Dispute over the Paracels and Spratlys'', pp. 42–48].|ref={{harvid|King|1979}}}}</ref>
Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that their neighbor had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.<ref name="KING">King C. Chen, [http://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C China's War with Vietnam] (1979) pp.[http://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C&pg=PA43 43-44].</ref>


In 1888 the Central Borneo Company were granted a lease to work guano "on Sprattly island and Amboyna Cay"<ref>{{Cite web |title=FO 881/5741 |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3652759 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220012213/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3652759 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref> During the [[Second World War]] troops from [[French Indochina]] and [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japan]] were in occupation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=http://www.spratlys.org/history/spratly-islands-history-timeline.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140321055855/http://www.spratlys.org/history/spratly-islands-history-timeline.htm |archive-date=21 March 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014 |work=History of the Spratlys}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chemillier-Gendreau |first=Monique |title=Sovereignty Over the Paracel and Spratly Islands |publisher=Kluwer Law International |year=2000 |isbn=978-90-411-1381-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.ukho.gov.uk/PRODUCTSANDSERVICES/PAPERPUBLICATIONS/Pages/NauticalPubs.aspx |title=China Sea pilot |publisher=UKHO – United Kingdom Hydrographic Office |year=2010 |edition=8th |volume=1 |location=Taunton |access-date=21 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321094148/https://www.ukho.gov.uk/PRODUCTSANDSERVICES/PAPERPUBLICATIONS/Pages/NauticalPubs.aspx |archive-date=21 March 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1956 Filipino adventurer [[Tomás Cloma|Tomás Cloma Sr.]] decided to "claim" a part of Spratly islands as his own, naming it the "[[Free Territory of Freedomland]]".<ref>{{cite news |date=13 January 2014 |title=China and Philippines: The reasons why a battle for Zhongye (Pag-asa) Island seems unavoidable |url=http://chinadailymail.com/2014/01/13/the-reasons-why-a-battle-for-zhongye-pag-asa-island-seems-unavoidable/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302121950/http://chinadailymail.com/2014/01/13/the-reasons-why-a-battle-for-zhongye-pag-asa-island-seems-unavoidable/ |archive-date=2 March 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014 |newspaper=China Daily Mail}}</ref>
The islands were sporadically visited throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by mariners from different European powers (including [[Richard Spratly]], after whom the island group derives its most recognizable [[English language|English]] name).<ref>MARITIME BRIEFING, Volume I, Number 6: A Geographical Description of the Spratly Island and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands, 1995 by David Hancox and Victor Prescott. Pages 14–15</ref> However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and Paracel Islands but withdrew the survey eventually after receiving protests from the Nguyen Dynasty. Many European maps before the 20th century do not even make mention of this region.<ref>[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/asia_1892_amer_ency_brit.jpg Map of Asia 1892, University of Texas]</ref>


In the 1950s, a group of individuals claimed sovereignty over the islands in the name of Morton F. Meads, supposedly an American descendant of a British naval captain who gave his name to Meads Island (Itu Aba) in the 1870s. In an affidavit made in 1971, the group claimed to represent the Kingdom of Humanity/[[Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuels|first1=Marwyn|title=Contest for the South China Sea|date=1982|publisher=Methuen|location=UK|isbn=978-0-416-33140-0|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Qz8AQAAQBAJ|access-date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Qz8AQAAQBAJ|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> which they asserted was in turn the successor entity for a supposed Kingdom of Humanity established between the two world wars on Meads Island, allegedly by the son of the British captain. This claim to this would-be [[micronation]] fell dormant after 1972, when several members of the group drowned in a typhoon.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuels|first1=Marwyn|title=Contest for the South China Sea|date=1982|publisher=Methuen|location=UK|isbn=978-0-416-33140-0|pages=168–172}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary|last=Shavit|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWdZTaJdc6UC&pg=PA285|page=285|year=1990|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-26788-8}}</ref><ref name="fowler">{{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=Michael |last2=Bunck |first2=Julie Marie |title=Law, Power, and the Sovereign State |pages=54–55 |year=1995 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-01470-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAp_97VvpMIC&q=%22James+George+Meads%22&pg=PA54}}</ref><ref name="latimes">{{cite news|last=Whiting|first=Kenneth|title=Asian Nations Squabble Over Obscure String of Islands|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A2|date=2 February 1992}}</ref>
===Military conflict and diplomatic dialogues===
{{Main|Spratly Islands dispute}}
In 1933, [[France]] asserted its claims from 1887<ref>[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Paracel_Spratly.html Paracel Islands], worldstatesmen.org</ref> to the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam.<ref name=encarta>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582978/Spratly_Islands.html Spratly Islands]{{citation broken|date=January 2011}}, [http://encarta.msn.com Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008]. All Rights Reserved.</ref> It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including [[Itu Aba]], built weather stations on two, and administered them as part of [[French Indochina]]. This occupation was protested by the Republic of China government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited the nine islands.<ref>Todd C. Kelly, [http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/todd.html Vietnamese Claims to the Truong Sa Archipelago], Explorations in Southeast Asian Studies, Vol.3, Fall 1999.</ref> In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during [[World War II]], and used the islands as a [[submarine]] base for the occupation of [[Southeast Asia]]. During the occupation, these islands were called ''Shinnan Shoto'' (新南諸島), literally the New Southern Islands, and put under the governance of Taiwan together with the Paracel Islands (西沙群岛). In 1945, The Republic of China sent its Naval ships to take control of the islands after the surrender of Japan. It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, [[Itu Aba Island]], as its base, and renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. The KMT force of [[Republic Of China]] briefly abandoned the islands after its defeat in China's civil war in 1949, but re-established the base in 1956. Today, [[Itu Aba Island]], is still administrated by the [[Republic of China]],


<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
Following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, China re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Itu Aba), accepting the Japanese surrender on the islands based on the [[Cairo Declaration|Cairo]] and [[Potsdam Declaration]]s. The ROC government withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing [[Communist Party of China]], which founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.<ref name=encarta /> ROC quietly withdrew troops from Itu Aba in 1950, but reinstated them in 1956 in response to [[Tomas Cloma]]'s sudden claim to the island as part of [[Freedomland (Spratly Islands)|Freedomland]].<ref>Kivimäki, Timo (2002), War Or Peace in the South China Sea?, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), ISBN 87-91114-01-2</ref>
File:MAO KUN MAP-19.jpg|In the [[Mao Kun map]], Spratly Islands are suggested to be the islands at the bottom right ({{zh|labels=no |c=石星石塘 |p=shíxīng shítáng}}).<ref name="security" /> Others however believe they referred to the [[Paracel Islands]] or [[Macclesfield Bank]].<ref name="mills">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DjQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA272|title=Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores |author=J.V. Mills |pages=Appendix 1 and 2|publisher=White Lotus Press |isbn=978-974-8496-78-8|year=1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/32-33/EAH32-33_05.pdf |title=The South China Sea and Its Coral Reefs during the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Levels of Geographical Knowledge and Political Control |author=Ulises Granados |journal=East Asian History |volume=32/33 |year=2006 |pages=109–128 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801234520/http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/32-33/EAH32-33_05.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2019}}</ref>
File:Carta_Hydrographica_y_Chorographica_de_las_Yslas_Filipinas_Dedicada_al_Rey_Nuestro_Señor_por_el_Mariscal_d._Campo_D._Fernando_Valdes_Tamon_Cavallº_del_Orden_de_Santiago_de_Govor._Y_Capn.jpg|The [[Velarde map]] shows Galit, Pancot, and Lumbay, which the Philippines identifies as the [[Scarborough Shoal]] and islands off of [[Palawan]]. It was used in the [[South China Sea Arbitration]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2019 |title=Ever heard of the 1734 Murillo Velarde map and why it should be renamed? |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/240646-why-we-should-rename-1734-murillo-velarde-map |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927034721/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/240646-why-we-should-rename-1734-murillo-velarde-map |archive-date=27 September 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>
File:Bajos_de_Paragua,_detail_in_Carta_Hydrographica_y_Chorographica_de_las_Yslas_Filipinas.jpg|The Spratlys labeled as ''"Los Bajos de Paragua"'' off the coast of [[Palawan]] (''Paragua'') on the [[Velarde map]]
File:1801 Cary Map of the East Indies and Southeast Asia ( Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Philippines) - Geographicus - EastIndies-cary-1801.jpg|An 1801 Cary Map of the East Indies and Southeast Asia showing Panacot, the Scarborough Shoal, Amphitrite, the Paracels, and what is now known as the Spratlys
File:DaiNamNhatThongToanDo 1834-1838.jpg|An 1838 Unified Dai Nam map marking [[Trường Sa]] and [[Hoàng Sa]], which are considered as Spratly and [[Paracel Islands]] by some Vietnamese scholars
File:China Sea - Southern Portion - Eastern Sheet.png|A British chart of the sea in northern Borneo, first issued in 1881 and corrected in 1935
</gallery>


===Military conflicts and diplomatic dialogues===
Japan renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]], together with the Paracels, Pratas & other islands captured from China, upon which China reasserted its claim to the islands.
{{Further|Spratly Islands dispute}}


The following are political divisions for the Spratly Islands claimed by various area nations (in alphabetical order):
It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after WWII, since none of the islands other than Itu Aba is habitable. The South Vietnamese government took over the Trường Sa administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the [[First Indochina War]]. In 1958, the People's Republic of China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters, which encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam's prime minister, Pham Van Dong, sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai, stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects the decision by China regarding the 12 nautical mile limit of territorial waters.<ref>[http://news3.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/24/content_705061.htm PRC's declaration over the islands in 1958] Xinhua archives</ref> Regarding this letter, there have been many arguments on its true meaning and the reason why [[Phạm Văn Đồng]] decided to send it to [[Zhou Enlai]]. One important fact is that the letter while accepting the 12 nautical mile principal for the limit of territorial waters of China, has never mentioned a word about how the territorial boundary was defined and thus leaving the dispute on South China Sea islands as its status quo for later settlement. In an interview with BBC, Dr. Balazs Szalontai provided an insight into this issue: "The general context of the Chinese declaration was the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in 1956, and the resulting treaties signed in 1958, such as the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone. Understandably, the PRC government, though not being a member of the U.N., also wanted to have a say in how these issues were dealt with. Hence the Chinese declaration of September 1958. In these years, North Vietnam could hardly afford to alienate Communist comrad China. The [[Soviet Union]] did not give any substantial support to Vietnamese reunification, and neither South Vietnamese leader [[Ngo Dinh Diem]] nor the U.S. government showed readiness to give consent to the holding of all-Vietnamese elections as stipulated by the Geneva Agreements. On the contrary, Diem did his best to suppress the Communist movement in the South. This is why Pham Van Dong felt it necessary to take sides with China, whose tough attitude toward the Asian policies of the U.S. offered some hope. And yet he seems to have been cautious enough to make a statement that supported only the principle that China was entitled for 12-mile territorial seas along its territory but evaded the issue of defining this territory. While the preceding Chinese statement was very specific, enumerating all the islands (including the Paracels and the Spratlys) for which the PRC laid claim, the DRV statement did not say a word about the concrete territories to which this rule was applicable. Still, it is true that in this bilateral territorial dispute between Chinese and Vietnamese interests, the DRV standpoint, more in a diplomatic than a legal sense, was incomparably closer to that of China than to that of South Vietnam".<ref>[http://www.nansha.org.cn/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1781 Regarding the 1958 Letter by Pham Van Dong] ''[[Translated by Thinh Do|BBC Vietnamese]]'' 2018--09-23</ref> Some international scholars argued that, [[Pham Van Dong]] who represented North Vietnam at that time has no legal right to comment on a territorial part which belonged to the South Vietnam represented by [[Ngo Dinh Diem]]. Therefore, the letter has no legal value and is considered as a diplomatic document to show the support of the government of North Vietnam to the PRC at that time. {{Verify source|date=June 2011}} In 2004, Vietnam issued a [[white paper]] saying, in part,
{{quote|Vietnam has sufficient historical evidence and legal basis to assert its indisputable sovereignty over the territorial waters and islands of Vietnam in the East Sea, among them the Paracels and Spratlys. Nevertheless, for the common security interests of the parties concerned, Vietnam is ready to enter into peaceful negotiations to settle the problem, first and foremost by reaching an agreement on the "Code of Conduct" pending the final solution.<ref>[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-14789146_ITM Vietnam White Paper asserts Spratly's sovereignty, no foreign bases].]Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 2004. [http://www.accessmylibrary.com accessmylibrary]. (April 11, 2011). {{subscription}}</ref>}}


* Brunei: Part of Brunei's Exclusive Economic Zone<ref name="Brunei">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080228205656/http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html Borneo Post: When All Else Fails](archived from [http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html the original] on 28 February 2008) Additionally, pages 48 and 51 of "The Brunei-Malaysia Dispute over Territorial and Maritime Claims in International Law" by R. Haller-Trost, Clive Schofield, and Martin Pratt, published by the [http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ International Boundaries Research Unit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018082015/http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ |date=18 October 2009}}, University of Durham, UK, points out that this is, in fact, a "territorial dispute" between Brunei and other claimants over the ownership of one above-water feature (Louisa Reef)</ref>
On May 23, 2011, Philippine President [[Benigno Aquino III]] warned the Chinese defense minister of a possible [[arms race]] in the region if tensions worsened over disputes in the South China Sea.
*China: Part of [[Sansha]], [[Hainan]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Romero|first=Alexis|title=China fishing boats cordon off Spratlys|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/05/08/939648/china-fishing-boats-cordon-spratlys|access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=The Philippine Star|date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125134046/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/05/08/939648/china-fishing-boats-cordon-spratlys|archive-date=25 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
Aquino said he told visiting Chinese Defense Minister [[Liang Guanglie]] in their meeting that such an arms race could result if there were more encounters in the disputed and potentially oil-rich Spratly islands.<ref name="Philippines warns China">[http://globalnation.inquirer.net/2247/philippines-warns-of-arms-race-in-south-china-sea Philippines warns of arms race in South China Sea | Inquirer Global Nation<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* Malaysia: Part of [[Sabah]] state
* Philippines: Part of [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan]], [[Palawan]] province
* Taiwan: Part of [[Kaohsiung]] municipality
* Vietnam: Part of [[Trường Sa District|Trường Sa]], [[Khánh Hòa Province]]


==== Conflicts in the 19th century ====
In May 2011, Chinese naval vessels opened fire on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating off East London Reef (Da Dong Island). Three military vessels were numbered 989, 27 and 28. They showed up with a small group of Chinese fishing vessels. Another Vietnamese fishing vessel was fired on near Cross (Chu Thap) Island. The Chief Commander of Border Guards in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam reports that a total of four Vietnamese vessels were fired upon by Chinese naval vessels.{{Verify source|date=June 2011}}
In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from [[Hainan]] annually sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratly Islands.<ref name="Kivimaki2002">{{cite book |title=War Or Peace in the South China Sea? |editor-first=Timo |editor-last=Kivimäki |issue=Issue 45 of NIAS reports |issn=0904-597X |edition=illustrated |year=2002 |others=Contributor: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies |publisher=NIAS Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNVf9R_L5FAC&pg=PA9 |isbn=978-87-91114-01-4 |access-date=10 March 2014 |pages=9–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403224917/http://books.google.com/books?id=CNVf9R_L5FAC&pg=PA9 |archive-date=3 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Taylor & Francis">{{cite book |title=Security and International Politics in the South China Sea: Towards a co-operative management regime |editor1-first=Sam |editor1-last=Bateman |editor2-first=Ralf |editor2-last=Emmers |edition=illustrated |year=2008 |page=43 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-88524-6 |access-date=10 March 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VrMXX3CgBMC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424071301/https://books.google.com/books?id=9VrMXX3CgBMC |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>


Some Chinese scholars and officials argue that the 1887 Sino-French Tonkin Boundary convention<ref>{{cite web |date=26 Jun 1887 |title=Convention relative à la délimitation de la frontière entre la Chine et le Tonkin, signée à Pékin |trans-title=Full text of Convention relative to the delimitation of the frontier between China and Tonkin, signed in Beijing |url=http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=NUMM-95886&I=307&M=tdm |access-date=12 Jul 2023 |publisher=Gallica |language=French |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806234826/http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=NUMM-95886&I=307&M=tdm |url-status=dead}}</ref> signed after the [[Sino-French War]] recognised the sovereignty of China over the Paracel and Spratly islands.<ref name="Wortzel" /> The line mentioned in the convention can be more accurately described as a shorthand for dividing islands between China and Vietnam in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]], but not its maritime waters. In the 1950s amid warming ties between the two countries, [[Mao Zedong]] decided to hand over [[Bạch Long Vĩ Island]], which lies to the west of the dividing line and had Chinese inhabitants, to Vietnam. In 1933 and 1937 France sent diplomatic notes to China maintaining that the 1887 treaty determined the ownership of islands near the [[Móng Cái]] area only not anywhere beyond that.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pedrozo |first=Raul (Pete) |year=2014 |title=China versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea |url=https://www.cna.org/reports/2014/iop-2014-u-008433.pdf |series=U.S. policy options in the South China Sea |publisher=CNA Corporation's Strategic Studies |page=86 |location=Arlington, VA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keyuan |first=Zou |date=15 Dec 2010 |title=Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/009083299276177 |journal=Ocean Development & International Law |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=235–254 |doi=10.1080/009083299276177 |issn=0090-8320}}</ref>
In June 2011, the Philippines renamed the South China Sea and the Reed Bank as the West Philippine Sea and the Recto Bank.<ref>Thanh Tien News China and Vietnam Clash Over Tuna Fishing Ground-Shots Fired, June 6, 2011{{Verify source|date=June 2011}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=June 2011}}

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also try to claim that a 1883 incident involving a German ship conducting surveys in the South China Sea without China's consent was protested with Berlin and the Germans terminated the survey.<ref name="Severino2011" /> Western scholars have determined, however, that this incident is not based on verifiable references and is inconsistent with other Chinese inaction during the same time period given that, in 1885, the German Admiralty published a two‐sheet chart entitled ''Die Paracel‐Inseln'' (The Paracel Islands). The chart documented the work of a German expedition to the Paracels between 1881 and 1884.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chemillier-Gendreau |first=Monique |date=2000 |title=Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands |location=The Hague, The Netherlands |publisher=Brill/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |page=99 |isbn=978-90-411-1381-8}}</ref>

==== Conflicts in the 20th century until 1945 ====
China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. The Qing dynasty's successor state, the Republic of China, claimed the Spratly and Paracel islands under the jurisdiction of Hainan.<ref name="Severino2011" />

In 1933, France asserted its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} on behalf of its then-colony [[French Indochina]].<ref name="encarta">[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582978/Spratly_Islands.html Spratly Islands] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029063837/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582978/Spratly_Islands.html |date=29 October 2009}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2011}}, [http://encarta.msn.com/ Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031074236/http://encarta.msn.com/ |date=31 October 2009}}. All Rights Reserved.</ref> It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including [[Taiping Island]], built weather stations on two of the islands, and administered them as part of French Indochina.{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}} This occupation was protested by the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] (ROC) government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited nine of the islands.<ref>Todd C. Kelly, [http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/todd.html Vietnamese Claims to the Truong Sa Archipelago], Explorations in Southeast Asian Studies, Vol.3, Fall 1999. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402164512/http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/todd.html |date=2 April 2013}}</ref> In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and it used the islands as a [[submarine]] base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the Japanese occupation, these islands were called ''Shinnan Shoto'' ({{lang|ja|新南諸島}}), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands ({{lang|zh-hans|西沙群岛}})<!--do not change! only Simplified Chinese uses this form of 岛/島-->, they were put under the governance of the Japanese authority in [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]] on 30 March 1939.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/SouthChinaSea_t.htm|title=Japanese Occupation South China Sea Islands - 1937-1941|year=2012|website=combinedfleet.com}}</ref>

Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratly Islands from February 1939 to August 1945.<ref name="king1979p43">{{harvnb|King|1979|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C&pg=PA43 43]}}</ref> Japan annexed the Spratly Islands via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction.<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> Parts of the Paracels and Spratly Islands were again controlled by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan,<ref name="ed. Morley, Nishihara 1997">{{cite book|last1=Morley|first1=James W.|last2=Nishihara|first2=Masashi|title=Vietnam Joins the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=taOrjN83rLEC&pg=PA124|date=1997|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-3306-4|page=124|access-date=16 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=taOrjN83rLEC&pg=PA124|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area,<ref name="Severino2011" /> however no successor was named to the islands.<ref name="ed. Morley, Nishihara 1997" />

==== Conflicts in the 20th century after World War II ====
[[File:1947_Nanhai_Zhudao.png|alt=Map of the South East China|thumb|290x290px|[[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]'s (now [[Taiwan|ROC]] and [[China|PRC]]) [[nine-dash line]] illustrated in a 1947 map of the South China Sea]]

In November 1946, the ROC sent naval ships to take control of the islands after the [[surrender of Japan]].<ref name="king1979p43" /> It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, [[Taiping Island]], as its base, and it renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. Also following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the ROC re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Taiping Island) after accepting the Japanese surrender of the islands based on the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo]] and [[Potsdam Declaration]]s. The Republic of China then garrisoned Itu Aba (Taiping) island in 1946 and posted Chinese flags.<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims.<ref name="Severino2011" /><ref name="The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |author1=Das, Darshana |author2=Lotha, Gloria |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561209/Spratly-Islands |title=Spratly Islands |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520232007/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561209/Spratly-Islands |archive-date=20 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Republic of China drew up the map showing the U-shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947.<ref name="Severino2011" /> Japan had renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]] together with the Paracels, Pratas and other islands captured from the Chinese, and upon these declarations, the government of the Republic of China reasserted its claim to the islands. At the peace conference, South Vietnam declared Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratlys, but North Vietnam supported China's authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ma |first=Xuechan |chapter=Introduction |date=2021-11-20 |title=The Spratly Islands and International Law |pages=1–12 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004504332/BP000001.xml |access-date=2024-09-20 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-50433-2}}</ref> The Chinese [[Kuomintang]] force withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing [[Chinese Communist Party]] due to their losses in the [[Chinese Civil War]] and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.<ref name="encarta" /> Taiwan quietly withdrew troops from Taiping Island in 1950, but then reinstated them in 1956 in response to [[Tomás Cloma]]'s sudden claim to the island as part of [[Free Territory of Freedomland|Freedomland]].<ref>Kivimäki, Timo (2002), War Or Peace in the South China Sea?, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), {{ISBN|87-91114-01-2}}</ref> {{as of|2013}}, Taiping Island is administered by Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/taiwans-power-grab-in-the-south-china-sea/|title=Taiwan's Power Grab in the South China Sea|access-date=24 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201084632/https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/taiwans-power-grab-in-the-south-china-sea/|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

After pulling out its garrison in 1950 when the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan, when the Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratly Islands and, Taiwan again regarrisoned Itu Aba in 1956.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morley|Nishihara|1997|pp=125–126}}</ref> In 1946, the Americans allegedly reminded the Philippines at its independence that the Spratly Islands were not Philippine territory, both to not anger [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in China and because the Spratly Islands were not part of the Philippines per the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|1898 treaty Spain signed with the United States]].<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> However, no document was found to that effect. The Philippines then claimed the Spratly Islands in 1971 under [[Ferdinand Marcos|President Marcos]], after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.<ref name="Pak2000">{{cite book |title=The Law of the Sea and Northeast Asia: A Challenge for Cooperation |first=Hŭi-gwŏn |last=Pak |volume=35 of Publications on Ocean Development |edition=illustrated |year=2000 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szcywfgKySAC&pg=PA92 |isbn=978-90-411-1407-5 |pages=91–92 |access-date=16 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=szcywfgKySAC&pg=PA92 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Taiwan's garrison from 1946 to 1950 and 1956-now on Itu Aba represents an "effective occupation" of the Spratly Islands.<ref name="Pak2000" /><ref name="Lin2008">{{cite news |last=Lin |first=Cheng-yi |date=22 February 2008 |title=Buffer benefits in Spratly initiative |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JB22Ad02.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019105844/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JB22Ad02.html |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China established a coastal defence system against Japanese pirates or smugglers.<ref name="Pak2000p81">{{Harvnb|Pak|2000|p=81}}</ref>

[[File:Bia VNCH Truong Sa - Republic of Vietnam Spratly Islands Territorial Marker.JPG|thumb|upright|Territorial monument of the [[Republic of Vietnam]] (South Vietnam) on [[Southwest Cay]], Spratly Islands, defining the cay as part of Vietnamese territory ([[Phước Tuy Province]]). Used from 22 August 1956 until 1975, when replaced by another one from the [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]] (successor state after the [[Fall of Saigon]])]]

In 1958, China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters that encompassed the Spratly Islands. [[North Vietnam]]'s prime minister, [[Phạm Văn Đồng]], sent a formal note to [[Zhou Enlai]], stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) respected the Chinese decision regarding the {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} limit of territorial waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zyxw_602251/W020140608602937535933.zip|title=中华人民共和国外交部|access-date=9 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124004920/http://www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zyxw_602251/W020140608602937535933.zip|archive-date=24 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> While accepting the 12-nmi principal with respect to territorial waters, the letter did not actually address the issue of defining actual territorial boundaries.
North Vietnam recognised China's claims on the Paracels and Spratly Islands during the [[Vietnam War]] as it was being supported by China. Only after winning the war and conquering [[South Vietnam]] did [[North Vietnam]] retract its recognition and admitted it recognised them as part of China to receive aid from China in fighting the Americans.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morley|Nishihara|1997|pp=126–127}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/late-vietnam-pms-letter-gives-no-legal-basis-to-chinas-island-claim-26821.html |title=Late Vietnam PM's letter gives no legal basis to China's island claim |author=Thao Vi |date=2 June 2014 |publisher=Thanh Nien News |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315081937/http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/late-vietnam-pms-letter-gives-no-legal-basis-to-chinas-island-claim-26821.html |archive-date=15 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1987, China installed a small military structure on [[Fiery Cross Reef]] under the pretext of building an oceanic observation station and installing a [[tide gauge]] for the [[Global Sea Level Observing System]].<ref>Chanda, Nayan. "Treacherous Shoals." [[Far Eastern Economic Review]]. 13 August 1992: p14-17</ref>{{verify source|date=October 2021}} After a [[Johnson South Reef Skirmish|deadly skirmish]] with the Vietnamese Navy, China installed some military structures on more reefs in the vicinity of the Philippines and Vietnamese occupied islands and this led to escalating tensions between these countries and China over the status and ownership of reefs.

In 1988, the Vietnamese and Chinese navies engaged in a [[Johnson South Reef Skirmish|skirmish in the area of Johnson South Reef]] (also called Gạc Ma Reef in Vietnam and Yongshu Reef in China).<ref>{{cite news|last=Malig|first=Jojo|title=Chinese ships eye 'bumper harvest' in Spratly|url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/16/12/chinese-ships-eye-bumper-harvest-mabini-reef|access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=ABS CBN News|date=17 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006054737/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/16/12/chinese-ships-eye-bumper-harvest-mabini-reef|archive-date=6 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under President [[Lee Teng-hui]], Taiwan stated that "legally, historically, geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign ministry of Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news |author=STRATFOR |date=14 July 1999 |title=Taiwan sticks to its guns, to U.S. chagrin |publisher=Asia Times |work=STRATFOR's Global Intelligence Update |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/AG15Ad01.html |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150303/http://www.atimes.com/china/AG15Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Taiwan and China's claims "mirror" each other; during international talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since both have the same claims.<ref name="Pak2000" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Sisci |first=Francesco |date=29 June 2010 |title=US toe-dipping muddies South China Sea |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad01.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130710122041/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad01.html |archive-date=10 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after World War II, since none of the islands, other than Taiping Island, was habitable. The [[South Vietnam]]ese government took over the [[Trường Sa]] administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the [[First Indochina War]]. "The French bestowed its titles, rights, and claims over the two island chains to the Republic of Vietnam (RoV) in accordance with the [[1954 Geneva Conference|Geneva Accords]]", said Nguyen Hong Thao, Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Vietnam National University.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nguyen |first=Hong Thao |date=4 May 2012 |title=Vietnam's Position on the Sovereignty over the Paracels & the Spratlys: Its Maritime Claim |url=http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc49212/nrcc49212.pdf |journal=Journal of East Asia International Law, V JEAIL (1) 2012 |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306081414/http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc49212/nrcc49212.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, a Philippine navy ship (Number 57 – [[BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57)|BRP ''Sierra Madre'']]) was purposely run aground near [[Second Thomas Shoal]] to enable establishment of an outpost. {{As of|2014}} it had not been removed, and Filipino marines have been stationed aboard since the grounding.<ref>{{cite news|last=Keck|first=Zachary|title=Second Thomas Shoal Tensions Intensify|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/03/second-thomas-shoal-tensions-intensify/|access-date=17 March 2014|newspaper=The Diplomat|date=13 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317085745/https://thediplomat.com/2014/03/second-thomas-shoal-tensions-intensify/|archive-date=17 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A game of shark and minnow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/|access-date=17 March 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827062045/http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=live|last1=Himmelman |first1=Jeff |last2=Gilbertson |first2=Ashley}}</ref>

==== Conflicts in the 21st century ====
Taiwan and mainland China are largely strategically aligned on the Spratly islands issue, since they both claim exactly the same area, so Taiwan's control of Itu Aba (Taiping) island is viewed as an extension of China's claim.<ref name="Wortzel">{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History |first1=Larry M. |last1=Wortzel |author-link1=Larry Wortzel |first2=Robin D. S. |last2=Higham |edition=illustrated |year=1999 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA180 |page=180 |isbn=978-0-313-29337-5 |access-date=16 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101102529/https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA180 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Taiwan and China both claim the entire island chain, while all the other claimants only claim portions of them. China has proposed co-operation with Taiwan against all the other countries claiming the islands. Taiwanese lawmakers have demanded that Taiwan fortify Itu Aba (Taiping) island with weapons to defend against the Vietnamese, and both China and Taiwanese NGOs have pressured Taiwan to expand Taiwan's military capabilities on the island, which played a role in Taiwan expanding the island's runway in 2012.<ref name="KastnerAug2012">{{cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jens |date=10 August 2012 |title=Taiwan pours cement on maritime dispute |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NH10Ad01.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150413/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NH10Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China has urged Taiwan to co-operate and offered Taiwan a share in oil and gas resources while shutting out all the other rival claimants. Taiwanese lawmakers have complained about repeated Vietnamese aggression and trespassing on Taiwan's Itu Aba (Taiping), and Taiwan has started viewing Vietnam as an enemy over the Spratly Islands, not China.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jens |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NF13Ad01.html |title=Taiwan circling South China Sea bait |newspaper=Asia Times Online |date=13 June 2012 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150328/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NF13Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Taiwan's state run oil company [[CPC Corporation]]'s board director Chiu Yi has called Vietnam as the "greatest threat" to Taiwan.<ref name="KastnerAug2012" /> Taiwan's airstrip on Taiping has irritated Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Peter |date=29 July 2010 |title=US goes fishing for trouble |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad03.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |page=2 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153132/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad03.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China views Taiwan's expansion of its military and airstrip on Taiping as benefiting China's position against the other rival claimants from southeast Asian countries.<ref name="Lin2008" /> China's claims to the Spratly Islands benefit from legal weight because of Taiwan's presence on Itu Aba, while America on the other hand has regularly ignored Taiwan's claims in the South China Sea and does not include Taiwan in any talks on dispute resolution for the area.<ref>{{cite news |last=Womack |first=Brantly |date=14 February 2013 |title=Rethinking the US-China-Taiwan triangle |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHINA-01-140213.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214094938/http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHINA-01-140213.html |archive-date=14 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island in September 2012; reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the "imaginary enemy" in the drill. Vietnam protested against the exercises as violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the drill. Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions.<ref>
* {{cite news |date=5 September 2012 |title=Photo: Taiwan military exercises with Vietnam as an imaginary enemy generals admit Taiping Island |url=http://www.newshome.us/news-2144953-Photo:-Taiwan-military-exercises-with-Vietnam-as-an-imaginary-enemy-generals-admit-Taiping-Island.html |publisher=newshome.us |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517134232/http://www.newshome.us/news-2144953-Photo:-Taiwan-military-exercises-with-Vietnam-as-an-imaginary-enemy-generals-admit-Taiping-Island.html |archive-date=17 May 2014}}
* {{cite web |date=23 April 2013 |title=Taiwan holds live-fire drill in Spratlys: official |url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/LV/ct.asp?xItem=372040&ctNode=7925&mp=507 |publisher=Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814162557/http://www.roc-taiwan.org/LV/ct.asp?xItem=372040&ctNode=7925&mp=507 |archive-date=14 August 2014}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to stage live-fire drill on disputed island |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Taiwan_to_stage_live-fire_drill_on_disputed_island_999.html |newspaper=Space Daily |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121024/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Taiwan_to_stage_live-fire_drill_on_disputed_island_999.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |agency=Press Trust of India |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to stage live-fire drill on disputed island |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/taiwan-to-stage-livefire-drill-on-disputed-island/article4465611.ece |newspaper=Business Line |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153025/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/taiwan-to-stage-livefire-drill-on-disputed-island/article4465611.ece |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Yeh |first=Joseph |date=23 April 2013 |title=Drills held on Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in South China Sea |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/04/23/376779/Drills-held.htm |newspaper=China Post |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122222/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/04/23/376779/Drills-held.htm |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam Demands Taiwan Cancel Spratly Island Live Fire Drill |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-23/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-spratly-island-live-fire-drill.html |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153329/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-23/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-spratly-island-live-fire-drill.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |publisher=thanhniennews |date=27 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175907/http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |newspaper=Thanh Nien News |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132601/http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to hold live-fire drill in Spratlys |url=http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56128/taiwan-to-hold-live-fire-drill-in-spratlys |newspaper=InterAksyon |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824223619/http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56128/taiwan-to-hold-live-fire-drill-in-spratlys |archive-date=24 August 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=5 September 2012 |title=Taiwan unmoved by Vietnam's protest against Taiping drill |url=http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120905000091&cid=1101 |newspaper=Want China Times: "Knowing China through Taiwan" |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175721/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120905000091&cid=1101 |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=12 August 2012 |title=Vietnam angry at Taiwan as it stages live-fire drill in the Spratlys |url=http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |newspaper=Philippines News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175801/http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=21 August 2012 |title=Taiwan to conduct live-fire Taiping Island drill in September |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/08/21/351637/Taiwan-to.htm |newspaper=China Post |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122233/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/08/21/351637/Taiwan-to.htm |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |date=21 August 2012 |title=Taiwan plans live-fire drill on Taiping in South China Sea |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/08/21/2003540824 |newspaper=Taipei Times |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152246/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/08/21/2003540824 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors-8164 |newspaper=The National Interest |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151657/http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors-8164 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors |newspaper=The National Interest |publisher=Cato Institute |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152742/http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=4 March 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/03/04/taiwan_challenges_its_neighbors_117254.html |newspaper=Real Clear Politics |publisher=Cato Institute |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121758/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/03/04/taiwan_challenges_its_neighbors_117254.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://libertyvoter.org/2013/02/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors/ |publisher=LibertyVoter.org |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082519/http://libertyvoter.org/2013/02/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |author=thanhniennews |date=27 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |newspaper=Vietnam Breaking News |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034439/http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |author=(AFP) |date=12 August 2012 |title=Vietnam's angry at Taiwan as it stages live-fire drill in the Spratlys |url=http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |newspaper=Philippines News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175801/http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |newspaper=Thanh Nien News |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132601/http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In May 2011, Chinese patrol boats attacked two Vietnamese oil exploration ships near the Spratly Islands.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Also in May 2011, Chinese naval vessels opened fire on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating off East London Reef (Da Dong). The three Chinese military vessels were numbered 989, 27 and 28, and they showed up with a small group of Chinese fishing vessels. Another Vietnamese fishing vessel was fired on near [[Fiery Cross Reef]] (Chu Thap). The Chief Commander of Border Guards in Phú Yên Province, Vietnam, reported that a total of four Vietnamese vessels were fired upon by Chinese naval vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/chinese-boats-cause-thousands-of-dollars-in-damage-to-vietnamese-fishermens-nets-11182015161046.html|title=Chinese Boats Cause Thousands of Dollars in Damage to Vietnamese Fishermen's Nets|access-date=16 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731144540/http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/chinese-boats-cause-thousands-of-dollars-in-damage-to-vietnamese-fishermens-nets-11182015161046.html|archive-date=31 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2016}} These incidents involving Chinese forces sparked mass protests in Vietnam, especially in [[Hanoi]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]],<ref>{{cite news |title=South China Sea: Vietnamese hold anti-Chinese protest |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13661779 |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=BBC News Asia-Pacific |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613163003/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13661779 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and in various Vietnamese communities in the West (namely in the US state of California and in Paris) over attacks on Vietnamese citizens and the intrusion into what Vietnam claimed was part of its territory.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2011/06/110605_viet_protest_la.shtml |date=June 2011 |publisher=BBC News Tiếng Việt |language=vi |title=Người Việt biểu tình chống TQ ở Los Angeles |access-date=14 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525035141/http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2011/06/110605_viet_protest_la.shtml |archive-date=25 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Philippines began officially referring to parts of the South China Sea as the "[[West Philippine Sea]]" and the [[Reed Bank]] as "Recto Bank".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/13833/%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-west-philippine-sea%E2%80%99 |date=11 June 2011 |access-date=28 June 2012 |title=It's West Philippine Sea |newspaper=Inquirer.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230122359/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/13833/%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-west-philippine-sea%E2%80%99 |archive-date=30 December 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/14685/name-game-ph-now-calls-spratly-isle-%E2%80%98recto-bank%E2%80%99 |date=14 June 2011 |access-date=28 June 2012 |title=Name game: PH now calls Spratly isle 'Recto Bank' |newspaper=Inquirer.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807112049/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/14685/name-game-ph-now-calls-spratly-isle-%E2%80%98recto-bank%E2%80%99 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2012, the [[National Assembly of Vietnam]] passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea borders to include the Spratly and Paracel Islands.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/world/asia/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands.html |title=Vietnam Law on Contested Islands Draws China's Ire |date=21 June 2012 |author=Jane Perlez |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508182907/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/world/asia/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands.html |archive-date=8 May 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands-641399/ China Criticizes Vietnam in Dispute Over Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623063435/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands-641399/ |date=23 June 2012}}, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<!-- Bot generated title --></ref>

In 2010, it was reported that the former Malaysian Prime Minister [[Mahathir Mohamad]] believed Malaysia could profit from China's economic growth through co-operation with China,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/27/business/6136931&sec=business |title=Mahathir: China no threat to Malaysia |newspaper=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |date=27 April 2010 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430165347/http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F4%2F27%2Fbusiness%2F6136931&sec=business |archive-date=30 April 2010}}</ref> and said that China "was not a threat to anyone and was not worried about aggression from China", as well accusing the [[United States]] of provoking China and trying to turn China's neighbours against China.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/around_asia/AJ2011110916910|title=Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat|author=Kazuto Tsukamoto|newspaper=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|date=9 November 2011|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120553/https://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/around_asia/AJ2011110916910|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> Malaysian authorities displayed no concern over China conducting a military exercise at James Shoal in March 2013,<ref name="philstarDiola2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-malaysia-isnt-afraid-of-china-for-now/|title=Why Malaysia isn't afraid of China (for now)|author=Shahriman Lockman|publisher=The Strategist: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog|date=24 April 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152545/http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-malaysia-isnt-afraid-of-china-for-now/|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> with its [[Ministry of Defence (Malaysia)|Defence Minister]] [[Hishammuddin Hussein]] suggested they might work with China and saying that Malaysia had no problem with China patrolling the South China Sea, and telling ASEAN, America, and Japan that "Just because you have enemies, doesn't mean your enemies are my enemies".<ref>
* {{cite AV media|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/video/malaysia-breaks-ranks-on-south-china-sea-wLpV4lb3SnmNuf~~2KQzfA.html|title=Malaysia Breaks Ranks on South China Sea|author=Haslinda Amin|publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]|date=29 August 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|medium=video|series=First Up|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153342/http://www.bloomberg.com/video/malaysia-breaks-ranks-on-south-china-sea-wLpV4lb3SnmNuf~~2KQzfA.html|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/world/18640-malaysia-splits-with-asean-on-china-sea-threat|title=Malaysia splits with ASEAN on China Sea threat|work=Business Mirror|date=29 August 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153540/http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/world/18640-malaysia-splits-with-asean-on-china-sea-threat|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> However, until present Malaysia still maintained a balance relations with the countries involved in this dispute.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/06/25/1338864/why-malaysia-unlike-philippines-keeps-quiet-sea-row|title=Why Malaysia, unlike Philippines, keeps quiet on sea row|author=Camille Diola|newspaper=[[The Philippine Star]]|date=25 June 2014|access-date=25 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627165932/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/06/25/1338864/why-malaysia-unlike-philippines-keeps-quiet-sea-row|archive-date=27 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> But since China has started encroaching its territorial waters,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/09/27/presence-of-china-coast-guard-ship-at-luconia-shoals-spooks-local-fishermen/|title=Presence of China Coast Guard ship at Luconia Shoals spooks local fishermen|newspaper=[[The Borneo Post]]|date=27 September 2015|access-date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929005731/http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/09/27/presence-of-china-coast-guard-ship-at-luconia-shoals-spooks-local-fishermen/|archive-date=29 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Malaysia has become active in condemning China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/15/malaysia-lodges-diplomatic-protest-against-intrusion-at-beting-patinggi-ali/|title=Malaysia lodges diplomatic protest against intrusion at Beting Patinggi Ali|work=[[Bernama]]|publisher=The Rakyat Post|date=15 August 2015|access-date=16 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929024442/http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/15/malaysia-lodges-diplomatic-protest-against-intrusion-at-beting-patinggi-ali/|archive-date=29 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-slams-china-s/2200744.html|title=Malaysia slams China's 'provocation' in South China Sea|author1=Ben Blanchard|author2=Richard Pullin|agency=Reuters|publisher=[[Channel News Asia]]|date=18 October 2015|access-date=20 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019120244/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-slams-china-s/2200744.html|archive-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>

The editorial of the Taiwanese news website ''Want China Times'' accused America of being behind the May 2014 flareup in the South China Sea, saying that Vietnam rammed a Chinese vessel on 2 May over an oil rig drilling platform and the Philippines detained 11 Chinese fishermens occurred because of Obama's visit to the region and that they were incited by America "behind the scenes". ''Want China Times'' claimed America ordered Vietnam on 7 May to complain about the drilling platform, and noted that a joint military exercise was happening at this time between the Philippines and America, and also noted that the American ''New York Times'' newspaper supported Vietnam.<ref>[http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1701&MainCatID=17&id=20140513000104 Editorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152216/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1701&MainCatID=17&id=20140513000104 |date=17 May 2014}}, 13 May 2014, ''Want China Times''</ref>

In a series of news stories on 16 April 2015, it was revealed, through photos taken by [[Airbus]], that China had been building an airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef, one of the southern islands. The {{convert|10000|ft|0|adj=mid|-long}} runway covers a significant portion of the island, and is viewed as a possible strategic threat to other countries with claims to the islands, such as [[Vietnam]] and the [[Philippines]].

Champa historically had a large presence in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese broke Champa's power in [[Cham–Vietnamese War (1471)|an invasion of Champa in 1471]], and then finally conquered the last remnants of the Cham people in an invasion in 1832. A Cham named Katip Suma who received Islamic education in Kelantan declared a [[Jihad]] against the Vietnamese, and fighting continued until the Vietnamese crushed the remnants of the resistance in 1835. The Cham organisation Front de Libération du Champa was part of the [[United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races]], which waged war against the Vietnamese for independence in the [[Vietnam War]] along with the [[Degar|Montagnard]] and [[Khmer Krom]] minorities. The last remaining FULRO insurgents surrendered to the United Nations in 1992.

The Vietnamese government fears that evidence of [[Champa]]'s influence over the disputed area in the South China Sea would bring attention to human rights violations and killings of ethnic minorities in Vietnam such as in the 2001 and 2004 uprisings, and lead to the issue of Cham autonomy being brought into the dispute, since the Vietnamese conquered the Hindu and Muslim [[Cham people]] in a war in 1832.<ref name="Bray">{{cite journal |last=Bray |first=Adam |date=16 June 2014 |title=The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924055038/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-date=24 September 2014 |journal=National Geographic News |access-date=3 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Japanese scholar Taoka Shunji said in a journal article that the assumption amongst many Japanese people that the territory of the Philippines was being invaded by China, was incorrect. He pointed out that the Spratly islands were not part of the Philippines, when the US acquired the Philippines from Spain in the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris in 1898]], and when the Japanese-ruled Taiwan itself had annexed the Spratly islands in 1938, the US-ruled Philippines did not challenge the move and never asserted that it was their territory. He also pointed out that other countries did not need to do full land reclamation since they already control islands, and that the reason China engaged in extensive land reclamation is because they needed it to build airfields since China only has control over reefs.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Taoka |first=Shunji |others=Translated by Rumi Sakamoto |date=21 September 2015 |title='China Threat Theory' Drives Japanese War Legislation |url=http://www.japanfocus.org/-Taoka-Shunji/4380/article.html |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |volume=13 |issue=38–5 |access-date=26 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034439/http://www.japanfocus.org/-Taoka-Shunji/4380/article.html |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The "Moro" as "people", is used to describe both the Filipino Muslims and their homeland. Ancestors of Moro people were the owners of Spratly Islands prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonials in the 16th century, according to the Sultan of Sulu in the southern Philippines reported in a local paper. "China has no right over the Spratly Islands in what it calls the South China Sea because that is part of our ancestral domain," Majaraj Julmuner Jannaral, Sultanate information officer, told the Philippine Star. "The Spratly Archipelago is part of the Sulu Sea (the inner area around the islands in the southern Philippines, which is part of the [[West Philippine Sea]] (designation of parts of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines to be part of its EEZ)," Jannaral concluded. "Exploration of the marine territory and the waters around the Spratly Archipelago, Palawan in southwestern Philippines and the southern Philippines, belong to the residents in those areas," he added. The Sultanate of Sulu claims historic proprietary rights over the Spratly Islands since before the Spanish colonial era.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/spratly-islands-long-part-of-filipino-muslims-ancestral-domain-1.838413 |title=Spratly Islands long part of Filipino-Muslim's ancestral domain |date=14 July 2011}}</ref>

Various incidents of fishing boats being harassed by Chinese warships have occurred.<ref name="Archived copy">{{Cite news|last1=Chaudhury|first1=Dipanjan Roy|title=Chinese aggression in South China Sea & East China Sea face strong pushback|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/chinese-aggression-in-south-china-sea-east-china-sea-face-strong-pushback/articleshow/75344181.cms|url-status=live|access-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517092736/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/chinese-aggression-in-south-china-sea-east-china-sea-face-strong-pushback/articleshow/75344181.cms|archive-date=17 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/philippines-backs-vietnam-china-sinks-fishing-boat-200409022328432.html |title=Philippines backs Vietnam after China sinks fishing boat |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423010710/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/philippines-backs-vietnam-china-sinks-fishing-boat-200409022328432.html |archive-date=23 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Vietnam-protests-China-s-new-South-China-Sea-districts |title=Vietnam protests China's new South China Sea districts |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422220653/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Vietnam-protests-China-s-new-South-China-Sea-districts |archive-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> At least 2 vessels were rammed or sunk. One was a Vietnamese ship attacked by a Chinese coastguard vessel, and another was a Filipino ship rammed and sunk by a Chinese fishing boat who let the Filipino fishermen drift at sea without giving aid. The stranded fishermen were later rescued by a Vietnamese ship.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-philippines.html |title=Sinking of Philippine Boat Puts South China Sea Back at Issue |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 June 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422141850/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-philippines.html |archive-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live |last1=Gutierrez |first1=Jason |last2=Beech |first2=Hannah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/15/19/how-the-vietnamese-rescued-pinoy-fishermen-rammed-by-chinese-vessel |title=How the Vietnamese rescued Pinoy fishermen rammed by Chinese vessel |date=14 June 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414012449/https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/15/19/how-the-vietnamese-rescued-pinoy-fishermen-rammed-by-chinese-vessel |archive-date=14 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, the United States despite not being a claimant in the Spratly dispute, reported using [[Freedom of Navigation Operations|freedom of navigation operations]] (FONOPs) to challenge what it deemed as excessive and illegal maritime claims from multiple Asia-Pacific states including Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Panda|first=Ankit|title=In 2017, US Freedom of Navigation Operations Targeted 10 Asian Countries — Not Just China|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/in-2017-us-freedom-of-navigation-operations-targeted-10-asian-countries-not-just-china/|access-date=2021-12-08|website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2022, Vietnam demanded that Taiwan cease conducting [[live fire exercise]]s at the Spratly Islands.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vu |first1=Minh |title=Vietnam demands Taiwan cancel military drills in Spratlys |url=https://hanoitimes.vn/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-military-drills-in-spratlys-320214.html |website=Hanoi Times |access-date=22 March 2022 |language=en |date=12 March 2022|quote='The fact that Taiwan continues to hold live-fire drills in the waters around Ba Binh in Vietnam's Truong Sa Islands is a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty over these islands, threatening peace, maritime stability, safety and security, causing tension, and complicating the situation in the East Sea (referring to the South China Sea),' Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said Friday}}</ref>

===2016 arbitration===
{{main|Philippines v. China}}

In January 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings against China under the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] (UNCLOS) across a range of issues, including the latter's historic rights claims over parts or all of the Spratly Islands inside the [[nine-dash line]].<ref name="pressrelease">{{cite web |url=https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf |title=Press Release: The South China Sea Arbitration (''The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China'') |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=PCA |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712201412/https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf |archive-date=12 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aa32a224-480e-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab.html |title=Timeline: South China Sea dispute |date=12 July 2016 |work=Financial Times |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161214224551/https://www.ft.com/content/aa32a224-480e-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab |archive-date=14 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4400671/philippines-south-china-sea-arbitration-case/?xid=homepage |magazine=TIME |title=China's Global Reputation Hinges on Upcoming South China Sea Court Decision |first=Hannah |last=Beech |date=11 July 2016 |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713195604/http://time.com/4400671/philippines-south-china-sea-arbitration-case/?xid=homepage |archive-date=13 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> A tribunal of arbitrators constituted under Annex VII of [[UNCLOS]] appointed the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] (PCA) as registry to the proceedings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/227 |title=Press Release: Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China: Arbitral Tribunal Establishes Rules of Procedure and Initial Timetable |date=27 August 2013 |publisher=PCA |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721161722/http://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/227 |archive-date=21 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 12 July 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions. While it would not "rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties", it concluded that China had not historically exercised exclusive control within the nine-dash line, hence has "no legal basis" to claim "historic rights" to resources.<ref name="pressrelease" /> It also concluded that China's historic rights claims over the maritime areas (as opposed to land masses and territorial waters) inside the nine-dash line would have no lawful effect outside of what is entitled to under UNCLOS.<ref name="PCA Award">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcacases.com/pcadocs/PH-CN%20-%2020160712%20-%20Award.pdf |title=PCA Case Nº 2013–19 |publisher=Permanent Court of Arbitration |date=12 July 2016}}</ref>{{refn|PCA Award, Section V(F)(d)(264, 266, 267), p. 113.<ref name="PCA Award" />}}{{refn|PCA Award, Section V(F)(d)(278), p. 117.<ref name="PCA Award" />}} It criticized China's land reclamation projects and construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands, saying that they had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china |title=Beijing rejects tribunal's ruling in South China Sea case |author=Tom Phillips |author2=Oliver Holmes |author3=Owen Bowcott |date=12 July 2016 |work=The Guardian |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712220441/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china |archive-date=12 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Finally, it characterized [[Taiping Island]] and other features of the Spratly Islands as "rocks" under UNCLOS, and therefore are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile [[exclusive economic zone]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-rejects-south-china-sea-ruling-says-will-deploy-another-navy-vessel-to-itu-aba |work=[[The Straits Times]] |date=12 July 2016 |first=Jermyn |last=Chow |title=Taiwan rejects South China Sea ruling, says will deploy another navy vessel to Taiping |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015244/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-rejects-south-china-sea-ruling-says-will-deploy-another-navy-vessel-to-itu-aba |archive-date=17 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The award was ruled as final and non-appealable by either country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/china/21702069-region-and-america-will-now-anxiously-await-chinas-response-un-appointed-tribunal |title=A UN-appointed tribunal dismisses China's claims in the South China Sea |date=12 July 2016 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091610/https://www.economist.com/news/china/21702069-region-and-america-will-now-anxiously-await-chinas-response-un-appointed-tribunal |archive-date=13 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-hague-ruling-philippines.html |title=Beijing's South China Sea Claims Rejected by Hague Tribunal |first=Jane |last=Perez |date=12 July 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712152027/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-hague-ruling-philippines.html |archive-date=12 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> China rejected the ruling, calling it "ill-founded".<ref name="BBC 2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36771749 |title=South China Sea: Tribunal backs case against China brought by Philippines |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620040633/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36771749 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Taiwan, which currently administers Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1988990/taiwan-controlled-taiping-island-rock-says |title=Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island is a rock, says international court in South China Sea ruling |date=12 July 2016 |work=South China Morning Post |author=Jun Mai |author2=Shi Jiangtao |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715074244/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1988990/taiwan-controlled-taiping-island-rock-says |archive-date=15 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, 26 governments support the ruling, 17 issued generally positive statements noting the ruling but not called for compliance, and eight rejected it.<ref name="AMTI2023">{{Cite web |url=https://amti.csis.org/arbitration-support-tracker/ |title=Arbitration Support Tracker {{!}} Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |access-date=25 August 2024 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715042422/https://amti.csis.org/arbitration-support-tracker/|archive-date=15 July 2024}}</ref> The governments in support were [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Canada]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[India]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Italy]], Japan, the [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], the Philippines, [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[South Korea]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the United States; the eight in opposition were China, [[Montenegro]], [[Pakistan]], Russia, [[Sudan]], [[Syria]], Taiwan, and [[Vanuatu]].<ref name="AMTI2023" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180209060419/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/07/15/south-china-sea-arbitration/ Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the Award rendered in the Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China] (archived from [https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/07/15/south-china-sea-arbitration the original] on February 9, 2018)</ref> The [[United Nations]] itself does not have a position on the legal and procedural merits of the case or on the disputed claims, and the Secretary-General expressed his hope that the continued consultations on a Code of Conduct between [[ASEAN]] and China under the framework of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea will lead to increased mutual understanding among all the parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/db160712.doc.htm |title=Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>

==Transportation and communication==
===Airports===
{{see also|List of airports in the Spratly Islands}}
{{:List of airports in the Spratly Islands}}


===Telecommunications===
===Telecommunications===
In 2005, a cellular phone base station was erected by the Philippines' [[Smart Communications]] on Pag-asa Island.<ref name="Philippines erected mobile phone in Spratleys">[http://wn.com/Kalayaan_Palawan Kalayaan Palawan<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
In 2005, a cellular phone base station was erected by the Philippines' [[Smart Communications]] on [[Pag-asa Island]].<ref>[http://wn.com/Kalayaan_Palawan Kalayaan Islands of Palawan Province] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140614114431/http://wn.com/Kalayaan_Palawan |date=14 June 2014}} (video part 1 of 2), 14 November 2009</ref>


Vietnam Military Telecommunications Corp., known commonly as [[Viettel]], established mobile coverage in the Spratly Islands in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-20/vietnam-protests-china-mobile-s-plans-for-service-to-spratlys |title=Vietnam Protests China Mobile Move to Disputed Islands, VNA Says| website=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=20 May 2011}}</ref>
On 18 May 2011, [[China Mobile]] announced that its mobile phone coverage has expanded to the Spratly Islands, under the rationale that it can allow soldiers stationed on the islands, fishermen and merchant vessels within the area to use mobile services, and can also provide assistance during storms and sea rescues. The deployment of China Mobile's support over the islands took roughly one year to fulfil.<ref>Ian Mansfield, 18th May 2011, [http://www.cellular-news.com/story/49219.php China Mobile Expands Coverage to the Spratly Islands], Cellular News</ref>

On 18 May 2011, [[China Mobile]] announced that its mobile phone coverage has expanded to the Spratly Islands. The extended coverage would allow soldiers stationed on the islands, fishermen, and merchant vessels within the area to use mobile services, and can also provide assistance during storms and sea rescues. The service network deployment over the islands took nearly one year.<ref>Ian Mansfield, 18 May 2011, [http://www.cellular-news.com/story/49219.php China Mobile Expands Coverage to the Spratly Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316142717/http://www.cellular-news.com/story/49219.php |date=16 March 2012}}, Cellular News</ref>

In 2013, Taiwan's [[Chunghwa Telecom]] established a satellite-based cellular base station on [[Taiping Island]].

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" mode="packed">
File:Cây phong ba.JPG|An ancient ''[[Heliotropium foertherianum]]'' on Spratly Island
File:Truong Sa lon.JPG|Young Vietnamese residents of [[Spratly Island]]
File:Truong Sa Đông.JPG|A military cemetery for Vietnamese soldiers on Central London Reef
File:Đảo An Bang.JPG|A view from [[Amboyna Cay]]
File:Đảo Phan Vinh.JPG|The Pearson Reef dock under Vietnam's administration
</gallery>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Ocean|Politics|Islands}}
* [[Kingdom of Humanity]]
* [[South China Sea Islands]]
* [[Coral triangle initiative]]
* [[Paracel Islands]]
* [[Great Wall of Sand]]
* [[Junk Keying]]
* [[Johnson South Reef Skirmish]]
* [[Keying (ship)]]
* [[Policies, activities and history of the Philippines in Spratly Islands]]
* [[Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads#Kingdom of Humanity|Kingdom of Humanity]]
* [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan, Palawan, Philippines]]
* [[Zheng He]]
* [[Crysis]], a computer game set on the Spratly Islands.
* [[SSN (game)|SSN]], a computer game set during a conflict over the Spratly Islands.
* [[List of islands in the South China Sea]]
* [[List of islands in the South China Sea]]
* [[List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands]]
* [[Natuna Regency]]
* [[Paracel Islands]]
* [[Philippines and the Spratly Islands]]
* [[Philippine Coast Guard]]
* [[South China Sea]]
* [[South China Sea Islands]]
* [[Spratly Islands dispute]]
* [[Tom Clancy's SSN|''SSN'']], a computer game set during a conflict over the Spratly Islands
* [[Territorial disputes in the South China Sea]]
* [[Territories claimed by the Philippines]]
* [[Free Territory of Freedomland|Tomás Cloma and the Free Territory of Freedomland]]


==References==
==References==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
=== Further reading ===
* Bonnet, François-Xavier (2012) [http://www.irasec.com/ouvrage34 ''Geopolitics of Scarborough Shoal''], Irasec, 14.
* Daniel J.Dzurek and Clive H.Schofield. ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=o5P4U4UlucMC The Spratly Islands dispute: who's on first?]''. IBRU; 1996. ISBN 9781897643235
* Bouchat, Clarence J. (2013) [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo45589 ''Dangerous Ground: The Spratly Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches''], [[Strategic Studies Institute]] and [[US Army War College]] Press, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
* C.Michael Hogan (2011) [http://www.eoearth.org/article/South_China_Sea?topic=49523 ''South China Sea'' Topic ed. P.Saundry. Ed.-in-chief C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC]
* {{Cite book |last1=Cardenal |first1=Juan Pablo |author-link1=Juan Pablo Cardenal |last2=Araújo |first2=Heriberto |author-link2=Heriberto Araújo |title=La silenciosa conquista china |location=Barcelona |publisher=Crítica |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ2fvBVpQpYC |pages=258–261|language=es|isbn=978-84-9892-257-8}}
* Mike Spick. ''Dangerous Ground!'', ''[[Air Forces Monthly]]'', December 1993
* [[Daniel Dzurek|Dzurek, Daniel J.]] and Clive H.Schofield. (1996) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=o5P4U4UlucMC The Spratly Islands dispute: who's on first?]''. IBRU. {{ISBN|978-1-897643-23-5}}
* Hogan, C. Michael (2011) [http://www.eoearth.org/article/South_China_Sea?topic=49523 "South China Sea"], ''Encyclopedia of Earth'', National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington, D.C..
* Menon, Rajan (11 September 2012) [http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/worry-about-asia-not-europe-7447?page=1 "Worry about Asia, Not Europe"], ''[[The National Interest]]'', Issue: Sept–Oct 2012.
<!-- *Spick, Mike (December 1993) "Dangerous Ground!", ''[[AirForces Monthly]]'' -->


==External links==
==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q215664|b=no|v=no|voy=Spratly Islands|s=no|wikt=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|c=category:Spratly Islands|n=no|q=no}}
* {{wikitravel}}
*[http://www.425dxn.org/dc3mf/0_sprat.html Mariner's page of the Spratly Islands]
* {{Wikiatlas|the Spratly Islands}}
*[http://sowf.moi.gov.tw/stat/year/y05-19.xls Taiwanese List with ~170 entries]
*[ftp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/reposit/2001/2001075.pdf List of atolls with areas]
* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/spratly/thumbs.php Satellite images of all islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands.]
* [http://www.fotw.net/flags/xp-s.html Flags of the World (FOTW)] entry with various [[micronation]]s on the Spratly Islands.
* [http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cartes/spratlymdv1997 Map showing the claims]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/spratly-claims.htm A tabular summary about the Spratly and Paracel Islands]
* [http://community.middlebury.edu/~scs/macand/gazetteer.htm Another overview table of the Spratly Islands]
* [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pg.html CIA World Factbook for Spratly Islands]
* {{PDFlink|[http://travelvietnam.officeisp.net/Shared%20Documents/Countries%20-%20Vietnam/VietnamForeignMinistry81.pdf Vietnamese claims]|1.70&nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]<!--
application/pdf, 1790262 bytes -->}}, from Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs
* {{PDFlink|[http://community.middlebury.edu/~scs/docs/Li%20and%20Li-The%20Dotted%20Line%20on%20the%20Map.pdf ''The Dotted Line on the Chinese Map of the South China Sea: A Note'']|150&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]<!-- Application/pdf, 154076 bytes -->}}
* [http://www.american.edu/TED/SPRATLY.htm Third Party Summary of the Dispute]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=112047810770307867127.0004460b96d655257cc9c&ll=11.070603,115.708008&spn=9.563619,20.566406&t=k&z=6 Google Map of Spratly Islands]
* {{wikiatlas|the Spratly Islands}}
*{{Citation
| author = Ji Guoxing
| title = Maritime Jurisdiction in the Three China Seas: Options For Equitable Settlement
| publisher = Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
| date = October 1995
| url = http://repositories.cdlib.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=igcc
| format = PDF
| postscript = .}}
*[http://nguyenthaihocfoundation.org/lichsuVN/m_bienkhao.php A collection of documents on Spratly and Paracel Islands by Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation]


{{Spratly Islands topics|state=expanded}}
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[[Category:Spratly Islands| ]]
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{{Link GA|es}}
<!--Other languages-->
[[ceb:Kapupud-ang Kagawasan]]
[[cs:Spratlyovy ostrovy]]
[[de:Spratly-Inseln]]
[[es:Islas Spratly]]
[[fo:Spratly oyggjar]]
[[fr:Îles Spratleys]]
[[ga:Oileáin Spratly]]
[[ko:스프래틀리 군도]]
[[hr:Otočje Spratly]]
[[id:Kepulauan Spratly]]
[[it:Isole Spratly]]
[[lt:Spratlio salos]]
[[mk:Острови Спретли]]
[[ms:Kepulauan Spratly]]
[[nl:Spratly-eilanden]]
[[ja:南沙諸島]]
[[no:Spratlyøyene]]
[[pl:Wyspy Spratly]]
[[pt:Ilhas Spratly]]
[[ru:Острова Спратли]]
[[simple:Spratly Islands]]
[[fi:Spratlysaaret]]
[[sv:Spratlyöarna]]
[[tl:Kapuluan ng Kalayaan]]
[[th:หมู่เกาะสแปรตลีย์]]
[[vec:Ìxołe Spratly]]
[[vi:Quần đảo Trường Sa]]
[[yo:Spratly Islands]]
[[zh:南沙群岛]]

Latest revision as of 07:33, 31 December 2024

Spratly Islands
Spratly Islands
Spratly Islands
Location of the Spratly Islands

The Spratly Islands (Filipino: Kapuluan ng Kalayaan;[1] Mandarin Chinese: 南沙群島/南沙群岛; pinyin: Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay: Kepulauan Spratly; Vietnamese: Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays,[2] and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls,[3] 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 200 ha (500 acres) of naturally occurring land area that is spread over hundreds of square km of the South China Sea.

The Spratly Islands are one of the major archipelagos in the South China Sea which complicate governance and economics in this part of Southeast Asia due to their location in strategic shipping lanes. The islands are largely uninhabited, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves, and as such are important to the claimants in their attempts to establish international boundaries. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), the Philippines, and Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone in the southeastern part of the Spratly Islands, which includes the uninhabited Louisa Reef.

Geographic and economic overview

Spratly Islands
Disputed islands
The Spratly Islands
Map
Geography
LocationSouth China Sea
Coordinates10°N 114°E / 10°N 114°E / 10; 114
Total islands18 islands and cays
Major islands
Area200 ha (490 acres)
Coastline926 km (575.4 mi)
Highest elevation4 m (13 ft)
Highest pointSouthwest Cay
Claimed by
Brunei
EEZBrunei zone
People's Republic of China
Prefecture-level citySansha, Hainan[5]
Malaysia
StateSabah
Philippines
MunicipalityKalayaan, Palawan
Taiwan
MunicipalityKaohsiung
Vietnam
DistrictTrường Sa, Khánh Hòa
Spratly Islands
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese南沙群島
Simplified Chinese南沙群岛
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinNánshā Qúndǎo
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationNàhmsaa Kwùhndóu
Jyutpingnam4 saa1 kwun4 dou2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLâm-soa Kûn-tó
Hainanese RomanizationNâm-so Kún-tō
Vietnamese name
VietnameseQuần đảo Trường Sa
Hán-Nôm群島長沙
Malay name
Malay
  • Kepulauan Spratly
  • Gugusan Semarang Peninjau[6][7][8]
Filipino name
TagalogKapuluan ng Kalayaan
The Spratly Islands
A geographic map of Spratly Islands[a]

In 1939, the Spratly Islands were coral islets mostly inhabited by seabirds.[2] Despite the Spratly Islands naturally consisting of 19 islands (see below), according to a Chinese 1986 source, the Spratly Islands consist of 14 islands or islets, 6 banks, 113 submerged reefs, 35 underwater banks and 21 underwater shoals.[9]

The northeast part of the Spratly Islands is known as Dangerous Ground and is characterised by many low islands, sunken reefs, and degraded, sunken atolls with coral often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than 1,000 metres (3,000 ft) – all of which makes the area dangerous for navigation.

The islands are all of similar nature; they are cays (or keys): sand islands formed on old degraded and submerged coral reefs.

The Spratly Islands contain almost no arable land, are largely uninhabited, and very few of the islands have a permanent drinkable water supply.[10][11]

Natural resources include fish, guano, oil and natural gas.[12] Economic activity has included commercial fishing, shipping, guano mining, oil and gas exploitation, and more recently, tourism. The Spratly Islands are located near several primary shipping lanes.

The islands and cays, listed in descending order of naturally occurring area, are:

# Island name in Atoll Area
(ha.)
Location Currently occupied by Reclaimed
area
1 Itu Aba Island Tizard Bank 46.00 10°23′N 114°21′E / 10.383°N 114.350°E / 10.383; 114.350 Taiwan (Taiping Island) ~6 ha
2 Thitu Island Thitu Reefs 37.20 11°03′N 114°17′E / 11.050°N 114.283°E / 11.050; 114.283 Philippines (Pagasa Island)
3 West York Island West York Island 18.60 11°05′N 115°01′E / 11.083°N 115.017°E / 11.083; 115.017 Philippines (Likas Island)
4 Spratly Island Spratly Island 13.00 08°38′N 111°55′E / 8.633°N 111.917°E / 8.633; 111.917 Vietnam (Trường Sa Island)
5 Northeast Cay North Danger Reef 12.70 11°28′N 114°21′E / 11.467°N 114.350°E / 11.467; 114.350 Philippines (Parola Island)
6 Southwest Cay North Danger Reef 12.00 11°26′N 114°20′E / 11.433°N 114.333°E / 11.433; 114.333 Vietnam (Song Tử Tây Island) ~8 ha
7 Sin Cowe Island Union Banks 08.00 09°52′N 114°19′E / 9.867°N 114.317°E / 9.867; 114.317 Vietnam (Sinh Tồn Island) ~1 ha
8 Nanshan Island Nanshan Group 07.93 10°45′N 115°49′E / 10.750°N 115.817°E / 10.750; 115.817 Philippines (Lawak Island)
9 Sand Cay Tizard Bank 07.00 10°23′N 114°28′E / 10.383°N 114.467°E / 10.383; 114.467 Vietnam (Sơn Ca Island) ~2.1 ha[13]
10 Loaita Island Loaita Bank 06.45 10°40′N 114°25′E / 10.667°N 114.417°E / 10.667; 114.417 Philippines (Kota Island)
11 Swallow Reef Swallow Reef 06.20 07°22′N 113°50′E / 7.367°N 113.833°E / 7.367; 113.833 Malaysia (Layang-Layang Reef)
12 Namyit Island Tizard Bank 05.30 10°11′N 114°22′E / 10.183°N 114.367°E / 10.183; 114.367 Vietnam (Nam Yết Island)
13 Amboyna Cay Amboyna Cay 01.60 07°51′N 112°55′E / 7.850°N 112.917°E / 7.850; 112.917 Vietnam (An Bang Island)
14 Grierson Reef Union Banks 01.60 09°51′N 114°29′E / 9.850°N 114.483°E / 9.850; 114.483 Vietnam (Sinh Tồn Đông Island)
15 West London Reef London Reefs 01.10 08°52′N 112°15′E / 8.867°N 112.250°E / 8.867; 112.250 Vietnam (Đá Tây A Island)
16 Central London Reef London Reefs 00.88 08°56′N 112°21′E / 8.933°N 112.350°E / 8.933; 112.350 Vietnam (Trường Sa Đông Island)
17 Flat Island Nanshan Group 00.57 10°49′N 115°49′E / 10.817°N 115.817°E / 10.817; 115.817 Philippines (Patag Island)
18 Lankiam Cay Loaita Bank 00.44 10°43′N 114°32′E / 10.717°N 114.533°E / 10.717; 114.533 Philippines (Panata Island)

The total area of the archipelago's naturally occurring islands is 177 ha (440 acres) and 200 ha (490 acres) with reclaimed land.

Due to confusion, the Spratly Islands at times were also referred to as the Paracels.[14]

Geology

The Spratly Islands consist of islands, reefs, banks and shoals made up of biogenic carbonate. These accumulations of biogenic carbonate lie upon the higher crests of major submarine ridges that are uplifted fault blocks known by geologists as horsts.[15] These horsts are part of a series of half-grabens and rotated fault-blocks which lie parallel and en echelon. The long axes of the horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens form well-defined linear trends that lie parallel to magnetic anomalies exhibited by the oceanic crust of the adjacent South China Sea. The horsts, rotated fault blocks, and the rock forming the bottoms of associated grabens consist of stretched and subsided continental crust that is composed of Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous strata that include calc-alkalic extrusive igneous rocks, intermediate to acid intrusive igneous rocks, sandstones, siltstones, dark-green claystones, and metamorphic rocks that include biotitemuscovitefeldsparquartz migmatites and garnetmica schists.[16][17][18]

The dismemberment and subsidence of continental crust into horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens that underlie the Spratly Islands and surrounding sea bottom occurred in two distinct periods. They occurred as the result of the tectonic stretching of continental crust along underlying deeply rooted detachment faults. During the Late Cretaceous and Early Oligocene, the earliest period of tectonic stretching of continental crust and formation of horsts, half-grabens, and rotated fault-blocks occurred in association with the rifting and later sea-floor spreading that created the South China Sea. During the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene additional stretching and block faulting of continental crust occurred within the Spratly Islands and adjacent Dangerous Ground. During and after this period of tectonic activity, corals and other marine life colonised the crests of the horsts and other ridges that lay in shallow water. The remains of these organisms accumulated over time as biogenic carbonates that comprise the current day reefs, shoals and cays of the Spratly Islands. Starting with their formation in Late Cretaceous, fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments accumulated within the numerous submarine half-grabens that underlie sea bottom within the Dangerous Ground region.[16][17][18]

The geological surveys show localised areas within the Spratly Islands region are favourable for the accumulation of economic oil and gas reserves.[19][10][20] They include thick sequences of Cenozoic sediments east of the Spratly Islands. Southeast and west of them, there also exist thick accumulations of sediments that possibly might contain economic oil and gas reserves, which lie closer to the Spratly Islands.[19][21]

Ecology

In some cays in the Spratly Islands, the sand and pebble sediments form the beaches and spits around the island. Under the influence of the dominant wind direction, which changes seasonally, these sediments move around the island to change the shape and size of the island. For example, Spratly Island is larger during the northeast monsoon (about 700 by 300 metres (2,300 ft × 980 ft)), and smaller during the southwest monsoon (approximately 650 by 320 metres (2,130 ft × 1,050 ft)).[22]

Some islands may contain fresh groundwater fed by rain. Groundwater levels fluctuate during the day with the rhythm of the tides.[23]

Phosphates from bird faeces (guano) are mainly concentrated in the beach rocks by the way of exchange-endosmosis. The principal minerals bearing phosphate are podolite, lewistonite and dehonite.[24]

Coral reefs

Coral reefs are the predominant structures of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.[3] In April 2015 The New York Times reported that China were using "scores of dredgers" to convert Fiery Cross Reef and several other reefs into military facilities.[25][26]

Vegetation

Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense monsoons. Larger islands are capable of supporting tropical forest, scrub forest, coastal scrub and grasses. It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. Taiping Island (Itu Aba) was reportedly covered with shrubs, coconut, and mangroves in 1938; pineapple was also cultivated there when it was profitable. Other accounts mention papaya, banana, palm, and even white peach trees growing on one island. A few islands that have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there was none.[3]

Wildlife

A total of 2,927 marine species have been recorded in the Spratly Sea, including 776 benthic species, 382 species of hard coral, 524 species of marine fish, 262 species of algae and sea grass, 35 species of seabirds, and 20 species of marine mammals and sea turtles.[27] Terrestrial vegetation in the islands includes 103 species of vascular plants of magnolia branches (Magnoliophyta) of 39 families and 79 genera.[27] The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles.[3] Both the green turtle (Chelonia mydas, endangered) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata, critically endangered) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as Pratas) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.[3]

Seabirds use the islands as resting, breeding, and wintering sites. Species found here include streaked shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), brown booby (Sula leucogaster), red-footed booby (S. sula), great crested tern (Sterna bergii), and white tern (Gygis alba). Little information is available regarding the current status of the islands' seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting sites to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of Southwest Cay, a small island in the eastern Danger Zone.[3] A variety of cetaceans such as dolphins,[28] orcas, pilot whales, and sperm whales are also present around the islands.[29][30][31]

This ecoregion is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.[3]

Ecological hazards

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Louisa Reef
56
Louisa Reef
Mariveles Reef
55
Mariveles Reef
Investigator Shoal
54
Investigator Shoal
Erica Reef
53
Erica Reef
Dallas Reef
52
Dallas Reef
Ardasier Reef
51
Ardasier Reef
Swallow Reef
50
Swallow Reef
Kingston Shoal
49
Kingston Shoal
Orleana Shoal
48
Orleana Shoal
Alexandra Bank
47
Alexandra Bank
Grainger Bank
46
Grainger Bank
Prince Consort Bank
45
Prince Consort Bank
Vanguard Bank
44
Vanguard Bank
Prince of Wales Bank
43
Prince of Wales Bank
Bombay Castle
42
Bombay Castle
Lansdowne Reef
41
Lansdowne Reef
Collins Reef
40
Collins Reef
South Reef
39
South Reef
Petley Reef
38
Petley Reef
Cornwallis South Reef
37
Cornwallis South Reef
Alison Reef
36
Alison Reef
East London Reef
35
East London Reef
Tennent Reef
34
Tennent Reef
Discovery Great Reef
33
Discovery Great Reef
Ladd Reef
32
Ladd Reef
West London Reef
31
West London Reef
Barque Canada Reef
30
Barque Canada Reef
Pearson Reef
29
Pearson Reef
Central London Reef
28
Central London Reef
Grierson Reef
27
Grierson Reef
Amboyna Cay
26
Amboyna Cay
Spratly Island
25
Spratly Island
Sin Cowe Island
24
Sin Cowe Island
Namyit Island
23
Namyit Island
Sand Cay
22
Sand Cay
Southwest Cay
21
Southwest Cay
Second Thomas Shoal
20
Second Thomas Shoal
Irving Reef
19
Irving Reef
Commodore Reef
18
Commodore Reef
West York Island
17
West York Island
Thitu Island
16
Thitu Island
Northeast Cay
15
Northeast Cay
Nanshan Island
14
Nanshan Island
Loaita Island
13
Loaita Island
Loaita Cay
12
Loaita Cay
Lankiam Cay
11
Lankiam Cay
Flat Island
10
Flat Island
Hughes Reef
9
Hughes Reef
Johnson South Reef
8
Johnson South Reef
Cuarteron Reef
6
Subi Reef
5
Subi Reef
Mischief Reef
4
Mischief Reef
Fiery Cross Reef
3
Fiery Cross Reef
Zhongzhou Reef
2
Zhongzhou Reef
Taiping Island
1
Taiping Island
Location of the major islands in Spratly Islands. The eastern Dangerous Ground area contains many other reefs.

Political instability, tourism, and the increasing industrialisation of neighbouring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, over-exploitation of natural resources, and environmental pollution. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity and/or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.[3]

Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Although it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of bottom trawlers fitted with chain rollers. In 1994, a routine patrol by Taiwan's marine navy confiscated more than 200 kg (400 lb) of potassium cyanide solution from fishermen who had been using it for cyanide fishing. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.[32]

Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus, professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science School, has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a marine park. One region of the Spratly Archipelago, named Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The site, with an area of 160 km2 (62 sq mi), is currently managed by the Khánh Hòa Provincial People's Committee of Vietnam.[3]

Military groups in the Spratly Islands have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood, and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.[3]

A 2014 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said: "Sand is rarer than one thinks".[33]

The average price of sand imported by Singapore was US$3 per tonne from 1995 to 2001, but the price increased to US$190 per tonne from 2003 to 2005.[33] Although the Philippines and China had both ratified the UNCLOS III, in the case of and Johnson South Reef, Hughes Reef, Mischief Reef, the PRC dredged sand for free in the EEZ the Philippines[34] had claimed from 1978[35] arguing this is the "waters of China's Nansha Islands".

Although the consequences of substrate mining are hidden, they are tremendous.[33] Aggregate particles that are too fine to be used are rejected by dredging boats, releasing vast dust plumes and changing water turbidity.[33]

John McManus, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, said, "The worst thing anyone can do to a coral reef is to bury it under tons of sand and gravel ... There are global security concerns associated with the damage. It is likely broad enough to reduce fish stocks in the world's most fish-dependent region." He explained that the reason the world has heard little about the damage inflicted by the People's Republic of China to the reefs is that the experts can't get to them and noted "I have colleagues from the Philippines, Taiwan, PRC, Vietnam and Malaysia who have worked in the Spratly area. Most would not be able to get near the artificial islands except possibly some from PRC, and those would not be able to release their findings."[36]

History

Evidence of human presence in the region extends back nearly 50,000 years at Tabon Caves on Palawan. Therefore, it is difficult to say when humans first came upon this island group. Within historical times, several groups may have passed through or occupied the islands. Between 600 BC to 3 BC there was an east to west migration by members of the seafaring Sa Huỳnh culture. This may have led them through the Spratly Islands on their way to Vietnam. These migrants were the forebears of the Cham people, an Austronesian-speaking people that founded the Old Champa empire that ruled what was known for centuries as the Champa Sea.[37][38]

Early records and cartography

In the Song Dynasty work Zhu fan zhi by Zhao Rugua, the name "Thousand Li Stretch of Sands" (Qianli Changsha, 千里長沙) and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools/Beds" (Wanli Shitang 萬里石塘, or Wanli Shichuang 萬里) were given, interpreted by some to refer to Paracel and Spratly respectively.[39] Wanli Shitang is also recorded in the History of Yuan to have been explored by the Chinese during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries.[40][41][42] However, the Yuan also ruled over Korea, Outer Mongolia, and parts of modern Russia. They are also referenced, sometimes with different names, in the Ming dynasty.[43][44] For example, in the Mao Kun map dating from Zheng He's voyage of the early 15th century, Shixing Shitang (石星石塘) is taken by some to mean Spratly,[45] however different authors interpret the identities of these islands differently.[46] Another Ming text, Haiyu (海語, On the Sea), uses Wanli Changsha (萬里長沙) for Spratly and noted that it is located southeast of Wanli Shitang (Paracels).[45] When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing dynasty continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724,[47] 1755,[48] 1767,[49] 1810,[50] and 1817,[51] but did not officially claim jurisdiction over these islands.

An early European map, A correct chart of the China Seas of 1758 by William Herbert, left the Spratly Islands region (known then as the Dangerous Ground) as largely blank, indicating that region has yet to be properly surveyed, although some islands and shoals at its western edge were marked (one appears at the same place as Thitu Island).[52][53] A number of maps of the South China Sea were later produced, but the first map that gives a reasonably accurate delineation of the Spratly Islands region (titled [South] China Sea, Sheet 1) was only published in 1821 by the hydrographer of the East India Company James Horsburgh after a survey by Captain Daniel Ross. A later 1859 edition of the map named the Spratly Island as Storm Island.[52] The islands were sporadically visited throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries by mariners from different European powers (including Richard Spratly, after whom the island group derives its most recognisable English name, who visited the group in the 1840s in his whaler Cyrus).[54] However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and the Paracel Islands but eventually withdrew the survey, after receiving protests from the Guangdong government representing the Qing dynasty. China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands.[55]

A Vietnamese map from 1834 also combines the Spratly and Paracel Islands into one region known as "Vạn Lý Trường Sa", a feature commonly incorporated into maps of the era (萬里長沙) ‒ that is, the same as the aforementioned Chinese island name Wanli Changsha.[56] According to Hanoi, Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (Golden Sandbanks, referring to both the Spratly and Paracel Islands), which lay near the coast of the central Vietnam, as early as 1838.[57] In Phủ Biên Tạp Lục (The Frontier Chronicles) by scholar Lê Quý Đôn, both Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to the Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the Lê dynasty, 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.[57] Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that its neighbour had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.[57]

In 1888 the Central Borneo Company were granted a lease to work guano "on Sprattly island and Amboyna Cay"[58] During the Second World War troops from French Indochina and Japan were in occupation.[59][60][61] In 1956 Filipino adventurer Tomás Cloma Sr. decided to "claim" a part of Spratly islands as his own, naming it the "Free Territory of Freedomland".[62]

In the 1950s, a group of individuals claimed sovereignty over the islands in the name of Morton F. Meads, supposedly an American descendant of a British naval captain who gave his name to Meads Island (Itu Aba) in the 1870s. In an affidavit made in 1971, the group claimed to represent the Kingdom of Humanity/Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads,[63] which they asserted was in turn the successor entity for a supposed Kingdom of Humanity established between the two world wars on Meads Island, allegedly by the son of the British captain. This claim to this would-be micronation fell dormant after 1972, when several members of the group drowned in a typhoon.[64][65][66][67]

Military conflicts and diplomatic dialogues

The following are political divisions for the Spratly Islands claimed by various area nations (in alphabetical order):

Conflicts in the 19th century

In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratly Islands.[72][73]

Some Chinese scholars and officials argue that the 1887 Sino-French Tonkin Boundary convention[74] signed after the Sino-French War recognised the sovereignty of China over the Paracel and Spratly islands.[75] The line mentioned in the convention can be more accurately described as a shorthand for dividing islands between China and Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, but not its maritime waters. In the 1950s amid warming ties between the two countries, Mao Zedong decided to hand over Bạch Long Vĩ Island, which lies to the west of the dividing line and had Chinese inhabitants, to Vietnam. In 1933 and 1937 France sent diplomatic notes to China maintaining that the 1887 treaty determined the ownership of islands near the Móng Cái area only not anywhere beyond that.[76][77]

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also try to claim that a 1883 incident involving a German ship conducting surveys in the South China Sea without China's consent was protested with Berlin and the Germans terminated the survey.[55] Western scholars have determined, however, that this incident is not based on verifiable references and is inconsistent with other Chinese inaction during the same time period given that, in 1885, the German Admiralty published a two‐sheet chart entitled Die Paracel‐Inseln (The Paracel Islands). The chart documented the work of a German expedition to the Paracels between 1881 and 1884.[78]

Conflicts in the 20th century until 1945

China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. The Qing dynasty's successor state, the Republic of China, claimed the Spratly and Paracel islands under the jurisdiction of Hainan.[55]

In 1933, France asserted its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands[citation needed] on behalf of its then-colony French Indochina.[79] It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including Taiping Island, built weather stations on two of the islands, and administered them as part of French Indochina.[failed verification] This occupation was protested by the Republic of China (ROC) government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited nine of the islands.[80] In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and it used the islands as a submarine base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the Japanese occupation, these islands were called Shinnan Shoto (新南諸島), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands (西沙群岛), they were put under the governance of the Japanese authority in Taiwan on 30 March 1939.[81]

Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratly Islands from February 1939 to August 1945.[82] Japan annexed the Spratly Islands via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction.[72] Parts of the Paracels and Spratly Islands were again controlled by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan,[83] since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area,[55] however no successor was named to the islands.[83]

Conflicts in the 20th century after World War II

Map of the South East China
China's (now ROC and PRC) nine-dash line illustrated in a 1947 map of the South China Sea

In November 1946, the ROC sent naval ships to take control of the islands after the surrender of Japan.[82] It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, Taiping Island, as its base, and it renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. Also following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the ROC re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Taiping Island) after accepting the Japanese surrender of the islands based on the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations. The Republic of China then garrisoned Itu Aba (Taiping) island in 1946 and posted Chinese flags.[72] The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims.[55][84] The Republic of China drew up the map showing the U-shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947.[55] Japan had renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty together with the Paracels, Pratas and other islands captured from the Chinese, and upon these declarations, the government of the Republic of China reasserted its claim to the islands. At the peace conference, South Vietnam declared Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratlys, but North Vietnam supported China's authority.[85] The Chinese Kuomintang force withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing Chinese Communist Party due to their losses in the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.[79] Taiwan quietly withdrew troops from Taiping Island in 1950, but then reinstated them in 1956 in response to Tomás Cloma's sudden claim to the island as part of Freedomland.[86] As of 2013, Taiping Island is administered by Taiwan.[87]

After pulling out its garrison in 1950 when the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan, when the Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratly Islands and, Taiwan again regarrisoned Itu Aba in 1956.[88] In 1946, the Americans allegedly reminded the Philippines at its independence that the Spratly Islands were not Philippine territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratly Islands were not part of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with the United States.[72] However, no document was found to that effect. The Philippines then claimed the Spratly Islands in 1971 under President Marcos, after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.[89]

Taiwan's garrison from 1946 to 1950 and 1956-now on Itu Aba represents an "effective occupation" of the Spratly Islands.[89][90] China established a coastal defence system against Japanese pirates or smugglers.[91]

Territorial monument of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) on Southwest Cay, Spratly Islands, defining the cay as part of Vietnamese territory (Phước Tuy Province). Used from 22 August 1956 until 1975, when replaced by another one from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (successor state after the Fall of Saigon)

In 1958, China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters that encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam's prime minister, Phạm Văn Đồng, sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai, stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) respected the Chinese decision regarding the 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi) limit of territorial waters.[92] While accepting the 12-nmi principal with respect to territorial waters, the letter did not actually address the issue of defining actual territorial boundaries. North Vietnam recognised China's claims on the Paracels and Spratly Islands during the Vietnam War as it was being supported by China. Only after winning the war and conquering South Vietnam did North Vietnam retract its recognition and admitted it recognised them as part of China to receive aid from China in fighting the Americans.[93][94]

In 1987, China installed a small military structure on Fiery Cross Reef under the pretext of building an oceanic observation station and installing a tide gauge for the Global Sea Level Observing System.[95][verification needed] After a deadly skirmish with the Vietnamese Navy, China installed some military structures on more reefs in the vicinity of the Philippines and Vietnamese occupied islands and this led to escalating tensions between these countries and China over the status and ownership of reefs.

In 1988, the Vietnamese and Chinese navies engaged in a skirmish in the area of Johnson South Reef (also called Gạc Ma Reef in Vietnam and Yongshu Reef in China).[96]

Under President Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan stated that "legally, historically, geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign ministry of Taiwan.[97] Taiwan and China's claims "mirror" each other; during international talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since both have the same claims.[89][98]

It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after World War II, since none of the islands, other than Taiping Island, was habitable. The South Vietnamese government took over the Trường Sa administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the First Indochina War. "The French bestowed its titles, rights, and claims over the two island chains to the Republic of Vietnam (RoV) in accordance with the Geneva Accords", said Nguyen Hong Thao, Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Vietnam National University.[99]

In 1999, a Philippine navy ship (Number 57 – BRP Sierra Madre) was purposely run aground near Second Thomas Shoal to enable establishment of an outpost. As of 2014 it had not been removed, and Filipino marines have been stationed aboard since the grounding.[100][101]

Conflicts in the 21st century

Taiwan and mainland China are largely strategically aligned on the Spratly islands issue, since they both claim exactly the same area, so Taiwan's control of Itu Aba (Taiping) island is viewed as an extension of China's claim.[75] Taiwan and China both claim the entire island chain, while all the other claimants only claim portions of them. China has proposed co-operation with Taiwan against all the other countries claiming the islands. Taiwanese lawmakers have demanded that Taiwan fortify Itu Aba (Taiping) island with weapons to defend against the Vietnamese, and both China and Taiwanese NGOs have pressured Taiwan to expand Taiwan's military capabilities on the island, which played a role in Taiwan expanding the island's runway in 2012.[102] China has urged Taiwan to co-operate and offered Taiwan a share in oil and gas resources while shutting out all the other rival claimants. Taiwanese lawmakers have complained about repeated Vietnamese aggression and trespassing on Taiwan's Itu Aba (Taiping), and Taiwan has started viewing Vietnam as an enemy over the Spratly Islands, not China.[103] Taiwan's state run oil company CPC Corporation's board director Chiu Yi has called Vietnam as the "greatest threat" to Taiwan.[102] Taiwan's airstrip on Taiping has irritated Vietnam.[104] China views Taiwan's expansion of its military and airstrip on Taiping as benefiting China's position against the other rival claimants from southeast Asian countries.[90] China's claims to the Spratly Islands benefit from legal weight because of Taiwan's presence on Itu Aba, while America on the other hand has regularly ignored Taiwan's claims in the South China Sea and does not include Taiwan in any talks on dispute resolution for the area.[105]

Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island in September 2012; reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the "imaginary enemy" in the drill. Vietnam protested against the exercises as violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the drill. Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions.[106]

In May 2011, Chinese patrol boats attacked two Vietnamese oil exploration ships near the Spratly Islands.[citation needed] Also in May 2011, Chinese naval vessels opened fire on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating off East London Reef (Da Dong). The three Chinese military vessels were numbered 989, 27 and 28, and they showed up with a small group of Chinese fishing vessels. Another Vietnamese fishing vessel was fired on near Fiery Cross Reef (Chu Thap). The Chief Commander of Border Guards in Phú Yên Province, Vietnam, reported that a total of four Vietnamese vessels were fired upon by Chinese naval vessels.[107][failed verification] These incidents involving Chinese forces sparked mass protests in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,[108] and in various Vietnamese communities in the West (namely in the US state of California and in Paris) over attacks on Vietnamese citizens and the intrusion into what Vietnam claimed was part of its territory.[109]

In June 2011, the Philippines began officially referring to parts of the South China Sea as the "West Philippine Sea" and the Reed Bank as "Recto Bank".[110][111]

In July 2012, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea borders to include the Spratly and Paracel Islands.[112][113]

In 2010, it was reported that the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad believed Malaysia could profit from China's economic growth through co-operation with China,[114] and said that China "was not a threat to anyone and was not worried about aggression from China", as well accusing the United States of provoking China and trying to turn China's neighbours against China.[115] Malaysian authorities displayed no concern over China conducting a military exercise at James Shoal in March 2013,[34] with its Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein suggested they might work with China and saying that Malaysia had no problem with China patrolling the South China Sea, and telling ASEAN, America, and Japan that "Just because you have enemies, doesn't mean your enemies are my enemies".[116] However, until present Malaysia still maintained a balance relations with the countries involved in this dispute.[117] But since China has started encroaching its territorial waters,[118] Malaysia has become active in condemning China.[119][120]

The editorial of the Taiwanese news website Want China Times accused America of being behind the May 2014 flareup in the South China Sea, saying that Vietnam rammed a Chinese vessel on 2 May over an oil rig drilling platform and the Philippines detained 11 Chinese fishermens occurred because of Obama's visit to the region and that they were incited by America "behind the scenes". Want China Times claimed America ordered Vietnam on 7 May to complain about the drilling platform, and noted that a joint military exercise was happening at this time between the Philippines and America, and also noted that the American New York Times newspaper supported Vietnam.[121]

In a series of news stories on 16 April 2015, it was revealed, through photos taken by Airbus, that China had been building an airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef, one of the southern islands. The 10,000-foot-long (3,048 m) runway covers a significant portion of the island, and is viewed as a possible strategic threat to other countries with claims to the islands, such as Vietnam and the Philippines.

Champa historically had a large presence in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese broke Champa's power in an invasion of Champa in 1471, and then finally conquered the last remnants of the Cham people in an invasion in 1832. A Cham named Katip Suma who received Islamic education in Kelantan declared a Jihad against the Vietnamese, and fighting continued until the Vietnamese crushed the remnants of the resistance in 1835. The Cham organisation Front de Libération du Champa was part of the United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, which waged war against the Vietnamese for independence in the Vietnam War along with the Montagnard and Khmer Krom minorities. The last remaining FULRO insurgents surrendered to the United Nations in 1992.

The Vietnamese government fears that evidence of Champa's influence over the disputed area in the South China Sea would bring attention to human rights violations and killings of ethnic minorities in Vietnam such as in the 2001 and 2004 uprisings, and lead to the issue of Cham autonomy being brought into the dispute, since the Vietnamese conquered the Hindu and Muslim Cham people in a war in 1832.[122]

Japanese scholar Taoka Shunji said in a journal article that the assumption amongst many Japanese people that the territory of the Philippines was being invaded by China, was incorrect. He pointed out that the Spratly islands were not part of the Philippines, when the US acquired the Philippines from Spain in the Treaty of Paris in 1898, and when the Japanese-ruled Taiwan itself had annexed the Spratly islands in 1938, the US-ruled Philippines did not challenge the move and never asserted that it was their territory. He also pointed out that other countries did not need to do full land reclamation since they already control islands, and that the reason China engaged in extensive land reclamation is because they needed it to build airfields since China only has control over reefs.[123]

The "Moro" as "people", is used to describe both the Filipino Muslims and their homeland. Ancestors of Moro people were the owners of Spratly Islands prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonials in the 16th century, according to the Sultan of Sulu in the southern Philippines reported in a local paper. "China has no right over the Spratly Islands in what it calls the South China Sea because that is part of our ancestral domain," Majaraj Julmuner Jannaral, Sultanate information officer, told the Philippine Star. "The Spratly Archipelago is part of the Sulu Sea (the inner area around the islands in the southern Philippines, which is part of the West Philippine Sea (designation of parts of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines to be part of its EEZ)," Jannaral concluded. "Exploration of the marine territory and the waters around the Spratly Archipelago, Palawan in southwestern Philippines and the southern Philippines, belong to the residents in those areas," he added. The Sultanate of Sulu claims historic proprietary rights over the Spratly Islands since before the Spanish colonial era.[124]

Various incidents of fishing boats being harassed by Chinese warships have occurred.[125][126][127] At least 2 vessels were rammed or sunk. One was a Vietnamese ship attacked by a Chinese coastguard vessel, and another was a Filipino ship rammed and sunk by a Chinese fishing boat who let the Filipino fishermen drift at sea without giving aid. The stranded fishermen were later rescued by a Vietnamese ship.[128][129]

In 2017, the United States despite not being a claimant in the Spratly dispute, reported using freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs) to challenge what it deemed as excessive and illegal maritime claims from multiple Asia-Pacific states including Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam.[130]

In 2022, Vietnam demanded that Taiwan cease conducting live fire exercises at the Spratly Islands.[131]

2016 arbitration

In January 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) across a range of issues, including the latter's historic rights claims over parts or all of the Spratly Islands inside the nine-dash line.[132][133][134] A tribunal of arbitrators constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS appointed the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) as registry to the proceedings.[135]

On 12 July 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions. While it would not "rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties", it concluded that China had not historically exercised exclusive control within the nine-dash line, hence has "no legal basis" to claim "historic rights" to resources.[132] It also concluded that China's historic rights claims over the maritime areas (as opposed to land masses and territorial waters) inside the nine-dash line would have no lawful effect outside of what is entitled to under UNCLOS.[136][137][138] It criticized China's land reclamation projects and construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands, saying that they had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment".[139] Finally, it characterized Taiping Island and other features of the Spratly Islands as "rocks" under UNCLOS, and therefore are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone.[140] The award was ruled as final and non-appealable by either country.[141][142] China rejected the ruling, calling it "ill-founded".[143] Taiwan, which currently administers Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling.[144] As of November 2023, 26 governments support the ruling, 17 issued generally positive statements noting the ruling but not called for compliance, and eight rejected it.[145] The governments in support were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States; the eight in opposition were China, Montenegro, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, and Vanuatu.[145][146] The United Nations itself does not have a position on the legal and procedural merits of the case or on the disputed claims, and the Secretary-General expressed his hope that the continued consultations on a Code of Conduct between ASEAN and China under the framework of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea will lead to increased mutual understanding among all the parties.[147]

Transportation and communication

Airports

Location Occupied by Name Code Built Length Notes
Taiping Island  Republic of China Taiping Island Airport RCSP 2007 1,200 m (est.) Military use only. No refueling facilities.[148]
Swallow Reef (Layang-Layang)  Malaysia Layang-Layang Airport LAC 1995 1,367 m Dual-use concrete airport.
Fiery Cross Reef  People's Republic of China Yongshu Airport AG 4553 2016 3,300 m (est.) Dual-use concrete airport.
Subi Reef  People's Republic of China Zhubi Airport 2016 3,000 m (est.) Dual-use concrete airport.
Mischief Reef  People's Republic of China Meiji Airport 2016 2,700 m (est.) Dual-use concrete airport.
Thitu Island (Pag-asa)  Philippines Rancudo Airfield RPPN 1978 1,300 m (est.) Dual-use concrete airport.[149]
Spratly Island (Trường Sa)  Vietnam Trường Sa Airport 1976–77 1,200 m (est.)[150] Military use only. Extended from 600 m to 1,200 m in 2016.[150]

Telecommunications

In 2005, a cellular phone base station was erected by the Philippines' Smart Communications on Pag-asa Island.[151]

Vietnam Military Telecommunications Corp., known commonly as Viettel, established mobile coverage in the Spratly Islands in 2007.[152]

On 18 May 2011, China Mobile announced that its mobile phone coverage has expanded to the Spratly Islands. The extended coverage would allow soldiers stationed on the islands, fishermen, and merchant vessels within the area to use mobile services, and can also provide assistance during storms and sea rescues. The service network deployment over the islands took nearly one year.[153]

In 2013, Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom established a satellite-based cellular base station on Taiping Island.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ Black type is used for islands, and for those reefs and shoals that have portions above water at high tide. Blue type is used for submerged features. Erratum: Hughes Reef is wrongly labelled Chigua Reef, a name of Johnson South Reef in Chinese, part of the same Union Banks sunken atoll.

Citations

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  2. ^ a b Claudius Madrolle (1939). "La question de Hai-nan et des Paracels" [The question of Hai-nan and Paracel]. Politique étrangère (in French). 4 (3): 302–312. doi:10.3406/polit.1939.5631. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "South China Sea Islands". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  4. ^ See List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands for information about individual islands.
  5. ^ 民政部关于国务院批准设立地级三沙市的公告-中华人民共和国民政部 Archived 25 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC
  6. ^ "PASUKAN GUGUSAN SEMARANG PENINJAU". Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  7. ^ "Slow progress on capability growth". Defence Review Asia.com. 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
  8. ^ "LAWATAN OPERASI KAPAL TENTERA DARAT AMERIKA SYARIKAT, CW3 HAROLD C CLINGER KE PULAU PINANG".[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "The Impact of Artificial Islands on Territorial Disputes Over The Spratly Islands, by Zou Keyuan". Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Why is the South China Sea contentious?". BBC News. 12 July 2016.
  11. ^ Mark E. Rosen (18 July 2016). "China Has Much to Gain From the South China Sea Ruling". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. ^ Note, however, that a 2013 US EIA report questions the economic viability of many of the potential reserves.
  13. ^ "Sandcastles of their own: Vietnamese Expansion in the Spratly Islands". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  14. ^ "The History of the Kingdom of Colonia St John". Kingdom of Colonia St John Information Services. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
  15. ^ Chaney, Ronald C.publisher=CRC Press (2020). Marine Geology and Geotechnology of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. CRC Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-000-22217-3.
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  17. ^ a b Wei-Weil, D., and L, Jia-Biao, 2011, Seismic Stratigraphy, Tectonic Structure and Extension Factors Across the Dangerous Grounds: Evidence from Two Regional Multi-Channel Seismic Profiles. Chinese Journal of Geophysics. vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 921–941.
  18. ^ a b Zhen, S., Z. Zhong-Xian, L. Jia-Biao, Z. Di, and W. Zhang-Wen, 2013, Tectonic Analysis of the Breakup and Collision Unconformities in the Nansha Block. Chinese Journal of Geophysics. vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 1069–1083.
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  21. ^ Blanche, J. B. and J. D. Blanche, 1997, An Overview of the Hydrocarbon Potential of the Spratly Islands Archipelago and its Implications for Regional Development. in A. J. Fraser, S. J. Matthews, and R. W. Murphy, eds., pp. 293–310, Petroleum Geology of South East Asia. Special Publication no. 126, The Geological Society, Bath, England 436 pp.
  22. ^ Tran Duc Thanh (May 1994). "Động lực bồi tụ, xói lở bờ và sự thay đổi hình dạng đảo san hô Trường Sa" [Deposition and erosion dynamics and shape change of the Spratly coral island]. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
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