Itu Aba Island
| Disputed island Other names: Itu Aba, Tàipíng Dǎo (太平島), Ligaw, Ligao, Đảo Ba Bình, Huángshānmǎ Jiāo (黃山馬礁), Huángshānmǎ Zhì (黃山馬峙), Nagashima (長島) |
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International Space Station photograph of Taiping Island (left) and Zhongzhou Reef (right)
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| Geography | |
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| Location | South China Sea |
| Coordinates | 10°22′30″N 114°22′0″E / 10.37500°N 114.36667°ECoordinates: 10°22′30″N 114°22′0″E / 10.37500°N 114.36667°E |
| Archipelago | Spratly Islands |
| Area | 46 hectares (110 acres) |
| Length | 1,400 metres (1,500 yd) |
| Width | 400 metres (440 yd) |
| Administered by | |
| Republic of China | |
| Municipality | Cijin, Kaohsiung |
| Claimed by | |
| People's Republic of China | |
| City | Sansha, Hainan |
| Philippines | |
| Municipality | Kalayaan, Palawan |
| Vietnam | |
| District | Trường Sa, Khánh Hòa |
| Demographics | |
| Population | approx. 600 military, coast guard and support personnel |
Taiping Island, better known internationally as Itu Aba Island, and also known by various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) in length and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) in width, with an area of 46 hectares (110 acres). It is part of the Tizard Bank (Zheng He Reefs; 鄭和群礁). The runway of the Taiping Island Airport is easily the most prominent feature on the island, running its entire length.
The island is administered by the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), as part of Cijin, Kaohsiung. It is also claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2016, in a ruling by an arbitral tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the case brought by the Philippines against China, the tribunal classified Itu Aba as a "rock" under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (and therefore not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf). ROC/Taiwan rejected this ruling.
The nearby Zhongzhou Reef is also under the control of the ROC/Taiwan.
Prior to 1946 the Island was best known internationally as Itu Aba.
In 1946 the republic of China named it Taiping Island (Chinese: 太平島; pinyin: Tàipíng Dǎo; literally: "peace island") in honor of a Nationalist Chinese Navy warship which sailed to the island when Japan surrendered after the Second World War. The name Taiping Island is used by both Taipei and Beijing. The island was also called Huángshānmǎ Jiāo () and Huángshānmǎ Zhì () by Chinese fishermen.
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Wikipedia