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Spratly islands

Spratly Islands
Disputed islands
Spratly Islands-CIA WFB Map.png
The Spratly Islands
Geography
Location South China Sea
Coordinates 10°N 114°E / 10°N 114°E / 10; 114Coordinates: 10°N 114°E / 10°N 114°E / 10; 114
Total islands 14 islands and cays
Major islands

Itu Aba Island
Thitu Island
West York Island
Spratly Island
Northeast Cay
Southwest Cay

Sin Cowe Island
Area ~2 km2 (1.5 sq mi)
Coastline 926 km (575 mi)
Highest point
Claimed by
Brunei
EEZ Brunei zone
People's Republic of China
Prefecture-level city Sansha, Hainan
Malaysia
State Sabah
Philippines
Municipality Kalayaan
Taiwan
Municipality Kaohsiung
Vietnam
District Trường Sa
Spratly Islands
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 南沙群島
Simplified Chinese 南沙群岛
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese Quần Đảo Trường Sa
Hán-Nôm 群島長沙
Malay name
Malay Kepulauan Spratly
Gugusan Semarang Peninjau
Filipino name
Tagalog Kapuluan ng Kalayaan

Itu Aba Island
Thitu Island
West York Island
Spratly Island
Northeast Cay
Southwest Cay

The Spratly Islands (Chinese: 南沙群岛; pinyin: Nánshā Qúndǎo, Malay: Kepulauan Spratly, Tagalog: Kapuluan ng Kalayaan,Vietnamese: Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and cays and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, in the South China Sea. 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 approximately 2 km2 (490 acres) of land area spread over a vast area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi).

The Spratlys 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 have no indigenous inhabitants, 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, Taiwan (ROC), China (PRC), the Philippines and Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone in the southeastern part of the Spratlys, which includes the Louisa Reef.


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Wikipedia

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