South China Sea Islands
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The South China Sea Islands (or Nanhai Islands, simplified: 南海诸岛, traditional: 南海諸島, pinyin: Nánhǎi Zhūdǎo) is an archipelago of over 250 around 1-km² islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, most of which have no indigenous people. The Islands are subdivided into four sub-archipelagos (listed by area size):
- The Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands 南沙群島)
- The Macclesfield Islands (Zhongsha Islands 中沙群島)
- The Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands 西沙群島)
- The Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands 東沙群島)
There are minerals, natural gas, and oil deposits on the islands and their nearby seafloor. Because of the economic, military, and transportational importance, the control, especially of the Spratlys, has been in dispute by China and several Southeast Asian countries, especially Vietnam, in the mid-20th century onwards. True occupation and control are shared between the claimants. (See #Claims and control)
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History
The countries with the most extensive participation and well documented history on the Islands are China and Vietnam.
The South China Sea Islands were collectively named the Tough Heads of the Surging Sea (漲海崎頭 Zhànghǎi Qítóu) and Coral Cays (珊瑚洲 Shanhu Zhou) since their discovery by the Chinese in the Qin Dynasty. But seafaring did not occur until the next dynasty, the Han. After the Song Dynasty, the Islands had been called The Thousand-Mile Long Sands (千里長沙) and Myriad-Mile Stony Embankment (萬里石塘).
There are houses dated back to the Tang or Song Dynasty on Ganquan Island (甘泉島), which nowadays is under disputed with the Vietnamese. In 1045, during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song China, imperial troops (王師) were sent to the Paracel Islands. The fishermen of Hainan composed various "Notes on Changing Paths" (更路簿) that recorded over 200 routes, and the names of over 100 islands commonly used by the fishermen.
Even though some of the voyages of Zheng He passed by the Islands, they probably did not dock on them. There is an atoll in the Spratly Islands named after Zheng He though.
Vietnamese fishermen and merchants also have been exploring the South Sea Islands, with a less well-known presence, due to the historically unofficial capacity and shorter records.
In the 19th century, as a part of Occupation of Indochina, France claimed control of the Spratlys until the 1930s, exchanging a few with the British. During World War II, the Islands were annexed by Japan.
The Republic of China founded in 1911 claimed the islands as part of the province of Canton (now Guangdong), and later of the Hainan special administrative region.
Claims and control
As soon as their respective Occupations ended, the Japanese and the French renounced their claims.
The People's Republic of China claims all of these islands as part of its Hainan Province, at the administrative level of banshichu (辦事處). The PRC strongly asserted its claims to the islands, but in the late 1990's, under the new security concept, the PRC put its claims much less strongly.
On the other hand, Vietnam claims all Spratly Islands belong to a district, first in 1973, of the Phuoc Tuy Province, then, of the Khanh Hoa Province.
Both the People's Republic of China and Vietnam together occupy just over half of all of the islands in the South China Sea.
In addition to the People's Republic of China and Vietnam, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia and the Philippines also claim and occupy some islands. The Republic of China, claims all islands in the Spratlys, but only occupies one, Itu Aba (Taiping). Malaysia occupies three islands on its continental shelf. The Philippines claims most of the Spratlys and calls it the Kalayaan Group of Islands, and they form a distinct municipality in the province of Palawan. The Philippines, however, only occupies eight islands.
Brunei's and Indonesia's claims are not on any island, but on the sea. (See South China Sea)
Geography
The Islands locate on a shallow humite-layer continental shelf with an average of 200 metres deep. However, in the Spratlys, the sea floor drastically change its height in thousands, and near the Philippines, the Palawan Trough is more than 5,000 metres deep. Also, there are some parts that are so shallow that navigation becomes difficult, and prone to accidents.
The sea floor contains Paleozoic and Mesozoic granite and metamorphic rocks. The abysses are caused by the formation of the Himalayas in the Cenozoic.
Except one volcano-island, the islands are made of coral reefs of varying ages and formations.
Life
There are no known native animals, except boobies and seagulls, who are very common residents on the islands. Their feces can build up to a layer from 10-mm to 1-metre annually.
There are around 100-200 plant species on the Islands altogether. For example, the Paracels have 166 species, but later the Chinese and the Vietnamese introduced 47 more species, including corn, peanut, sweet potato, and various vegetables.