SPRATLY ISLAND

Contents
Geographic and economic overview Ecology
Coral reefs

Vegetation Wildlife Ecological hazards History Early cartography Military conflict and diplomatic dialogues Telecommunications

Geographic and economic overview

Coordinates: 10N 114E Area (land based): less than 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) includes 148 or so islets, coral reefs, and seamounts. (sea surface): 410,000 km2 (160,000 sq mi) of the central South China Sea Coastline: 926 km (575 mi)

 Political divisions: (in alphabetic order of claimants) Brunei: Part of Brunei's Exclusive Economic Zone; People's Republic of China: Administered by Sansha City, Hainan province; Malaysia: Part of the state of Sabah; Philippines: Part of Palawan province; Republic of China (Taiwan): Part of Kaohsiung municipality; Vietnam: Part of Khnh Ha Province.

 Climate: Tropical Terrain: Flat Elevation extremes:

lowest point: South China Sea (0 m) highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay (4 m)

Natural hazards: serious maritime hazards because of numerous banks, reefs and shoals

 The islands are most likely volcanic in origin.

The islands themselves contain almost no significant arable land and have no indigenous inhabitants, although twenty of the islands, including Taiping Island, the largest, are considered to be able to sustain human life. Natural resources include fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential.
Economic activity includes commercial fishing, shipping, and tourism.

 The proximity to nearby oil- and gasproducing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored and no reliable estimates of potential oil and natural gas reserves are publicly available.
The Hydrocarbon deposits have been valued at 26.3 Trillion US dollars as of 2012

Ecology
Coral reefs
Coral reefs are the predominant structure of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.

 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 was reportedly covered with shrubs, coconut, and mangroves in 1938;
Other accounts mention papaya, banana, palm, and even white peach trees growing on one island. A few islands which have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there were none.

Wildlife 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. Species found here include

Seabirds use the islands for resting, breeding, and wintering sites.
Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas), Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster), Red-Footed Booby(S. sula), Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii), and White Tern (Gygis alba).

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. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity 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 customs and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.

 Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems.
J.W. McManus 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 Vietnams Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The 160 km2 site is currently managed by the Khanh Hoa Provincial Peoples Committee of Vietnam.

Military groups in the Spratlys 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.

History
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.

Geographic map of Spratlys

 Ancient Chinese maps record the

"Thousand Li Stretch of Sands"; Qianli Changsha () and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools"; Wanli Shitang (), which China today claims refers to the Spratly Islands.
The Wanli Shitang have been explored by the Chinese since theYuan Dynasty and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries.They are also referenced in the 13th century, followed by the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing Dynastycontinued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724, 1755,1767, 1810, and 1817.

 But in 1904, Shanghai Publishing House printed the map named Map of all Chinese provinces, revealing that China stretched as far south as Hainan Island, and that the Paracel and Spratly Islands did not belong to China

 A Vietnamese map from 1834 also includes the Spratly Islands clumped in with the Paracels (a common occurrence on maps of that time) labeled as Vn L Trng Sa ( ). 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.

 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 name).
However, these nations showed little interest in the islands.

British naval captain James George Meads in the 1870s laid claim to the islands proclaiming a micronation called Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads.
Descendants of Meads have continued to claim legitimacy over the islands, and continue to attempt to claim ownership of the island's resources.

In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and Paracel Islands but withdrew the survey eventually after receiving protests from Guangdong government representing Qing Dynasty.

Military conflict and diplomatic dialogues

In 1933, France asserted its claims from 1887[28] to the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam.[29] 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.

 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.[30] 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 (), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands (), they were put under the governance of the Japanese colonial authority in Taiwan. Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratleys from February 1939 to August 1945

 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.[30] 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 (), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands (), they were put under the governance of the Japanese colonial authority in Taiwan.