Disputed island Other names: Scarborough Reef Panatag Shoal 黃岩島 Huangyan Dao |
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Filipinos planting a Philippine flag on Scarborough Shoal. | |
Geography | |
Location | South China Sea |
Coordinates | 15°11′N 117°46′E / 15.183°N 117.767°E |
Archipelago | 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi) |
Highest point | unnamed location 3 metres (9.8 ft) |
Administered by | |
Philippines | |
Province | Zambales |
Claimed by | |
Philippines | |
Province | Zambales |
People's Republic of China | |
County | Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority, Hainan |
Republic of China | |
Municipality | Kaohsiung |
Demographics | |
Population | None permanent. Filipino fishermen and soldiers are regular in the area |
Scarborough Shoal, Scarborough Reef, or Panatag Shoal[1] (Philippine name: Panatag Shoal; Chinese name: 黃岩島 Huangyan Dao), more correctly described as a group of islands and reefs in an atoll shape than a shoal, is located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon, Philippines in the South China Sea. As with most of the landforms in this sea, the sovereignty of the area is disputed. The Philippines, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) all lay claim to the shoal. Most references exclude this atoll from inclusion in the Spratly Islands, of which the closest is 350 km to the southwest.
Contents |
Geography
The shoal forms a triangle shaped chain of reefs and islands (but mostly rocks) 55 kilometres (34 mi) around with an of area 150 square kilometers. It has a lagoon with area of 130 km² and depth of about 15 metres (49 ft). The shoal is a protrusion in a 3,500m deep abyssal plain. Several of the islands including "South Rock" are 1/2m to 3m high and many of the reefs are just below water at high tide. Near the mouth of the lagoon are the ruins of an iron tower, 8.3m high. The nearest landmass is Palauig, Zambales, on Luzon Island in the Philippines, 137 miles (220 km) away. It is about 123 miles (198 km) west of Subic Bay.
Significant information
The shoal and its surrounding area are rich fishing grounds. A significant number of Chinese fishermen have already been arrested by Philippine officials in this area, particularly during 1998-2001, most of them were charged with illegal methods of fishing and catching endangered and protected species that destroy the area's marine habitat and ecological sustainability. Thick layers of guano lie on the rocks in the area. Several Filipino-sponsored and Chinese-sponsored diving excursions and amateur ham radio operations, DXpeditions (1994, 1995, 1997 and 2007), were carried out in the area.
Sovereignty dispute
The Philippines
As early as the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Filipino fishermen were already using the area as a fishing ground and shelter during bad weather. In 1957, The Philippine government conducted an oceanographic survey of the area and together with the US Navy force based in then U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in Zambales, used the area as an impact range for defense purposes. An 8.3 meter high flag pole flying a Philippine flag was raised in 1965. A small lighthouse was also built and operated the same year.[2] In 1992, the Philippine Navy rehabilitated the lighthouse and reported it to the International Maritime Organization for publication in the List of Lights. As of 2009, the military-maintained lighthouse is non-operational.[3] In 1997, The Philippines again, officially expressed its claim to Scarborough Shoal; a flag was again raised; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources together with the University of the Philippines conducted scientific, topographic and marine studies in the shoal.
The Philippines bases its claim on its proximity and the principle of terra nullius, which holds that it was previously unclaimed by a sovereign state, which is also applied by the Philippines in its claims to the Spratly Islands. By virtue of the PD No.1599 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos on June 1978, the Philippines claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which their territorial sea is measured. In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enacted the Philippine Baselines Law of 2009 (RA 9522). The new law classifies the Kalayaan Islands and the Scarborough Shoal as a regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines.[4]
China
On the other hand, the Chinese and the Taiwan Chinese bases for claims are that the shoal was first mapped in the Yuan Dynasty as early as 1279 and was historically used by Chinese fishermen. In 1279, Guo Shoujing, a Chinese astronomer, performed surveying of the South China Sea for Kublai Khan, and the surveying point was reported to be the Scarborough Shoal. In 1935, China regarded the shoal as part of the Zhongsha Islands. In 1947, China published a map drawing a U-shaped line of claim across South China Sea; the shoal lies within the claim administered from Hainan province. China further asserted its claim shortly after the departure of the US Navy force from Subic, Zambales, Philippines. China states that the territorial claim by the Philippine government is new. Treaties about the territory of the Philippines and Philippine constitution in 1935 and maritime claims in 1961 state that the westernmost line of the Philippine territory is 118 East longitude, and the shoal is situated on the western side of the line. Furthermore, some maps published before 1990 did not include the shoal as the territory of the Philippines.
Sources and references
- ^ "The ‘Spratly deal’: facts & figures". The Philippine Star. March 10, 2008. http://philstar.com/archives.php?aid=2008030978&type=2. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
- ^ http://philstar.com/archives.php?aid=2008040198&type=2 What’s become of the MMDA?, Philippine Star, 2 April 2008
- ^ http://www.coastguard.gov.ph/LHS_Luzon.htm COAST GUARD DISTRICT NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION - CENTRAL LUZON LIGHTSTATIONS
- ^ Philippine Baselines Law of 2009 signed: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/152232/President-Arroyo-signs-baselines-bill-into-law
External links
- VirtualInformationCenter - includes many more references
- Map of the South China Sea showing Scarborough Shoal
- Google Map showing relative position of Scarborough Shoal with Philippines and China
- Scarborough Shoal, a new Sino-Philippine conflict
- Chinese marker in Panatag Shoal
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Territorial disputes in East, South, and Southeast Asia | |||
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Type | Territory | Currently Administered by | Claimants |
Land: | Aksai Chin | ||
Baekdu Mountain | 2 2 | ||
Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky (Eastern part)2 | 2 | ||
Indo-Bangladesh enclaves3 | |||
Kachin State | 2 1 | ||
Kashmir3 | 2 | ||
Kayin State | 1 | ||
Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands3 | |||
Mainland China | 1 | ||
North Borneo (Sabah)2 | |||
Pamir Mountains3 | 2 | ||
Patani | 1 | ||
Shan State | 1 | ||
Sixty-Four Villages East of the River2 | 2 | ||
South Tibet (now Arunachal Pradesh of India) | 2 | ||
Tannu Uriankhai (now Tuva Republic of Russia)2 | 2 | ||
Trans-Karakoram Tract | 2 | ||
Wa State | 1 | ||
Islands and Waters: | Diaoyutai / Senkaku Islands | ||
Kinmen | |||
Kori Creek2 | |||
Liancourt Rocks | 2 | ||
Macclesfield Bank | |||
Matsu | |||
Paracel Islands | |||
Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge | |||
Pratas Islands | |||
Scarborough Shoal | |||
Socotra Rock | 2 2 | ||
Southern Kuril Islands | |||
Spratly Islands3 | |||
Taiwan and Penghu2 | |||
Notes: | 1Government in exile/exiled group. 2Inactive dispute. 3Divided among multiple claimants. |