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The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs. They are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Brunei has established a fishing zone that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim. The Islands are located in the Southeastern Asian group of reefs and islands in the South China Sea, about two-thirds of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines. Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... Tagalog (pronunciation: ) is one of the major languages of the Republic of the Philippines. ... Not to be confused with the Malayalam language, spoken in India. ... The Vietnamese alphabet has the following 29 letters, in collating order: Vietnamese also uses the 10 digraphs and 1 trigraph below. ... Hán tự (漢字, lit. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... For other uses, see Reef (disambiguation). ...

• Wikimedia Atlas of the Spratly Islands, holding maps related to the Spratly Islands.

Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ...

Geography and economic development

• Coordinates: 8°38′N, 111°55′ECoordinates: 8°38′N, 111°55′E (Spratly Island)
• Area (land): less than 5 km²
  • note: includes 148 or so islets, coral reefs, and seamounts scattered over an area of nearly 410,000 km² of the central South China Sea
• Coastline: 926 km
• Political divisions:
  • People's Republic of China: Part of Hainan province;
  • Philippines: Part of Palawan province;
  • Vietnam: Part of Khanh Hoa Province;
  • Malaysia: Part of the state of Sabah;
  • Republic of China (Taiwan): Part of Kaohsiung municipality
• Climate: tropical
• Terrain: flat
• Elevation extremes:
  • lowest point: South China Sea (0 m)
  • highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay (4 m)
• Natural hazards: typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous reefs and shoals

The islands contain no arable land and have no indigenous inhabitants, although twenty of the islands, including Itu Aba, the largest, are considered to be able to sustain human life. Natural resources include fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential. Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation has yet to be developed. The Spratly Islands have no ports or harbors but has four airports. These islands are strategically located near several primary shipping lanes. Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ... A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the waters surface (sea level), and thus is not an island. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. ... Khánh Hòa Province   is a province of Vietnam with a population of 1,066,300 spanning an area of 5,197 km². Its capital is Nha Trang. ... For other uses, see Sabah (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Coordinates: , Country Region City seat Lingya District (苓雅區) Government  - Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) Area  - Total 154 km² (59. ... Southwest Cay is an islet in the Spratly Islands. ... Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... The Chincha guano islands in Peru. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - creator of the process of refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Gas can also refer to gasoline and natural gas and also hydrogen. ... Face-to-face trading interactions on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - creator of the process of refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... Gas can also refer to gasoline and natural gas and also hydrogen. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Early History

This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Geographic map of Spratlys. Click for more detailed image.

The first possible recorded human interaction with the Spratly Islands dates back as far as 3BC. This is based on the discovery that the people of Nanyue (southern China and northern Vietnam) and Old Champa kingdom fishermen (modern-day central Vietnam) had been visiting the Spratly Islands and other South China Sea Islands for fishing annually. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1014x1204, 213 KB) Source: Central Intelligence Agency 1995. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1014x1204, 213 KB) Source: Central Intelligence Agency 1995. ... Tây Sơn Dynasty (1778–1802) Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945) Union of Indochina (1887–1954) Empire of Vietnam (1945) North-South Division During The Indochina Wars (1945–1975) Democratic Republic of Vietnam State of Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Republic of South Vietnam Socialist Republic of Vietnam (from 1976... South East Asia circa 1100 C.E. Champa territory in green. ... 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. ...

Ancient Chinese maps record the Qianli Changsha (千里長沙) and 'Wanli Shitang (萬里石塘), which China today claims refer to these islands. These islands were labeled as Chinese territory in maps made in 1724, 1755, 1767, 1810, 1817 by the Qing Dynasty of China. Ancient Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (Golden Sandbanks, as claimed today by Vietnam referring to both Paracel and Spratly Islands) which lies near the Coast of the central Vietnam as early as the 17th century. In Phủ Biên Tạp Lục (Frontier Chronicles) by the scholar Le Quy Don, Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the Le Dynasty, 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century. Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Qing China at its greatest extent. ... Vietnamese name Quoc Ngu: Hantu: The Paracel Islands are a group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea and part of the South China Sea Islands, about one-third of the way from Vietnam to the Philippines. ... Le Quy Don (Lê Quý Đôn, 1726 - 1784) was an 18th-century Vietnamese philosopher, poet, encyclopedist, and government official. ... // Lê Lợi (1382-1433), emperor Lê Thai To(1428-1433) Background and aspiration Lê Lợi came from a family of wealthy landowners. ...

The islands were sporadically visited throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by mariners from different European powers (including either Richard Spratly or William Spratly, after whom the island group derives its most recognizable English name). However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and Paracel Islands but withdrew the survey eventually after receiving protests from the Nguyen Dynasty. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

In the 1930s, France claimed the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam. It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including Itu Aba, built weather stations on two, and administered them as part of French Indochina. This occupation was protested by the Republic of China government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French war ships visited nine islands. In 1935, the Chinese government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and used the islands as a submarine base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the occupation, these islands were called Shinnan Shoto (新南諸島), literally the New Southern Islands, and put under the governance of Taiwan together with the Paracel Islands (西沙群岛). Taiping (also Itu Aba, Chinese: 太平島) is the largest island of Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) in the South China Sea. ... Flag Capital Hanoi Language(s) French Political structure Federation Historical era New Imperialism  - Addition of Laos 1893, 1887  - Vietnamese Declaration of Independence September 2, 1945  - Independence of Laos July 19, 1949  - Independence of Cambodia November 9, 1953  - Recognized Independence of Vietnam 1954, 1954 Area  - 1945 750,000 km² Currency French... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

Following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the Republic of China government (Nationalist) re-claimed the whole Spratly Islands (including Itu Aba) and accepted the Japanese surrender on the islands based on Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration. Japan renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty. In the treaty with Republic of China, Japan again renounced all claims to the islands together with the Paracels, Pratas & other islands captured from China. The Nationalist withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they were defeated by the forces of the opposing Communist Party of China in 1949. Today the Itu Aba Island is still administrated by the Republic of China government in Taiwan. In 1951, the People's Republic of China declared in response to Treaty of San Francisco that the Spratly Islands belonged to China. When the French left Vietnam, the naval units of the Vietnamese government took over in Truong Sa. For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... The Cairo Declaration was an statement released at Cairo, Egypt on December 1, 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China. ... The Potsdam Declaration or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender (not to be confused with the Potsdam Agreement) was a statement issued on July 26, 1945 by Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Chiang Kai-Shek which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan as agreed upon at the... Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru of Japan, gave a speech on Reconciliation and rapport (和解と信頼) in 1951 at San Francisco Peace conference. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Itu Aba Island or Taiping Island (Traditional Chinese: ), is the largest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru gives a speech on reconciliation and rapport ) at the San Francisco Peace conference. ...

Political dispute

Spratly Islands' location relative to the claimants.

There are multiple reasons why the neighboring nations would be interested in the Spratly Islands. In 1968 oil was discovered in the region. The Geology and Mineral Resources Ministry of the China (People's Republic of China) has estimated that the Spratly area holds oil and natural gas reserves of 17.7 billion tons (1.60 × 10¹⁰ kg), as compared to the 13 billion tons (1.17 × 10¹⁰ kg) held by Kuwait, placing it as the fourth largest reserve bed in the world. Naturally, these large reserves assisted in intensifying the situation and propelled the territorial claims of the neighboring countries. On 11 March 1976, the first major Philippine oil discovery occurred off the coast of Palawan, within the Spratly Islands territory, and these oil fields now account for fifteen percent of all petroleum consumed in the Philippines. In 1992, the PRC and Vietnam granted oil exploration contracts to U.S. oil companies that covered overlapping areas in the Spratlys. In May 1992, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Crestone Energy (a U.S. company based in Denver, Colorado) signed a cooperation contract for the joint exploration of the Wan'an Bei-21 block, a 25,155 km² section of the southwestern South China Sea that includes Spratly Island areas. Part of the Crestone's contract covered Vietnam’s blocks 133 and 134, where PetroVietnam and ConocoPhillips Vietnam Exploration & Production, a unit of ConocoPhillips, agreed to evaluate prospects in April 1992. This led to a confrontation between China and Vietnam, with each demanding that the other cancel its contract. Download high resolution version (1280x910, 305 KB)Spratly and Paracel Islands, from NASA World Wind File links The following pages link to this file: Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Categories: NASA images ... Download high resolution version (1280x910, 305 KB)Spratly and Paracel Islands, from NASA World Wind File links The following pages link to this file: Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Categories: NASA images ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country State Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Luzon Sea Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is an international energy company with its headquarters located in Houston, Texas. ...

An additional motive is the region's role as one of the world's most productive areas for commercial fishing. In 1988, for example, the South China Sea accounted for eight percent of the total world catch, a figure which has certainly risen. The PRC has predicted that the South China Sea holds combined fishing and oil and gas resources worth one trillion dollars. There have already been numerous clashes between the Philippines and other nations — particularly the PRC — over foreign fishing vessels in its EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and the media regularly report the arrest of Chinese fishermen. In 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands, but has not publicly claimed the island. This article is about the type of currency. ... Sea areas in international rights Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...

The region is also one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. During the 1980s, at least two hundred and seventy ships passed through the Spratly Islands region each day, and currently more than half of the world’s supertanker traffic, by tonnage, passes through the region’s waters every year. Tanker traffic through the South China Sea is over three times greater than through the Suez Canal and five times more than through the Panama Canal; twenty five percent of the world’s crude oil passes through the South China Sea. For other uses, see Suez (disambiguation). ... Two Panamax running the Miraflores Locks The Panama Canal (Spanish: ) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. ...

There have been occasional naval clashes over the Spratly Islands. In 1988, China and Vietnam clashed at sea over possession of Johnson Reef in the Spratlys. Chinese gunboats sank Vietnamese transport ships supporting a landing party of Vietnamese soldiers.

In response to growing concerns by coastal states regarding encroachments by foreign vessels on their natural resources, the United Nations convened the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1982 to determine the issue of international sea boundaries. In response to these concerns, it was resolved that a coastal state could claim two hundred nautical miles of jurisdiction beyond its land boundaries. However UNCLOS failed to address the issue of how to adjudicate on overlapping claims and so the future of the islands remains clouded. UN and U.N. redirect here. ... United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Opened for signature December 10, 1982 in Montego Bay (Jamaica) Entered into force November 16, 1994[1] Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 149[2] For maritime law in general see Admiralty law. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ...

Following a 1995 dispute between China and Philippines an ASEAN-brokered agreement was reached between the PRC and ASEAN member nations whereby a nation would inform the others of any military movement within the disputed territory and that there would be no further construction. The agreement was promptly violated by China and Malaysia. Claiming storm damage, seven Chinese naval vessels entered the area to repair "fishing shelters" in Panganiban Reef. Malaysia erected a structure on Investigator Shoal and landed at Rizal Reef, both places situated within the Philippines EEZ. In response the Philippines lodged formal protests, demanded the removal of the structures, increased naval patrols in Kalayaan and issued invitations to American politicians to inspect the PRC bases by plane. ASEAN[1], pronounced // (AH-SEE-AHN) in English, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand[2] as a display of solidarity...

In the early 21st century, the situation is improving. China recently held talks with ASEAN countries aimed at realizing a proposal for a free trade area between the ten countries involved. China and ASEAN also have been engaged in talks to create a code of conduct aimed at easing tensions in the disputed islands. On 5 March 2002, an agreement was reached, setting forth the desire of the claimant nations to resolve the problem of sovereignty "without further use of force"^{[citation needed]}. In November 2002, a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed, easing tensions but falling short of a legally-binding code of conduct. ASEAN[1], pronounced // (AH-SEE-AHN) in English, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a geo-political and economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand[2] as a display of solidarity... This article is about the day. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

China claims on the Spratly Islands

China bases its claim to the islands on historical grounds. They state that the Spratly Islands have been an integral part of China for nearly two thousand years and point to ancient manuscripts claiming to refer to the Spratly Islands and remains of Chinese pottery and coins on the islands as proof. Chinese fishermen were also found on these islands by the French when it made its claims in the 1930s. Using this argument, the PRC states that the Philippines have taken 410,000 square kilometers of its traditional maritime boundary, having taken advantage of the PRC's poor condition during its exile from international affairs.

Many official records and maps dating back to Han Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and Republic of China did include the Spratly Islands in Chinese territory^{[citation needed]}. (See the Chinese version of this page for document details and dates). However, these same maps also claim the northern Philippine archipelago, Palawan, Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia among others. In addition, China claimed these areas more as protectorates^{[citation needed]} rather than as a true part of China since they still had their own kingdoms and governments. Han Dynasty in 87 BC Capital Changan (202 BC–9 AD) Luoyang (25 AD–190 AD) Language(s) Chinese Religion Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy History  - Establishment 206 BC  - Battle of Gaixia; Han rule of China begins 202 BC  - Interruption of Han rule 9 - 24  - Abdication to Cao Wei 220... Capital Dadu Language(s) Mongolian Chinese Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1260-1294 Kublai Khan  - 1333-1370 (Cont. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Qing China at its greatest extent. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ...

In reality, the contemporary legal claim originated from (1) the de facto administration^{[citation needed]} of these islands by China as part of post World War II arrangement based on various treaties of the Allied Powers; and (2) the succession of Republic of China by the People's Republic of China in 1949. This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ...

Philippine claims on the Spratly Islands

While the Philippine claim to the Spratly Islands was first expressed in the United Nations General Assembly in 1946, Philippine involvement in the Spratlys did not begin in earnest until 1956, when on 15 May Philippine citizen and admiral Tomas Cloma proclaimed the founding of a new state, Kalayaan (Freedom Land). Cloma’s Kalayaan encompassed fifty three features spread throughout the eastern South China Sea, including Spratly Island proper, Itu Aba, Pag-asa and Nam Yit Islands, as well as West York Island, North Danger Reef, Mariveles Reef and Investigator Shoal. Cloma then established a protectorate in July 1956 with Pag-asa as its capital and Cloma as “Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Kalayaan State”. This action, although not officially endorsed by the Philippine government, was considered by other claimant nations as an act of aggression by the Philippines and international reaction was swift. Taiwan, the PRC, South Vietnam, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands lodged official protests (the Netherlands on the premise that it considered the Spratly Islands part of Dutch New Guinea) and Taiwan sent a naval task force to occupy the islands and establish a base on Itu Aba, which it retains to the present day. Tomas Cloma and the Philippines continued to state their claims over the islands; in October 1956 Cloma traveled to New York to plead his case before the United Nations and the Philippines had troops posted on three islands by 1968 on the premise of protecting Kalayaan citizens. In early 1971 the Philippines sent a diplomatic note on behalf of Cloma to Taipei demanding the ROC's withdrawal from Itu Aba and on 10 July in the same year Ferdinand Marcos announced the annexation of the 53 island group known as Kalayaan, although since neither Cloma or Marcos specified which fifty three features constituted Kalayaan, the Philippines began to claim as many features as possible. In April of 1972 Kalayaan was officially incorporated into Palawan province and was administered as a single “poblacion” (township), with Tomas Cloma as the town council Chairman and by 1992, there were twelve registered voters on Kalayaan. The Philippines also reportedly attempted to land troops on Itu Aba in 1977 to occupy the island but were repelled by ROC troops stationed on the island. There were no reports of casualties from the conflict. In 2005, a cellular phone base station was erected by the Philippines' Smart Communications on Pag-asa Island. The Philippines base their claims of sovereignty over the Spratlys on the issues of res nullius and geography. The Philippines contend Kalayaan was res nullius as there was no effective sovereignty over the islands until the 1930s when France and then Japan acquired the islands. When Japan renounced their sovereignty over the islands in the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951, there was a relinquishment of the right to the islands without any special beneficiary. Therefore, argue the Philippines, the islands became res nullius and available for annexation. Philippine businessman Tomas Cloma did exactly that in 1956 and while the Philippines never officially supported Cloma’s claim, upon transference of the islands’ sovereignty from Cloma to the Philippines, the Philippines used the same sovereignty argument as Cloma did. The Philippine claim to Kalayaan on geographical bases can be summarized using the assertion that Kalayaan is distinct from other island groups in the South China Sea because: is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Luzon Sea Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... West York Island is a small sandy atoll of roughly 2 km², in the disputed Spratly Islands group, in the South China Sea. ... This article is about the state. ... is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralín Marcos (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was President of the Philippines from 1966 to 1986. ... Smart Communications, Inc. ... Res nullius is a principle by which a nation may assert control of an unclaimed territory. ...

It is a generally accepted practice in oceanography to refer to a chain of islands through the name of the biggest island in the group or through the use of a collective name. Note that Spratly (island) has an area of only 13 hectares compared to the 22 hectare area of the Pag-asa Island. Distance-wise, Spratly Island is some 210 nm off Pag-asa Islands. This further stresses the argument that they are not part of the same island chain. The Paracels being much further (34.5 nm northwest of Pag-asa Island) is definitely a different group of islands

A second argument used by the Philippines regarding their geographical claim over the Spratlys is that all the islands claimed by the Philippines lie within their archipelagic baselines, the only claimant who can make such a statement. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) stated that a coastal state could claim two hundred nautical miles of jurisdiction beyond its land boundaries. It is perhaps telling that while the Philippines is a signatory to UNCLOS, the PRC and Vietnam are not. The Philippines also argue, under Law of the Sea provisions, that the PRC can not extend its baseline claims to the Spratlys because the PRC is not an archipelagic state. Whether this argument (or any other used by the Philippines) would hold up in court is debatable but possibly moot, as the PRC and Vietnam seem unwilling to legally substantiate their claims and have rejected Philippine challenges to take the dispute to the World Maritime Tribunal in Hamburg. Admiralty law (also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ...

Vietnam claims on the Spratly Islands

Vietnam also claims the island on historical grounds. Ancient Vietnamese geographical maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (Golden Sandbanks, referring to Spratly Islands) as Vietnamese territory as early as the 17th century. In Phủ Biên Tập Lục by the scholar Lê Quý Đôn, Hoàng Sa (Paracel Islands), and Trường Sa (Spratly Islands) were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi District. In Đại Nam Nhất Thống Toàn Đồ (Dai Nam Unified Map), an atlas of Vietnam completed in 1838, Trường Sa was shown to be Vietnam's territory. Vietnam had conducted many geographical and resource surveys of the islands. The results of these surveys have been recorded in Vietnamese literature and history published since the 17th century. After the treaty signed with the Nguyen Dynasty, France represented Vietnam in international affairs and had exercised sovereignty over the islands. On 7 July 1951, Tran Van Huu, head of the Bao Dai Government's delegation to the San Francisco Conference on the peace treaty with Japan declared that the archipelago's of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa had been part of Vietnamese territory. This declaration met with no challenge from the 51 representatives at the conference. It should be noted, however, that neither P.R.China or R.O.China were present at the conference. After the French left, the Vietnam government had exercised sovereignty over the islands. Vietnam currently occupies 31 islands. They are organized as a district of Khanh Hoa Province. At the 12th National Assembly Election held early in Trường Sa, the people and solders also voted for their local district government for the first time. For the first time, Trường Sa is organized like a normal inland district, with a townlet (thị trấn Trường Sa) and two commnunes (xã Sinh Tồn, xã Song Tử Tây). Forty nine people were elected to the communes' people's councils. The Nguyễn Dynasty (阮朝) was a line of rulers of Vietnam in the 19th century to mid-20th century. ... is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Emperor Bao Dai Bảo Đại (保大帝、22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997) was the last Emperor of Vietnam, the 13th and last Emperor of the Nguyá»…n Dynasty. ... Khánh Hòa Province   is a province of Vietnam with a population of 1,066,300 spanning an area of 5,197 km². Its capital is Nha Trang. ...

Tabular listing of features showing country possessions

The Scarborough Shoal, more correctly described as a group of islands, atolls, and reefs then a shoal, is located in the Luzon Sea (South China Sea). ... Palauig is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. ...

20th century timeline