Taiping Island
Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) in length and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) in width, with an area of 46 hectares (110 acres). It is located on the northern edge of the Tizard Bank (Zheng He Reefs; 鄭和群礁). The runway of the Taiping Island Airport is easily the most prominent feature on the island, running its entire length.
| Disputed island | |
|---|---|
Taiping Island | |
Taiping Island | |
| Other names | Itu Aba (Malay) Tàipíng Dǎo (太平島/太平岛) (Mandarin Chinese) Ligao Island (Philippine English) Pulo ng Ligaw (Filipino) Đảo Ba Bình (Vietnamese) Huángshānmǎ Jiāo (黃山馬礁/黄山马礁) (Mandarin Chinese) Huángshānmǎ Zhì (黃山馬峙/黄山马峙) (Mandarin Chinese) Nagashima (長島) (Japanese) Widuabe (Hainanese) |
| Geography | |
| Location | South China Sea |
| Coordinates | 10°22′37″N 114°21′57″E |
| Archipelago | Spratly Islands |
| Area | 51 ha (130 acres) |
| Length | 1,430 m (4690 ft) |
| Width | 402 m (1319 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Municipality District | Kaohsiung Cijin |
| Claimed by | |
| City | Sansha, Hainan |
| Municipality | Kalayaan, Palawan |
| Municipality District | Kaohsiung Cijin |
| District | Trường Sa, Khánh Hòa |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 220 military, coast guard and support personnel; 4 civilians |
The island is administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan), as part of Cijin, Kaohsiung. It is also claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, in the ruling by an arbitral tribunal in the intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration, in the case brought by the Philippines against China, the tribunal classified Itu Aba as a "rock" under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (and therefore not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf). Both Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China rejected this ruling.
The adjacent unpopulated Zhongzhou Reef (Ban Than Reef) is also under the control of Taiwan.