Amboyna Cay, also known as vi, Đảo An Bang; ms, Pulau Amboyna Kecil; Datu Kalantiaw Island ( tl, Pulo ng Datu Kalantiaw, lit=Island of Datu Kalantiaw);

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, and other names, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

of the Spratly Islands group in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

located just outside (SW) of the southwest of Dangerous Ground. It is SW of

Barque Canada Reef Barque Canada Reef, also known as Lizzie Weber Reef, ( tl, Bahura ng Mascarado/Magsaysay); ms, Terumbu Perahu; Thuyền Chài Reef ( vi, Bãi Thuyền Chài); Mandarin , is a reef on the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The reef has been ...

, south of the

London Reefs The London Reefs are located between and ( and ) in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. The four major features within the area (Central London Reef, Cuarteron Reef, East London Reef, and West London Reef West London Reef ( tl, ...

, and NW of Swallow Reef. With an area of , it is the thirteenth largest naturally occurring Spratly island and the sixth largest amongst those occupied by

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The island has two parts: the eastern part consists of sand and coral, and the west part is covered with guano. It has a fringing reef. An obelisk, about high, stands on the SW corner. There is little vegetation. It is described by some as heavily fortified. A lighthouse has been operational on the island since May 1995. The island is also claimed by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Đèn biển trên đảo An Bang.JPG , Amboyna Cay Lighthouse Đảo An Bang.JPG , View from Amboyna Cay Đảo An bang..JPG , Vietnamese guards on Amboyna Cay

Recent history

From 1956 on, in the face of Chinese and Philippine opposition, the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...

began to launch various operations to reassert control over the Spratly Islands. Crewmembers erected sovereignty steles on almost all of them and built poles to hoist the Vietnamese flag. The cruiser Tuy Dong (HQ-04) was assigned these missions in August 1956. On 20 May 1963, the

landed on Amboyna Cay and rebuilt the sovereignty stele. On 28 April 1975, the Vietnam People's Navy landed on Amboyna Cay but later left the cay due to harsh climate. In 1978 the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of o ...

landed on the island and placed markers. However, the markers were subsequently destroyed by Vietnam People's Navy who has returned and occupied the cay since 10 March 1978. On 31 March 1979, forces occupying the cay fired warning shots at a boat transporting six amateur radio operators ("hams") attempting a

DX-pedition A DX-pedition is an expedition to what is considered an exotic place by amateur radio operators and DX listeners, typically because of its remoteness, access restrictions, or simply because there are very few radio amateurs active from that pl ...

to Amboyna Cay. In 1982, a Singapore yacht operated by the owner and his wife transporting four German hams on a DX-pedition to Amboyna Cay was fired upon by Vietnamese forces. One of the hams, Diethelm Mueller, was hit by an artillery round and fell overboard. The yacht burned and the rest of the party drifted for 11 days on debris. Another ham, Gero Band, died of thirst the day before the survivors were rescued by a passing Japanese freighter which took them to Hong Kong.

References

External links

Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{South China Sea Islands of the Spratly Islands

Recent history

See also

References

External links