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 , 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
The Spratly Islands ( fil, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan; zh, c=南沙群島/南沙群岛, s=, t=, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay, id, Kepulauan Spratly; vi, Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed ...
group in the
South China Sea located just outside (SW) of the southwest of
Dangerous Ground. It is SW of
Barque Canada Reef, 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
Cuarteron Reef, also known as Calderon Reef (Mandarin ; vi, ...
, and NW of
Swallow Reef
Swallow Reef, also known as ms, Pulau Layang-Layang, lit=; vi, Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin ; Celerio Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Celerio, lit=), is an oceanic atoll of the Spratly Islands administered by Malaysia, which is situated approximately northwest ...
.
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 it ...
.
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,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malays ...
, 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 northeast ...
.
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 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
Republic of Vietnam Navy 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 op ...
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
An amateur radio operator is someone who uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other amateur operators on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators ha ...
("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.
See also
*
Spratly Islands dispute
References
External links
Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{South China Sea
Islands of the Spratly Islands