Johnson South Reef, also known in

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 ...

; Mabini Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Mabini, lit=Reef of Mabini); vi, Đá Gạc Ma), is a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...

in the southwest portion of the

Union Banks Union Banks (Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs) is a large drowned atoll in the center of Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in South China Sea, west of the Philippine coast, containing islands and reefs whose ownership remains disputed and cont ...

in 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 o ...

of 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 ...

. It is controlled by the

People's Republic of 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 ...

(PRC), but its ownership is disputed and also claimed by 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 ...

Taiwan (ROC) 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 northeas ...

, and

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 ...

Location, topography and structures

Johnson South Reef lies adjacent to the Vietnamese-controlled

Collins Reef Collins Reef, also known as Johnson North Reef/Johnson Reef North; vi, Đá Cô Lin; Roxas Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Roxas); Mandarin , is a Vietnamese occupied and controlled reef and the westernmost feature of Union Banks Atoll near the centre of ...

(also known as Johnson North Reef) which lies to the northwest. It is naturally above water only at low tide. Prior to 2014 it housed a number of small buildings, wharves and a fortified Chinese maritime observation station. On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...

concluded that Johnson Reef contains, within the meaning of Article 121(1) of the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...

(UNCLOS), naturally formed areas of land, surrounded by water, which are above water at high tide. However, for purposes of Article 121(3) of UNCLOS, the high-tide features at Johnson Reef are "rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own and accordingly shall be entitled to 12nm of territorial sea measured from its baseline but have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf".

Territorial disputes

Johnson South Reef has been occupied by the

since 1988, and is claimed by

. It was the site of the 1988

Johnson South Reef Skirmish The Johnson South Reef Skirmish was an altercation that took place on 14 March 1988 between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over who would control the Johnson South Reef in the Union Banks region of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Bac ...

between the

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and Vietnam that resulted in the death of 64 Vietnamese soldiers, two Vietnamese boats being sunk, and the Chinese occupying the reef. The PRC government constructed an embankment building on the reef in the early 1990s.Johnson South Reef / Chigua Reef
(中国南沙群島赤瓜礁図片]), www.nansha.org.cn In July 2012, to further reinforce their claim, a Chinese fleet of 29 fishing vessels from

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

protected by ''Yuzheng 310'' (a fishery administration patrol ship) spent 20 days fishing in the region.

Military development

During 2014, Chinese reclamation work expanded the usable surface area to , accommodating what appears to be a military and radar base and a small harbour. In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that the expanded reef has been armed with

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

s and a

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of la ...

missile-defence system.

References

External links

Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Island TrackerOur World Flashpoint: South China Sea
''BBC'', film documentary, July 2015. {{Spratly Islands topics Reefs of the Spratly Islands Union Banks Artificial islands of Asia

Location, topography and structures

Territorial disputes

Military development

See also

References

External links