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Miangas or Palmas is North Sulawesi's northernmost island, and one of 92 officially listed outlying islands of Indonesia.


Etymology

''Miangas'' means "exposed to piracy", because pirates from
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...
used to visit the island. In the 16th century, the island was named in Spanish ''Isla de las Palmas'', and in Portuguese ''Ilha de Palmeiras''. In the Sasahara language, the island is called ''Tinonda'' or ''Poilaten'' in
Minahasan The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...
which mean "people who live separated from the main archipelago" and "our island" respectively.


History

According to local tradition, there were a number of kingdoms in the area. Sangir, Talaud and Sitaro belonged to two kingdoms, Tabukan and Kalongan. To justify their sovereignty over Miangas, the Dutch argued that the island had been under the domination of the princes of Sangir.


Early modern era

In October 1526, Garcia Jofre de Loaísa, Spanish sailor and researcher, was the first European to visit the island. The island was used as a defense site by Talaud people when under attack from the Sulu Sultanate. The island was affected by the outbreak of cholera in 1885, causing hundreds of the inhabitants to move to Karakelang Island. In 1895, E. J. Jellesma, Oud-resident of
Manado Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pu ...
, visited Miangas to praise the residents and ''kapiten laut'' for rejecting the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
flag. Jellesma gave them a medal and a Dutch flag. With Jellesma was Pastor Kroll, who baptized 254 residents as Protestants. After Jellesma's visit, a Tahuna assistant resident and Pastor Pannings visited the island in April and October 1909.


Island of Palmas Case

According to the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines area was all areas within a large geographic box. Miangas lay inside the southern boundary of the box. On 21 January 1906, General
Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philip ...
, Governor General of Moro, officially visited the island for the first time. He found the Dutch flag was flying there and that the island was claimed as part of the Dutch East Indies. When Wood returned to Zamboanga, he reported it to the United States Military Secretary, on 26 January 1906. The United States government referred the matter to the Netherlands through their embassy in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...
on 31 March 1906. On 17 October 1906 the Netherlands Foreign Ministry responded with reasons why the island was included in the Dutch East Indies. On 23 January 1925 the Netherlands and the United States brought the case to 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 aris ...
, under a sole arbitrator Max Huber of Switzerland. On 4 April 1928 Huber decided that the island "forms in its entirety a part of Netherlands territory". It was reported in 2003 that Philippine congressman Harry Roque argues that Spain could not have legally ceded Palmas or any part of the Philippines to the United States because Filipinos had already established the
Republic of 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 ...
on June 12, 1898 before the Treaty of Paris was signed on Dec. 10, 1898.


Post Indonesian independence

On 4 July 1956, Indonesia, represented by Ambassador Soehardjo Wirjopranoto, and the Philippines, represented by Ambassador Jose T. Fuentebella, signed the ''Agreement on Immigration Between the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of Indonesia'', that allowed border residents in Sangihe, Talaud, Nunukan, Balut, and
Sarangani Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sarangani; hil, Kapuoran sang Sarangani; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi: دايرت نو سارڠني; fil, Lalawigan ng Sarangani), is a province in the Philipp ...
, who had a laissez-passer, to cross the border to trade, visit family, worship, and travel. On 16 September 1965, Jusuf Ronodipuro of Indonesia and Leon T. Garcia of the Philippines signed a ''Directives and Guidelines on the Implementation of the Immigration Agreement on Repatriation and Border Crossing Arrangement Between Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of the Philippines'', to clarify the first agreement, making Marore, Miangas,
Mabila Mabila (also spelled Mavila, Mavilla, Maubila, or Mauvilla, as influenced by Spanish or French transliterations) was a small fortress town known to the paramount chief Tuskaloosa in 1540, in a region of present-day central Alabama. The exact loca ...
, and Balut the checkpoints. In 1972, the island was hit by a tsunami, and 90 householders were moved by the government to Bolaang-Mongondow Regency as a result. In 2005, the Indonesian government refused a
shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that ...
from Miangas to Davao (part of the Philippines). In the same year, Miangas Village Secretary Jhonlyi Awala died from a beating at the hands of the Chief of Police of Miangas. About 200 people, dressed in black, demonstrated to express their outrage at the senseless death and the island's neglect by the Indonesian state. They lowered the Indonesian flag at the Miangas pier and instead raised the Philippine flag. Talaud Regent Elly Engelbert Lasut, who arrived from Manado, de-escalated the situation. According to
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (, abbreviated as ''Kemlu'') or commonly known by its abbreviations as, is an Indonesian government ministry responsible for the country's foreign politics and diplomacy. The ministry was formerly known as the ...
, the Philippine Tourism Authority in February 2009 published a map which included Miangas into the Philippines' territory. A monument, named Monumen Patung Santiago (Monument Statue of Santiago), was built and inaugurated on the island in 2009 to commemorate Santiago who defended the island from the Dutch colonials. In 2011, the island could be reached by ship operated by Pelni. In 2014, both the governments of the Philippines and Indonesia officially demarcated their maritime borders, with Miangas recognized as within the waters of Indonesia. Starting from 12 March 2017, a flight from
Manado Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pu ...
serves this island once a week. The flight, operated by
Wings Air PT Wings Abadi Airlines, operating as Wings Air, is a scheduled commuter passenger low cost airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The airline operates out of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar as well as several other airports ar ...
, lands at
Miangas Airport Miangas Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Miangas) is located on the island of Miangas, North Sulawesi. It is one of the most remote airport in Indonesia. The airport was built in 2012 with a construction investment of billion and opened on 12 March 201 ...
every Sunday.


Geography

Miangas is located from
Manado Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pu ...
, the capital of
North Sulawesi North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...
and from
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
in the Philippines. It also lies southeast of Mindanao. It is long and wide, with an area of 3.15 km2. Miangas, which lies to the north of the Nanusa Islands, forms a separate district within the Talaud Islands Regency. The island is mainly lowland, about 1.5 metres
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...
. The highest point, called Gunung Batu, is 111 metres high, located in the northeast part of the island. This area is covered with
coconut palm The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
. In the northeast corner of the island, there is a cliff, with the northeast shore fringed by a reef.


Transportation

For transportation, Miangas inhabitants once relied on their homemade sailboats. During the New Order, however, they started using motorboats. These are now the main sources of transportation. In October 2016,
Miangas Airport Miangas Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Miangas) is located on the island of Miangas, North Sulawesi. It is one of the most remote airport in Indonesia. The airport was built in 2012 with a construction investment of billion and opened on 12 March 201 ...
was inaugurated by the President Joko Widodo. The inaugural flight served this airport several months later.


Economy

Miangas inhabitants derive their main income from fishing. Women also weave mats from '' pandan'' leaves.


Demography

As at the 2010 Census, the island's population was 728 people. Miangas inhabitants speak
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...
and Bisaya; the older generation usually also speak
Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
. The island has a police station and two military posts. There are also a market, a harbor office and a bank office.


Notes


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * {{Authority control Landforms of North Sulawesi Islands of Sulawesi Former disputed islands