Koh Wai, km, កោះពូលូវៃ, also known as Poulo Wai or the Wai Islands, is a group of two small wooded and uninhabited islands in the
Gulf of Siam. The islands are located far away from the shore, to the southwest of the coast of
Preah Sihanouk Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
,
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
. Administratively Koh Wai falls under
Kampot Province
Kampot ( km, កំពត ) is a province in southwestern Cambodia. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of Vietnam ( Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the ...
. The
Khmer word ''Koh'' (កោះ), means 'island' translated into English. Poulo Wai is of Malayan origin.
Both islands are roughly 5 km long with a maximum width of about . They are located from each other, separated by a channel of ¾ mile () wide. The depth of the channel is about . The west island is about at its south-western end. The eastern island is around and rock fringed.
History
These islands were part of the basis of overlapping territorial claims between Cambodia,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
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 ...
; the three nations used differing methods of measuring the extent of their
territorial waters
The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...
from the islands.
In May 1975, the area around these islands and nearby
Koh Tang
Koh Tang ( km, កោះតាង), also known as Tang Island, is the biggest of a group of Cambodian islands off the coast of Sihanoukville Province in the Gulf of Thailand. The island is situated approximately off the southwest coast of Camb ...
was the site of the
Mayaguez incident
The ''Mayaguez'' incident took place between Democratic Kampuchea, Kampuchea (now Cambodia) and the United States from 12 to 15 May 1975, less than a month after the Khmer Rouge took Fall of Phnom Penh, control of the capital Phnom Penh ousting ...
, the last combat action of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, which involved the rescue of the SS ''Mayaguez''.
One month later,
Vietnam People's Army
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 ...
forces seized the islands and there was a battle between
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
and Vietnamese troops over the control of the islands. Finally, the Vietnamese evacuated Koh Wai in August.
The Koh Wai islands were for a long time off-limits to tourists, but now they can be visited in organized excursions. Since the trip is too long to go and come back in the same day, visitors usually stay overnight on one of the islands.
Sihanoukville, Islands
/ref>
See also
* Koh Rong Sanloem
Koh Rong Sanloem ( km, កោះរ៉ុងសន្លឹម, ) is an island off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, south of Koh Rong island. It is around long (north to south), wide (east to west) and wide at its narrowest point. Its d ...
* Koh Sdach
Koh Sdach island (Khmer: កោះស្តេច, King Island) is located in the Gulf of Thailand, around off the coast of Botum Sakor national park, in the Kiri Sakor district in Koh Kong province, Cambodia. It belongs to a small archipel ...
* List of islands of Cambodia
The following is a list of Cambodia's islands, all situated in the Gulf of Thailand ( km, ឈូងសមុទ្រថៃ, ). All islands are, apart from the group of the outer islands, in relative proximity to the coast and can easily and quic ...
* List of Cambodian inland islands
* Sihanoukville
References
External links
Concern over Boundary Affairs
Grand Tour for Keen Divers - Poulo WaiCambodia's Islands
{{Portal bar, Cambodia
Sihanoukville (city)
Populated places in Sihanoukville province
Islands of Cambodia
Islands of the Gulf of Thailand