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Pratas Island,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also known as the Tungsha Islands or the Dongsha Islands (), is a
coral island A coral island is a type of island formed from coral detritus and associated organic material. It occurs in tropical and sub-tropical areas, typically as part of a coral reef which has grown to cover a far larger area under the sea. Ecosystem ...
situated in the northern part 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 ...
administered as part of
Cijin District Cijin District (; Hokkien POJ: ''Kî-tin-khu'') is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of ...
,
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
,
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 ...
. It is located about southeast of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.Pratas Islands
, vm.nthu.edu.tw

Federation of American Scientists, www.fas.org
It has an area of about , including of
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
, and is the largest of the
South China Sea Islands The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs and seamounts in the South China Sea. The islands are mostly low and small, and have few inhabitants. The islands and surrounding seas are subject to overla ...
. It is the location of the
Dongsha Airport Dongsha Airport is located on Pratas Island (Tungsha/Dongsha) in Cijin District, Kaohsiung, Cijin District of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Uni Air offers flights from Kaohsiung once per week each Thursday, however the service is only available for Coast ...
. There are three undersea features in the waters associated with Pratas Island: Pratas Atoll, North Vereker Bank and South Vereker Bank. The atoll is circular, and the crescent-shaped Pratas Island occupies its western part. Below the ocean's surface to the northwest () of Pratas Island, North Vereker Bank rises to below sea level and South Vereker Bank to below sea level. There are numerous oil wells to the west of the banks. In 2007, the Dongsha Atoll National Park was established on the island. 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 ...
claims the island, atoll and banks as part of
Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
.


Pratas Islands

Pratas Atoll is also called Pratas Reef. Tungsha IslandSovereignty over the Spratly Islands
"Tungsha Island"
(Tung-sha Tao) () is the
Wade–Giles Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' of ...
-derived
romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of the
Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
name for the island, and Dongsha Island (Dongsha Dao) is the
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
-derived name. A smaller island with the same Chinese character name is located in the Taiwan-administered
Dongyin Township Dongyin Township (Tungyin) (; Foochow Romanized: Dĕ̤ng-īng-hiŏng) is an insular rural township which is part of Lienchiang County (the Matsu Islands), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan). The islands are in the East China Sea off ...
in the
Matsu Islands The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of China ( ...
in the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The area including the island, atoll and banks is also called the Pratas Islands (), the Tungsha Islands and the Dongsha Islands. Despite these names, Pratas Island is the only island; there is no group of islands.


History

The
East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
was wrecked on Pratas Island on or about 22 October 1800 with the loss of all aboard. At the time the island was known to British sailors as "Perates". In 1851, the British
screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propelle ...
wrecked on the south-east bend of Pratas Atoll while going to the aid of another wrecked vessel; the crew were all saved. Decades later, the boilers and parts of the machinery of the wreckage of HMS ''Reynard'' remained visible on the atoll. In 1859–1861, there was a correspondence between the
British Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...
and the Hong Kong colonial authorities about building a lighthouse on the main island on the atoll. Despite an offer by a British businessman in
Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
(Amoy) to build it, it was decided that the cost was too great and the matter lapsed. It is clear from the correspondence that no one supposed the atoll to be a part of any known jurisdiction, so negotiations might have been required to ensure that any construction would be legal. One consequence of that initiative was that, in 1858, the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
survey ship completed the first detailed survey of the atoll, resulting in the ''Plan of the Pratas Reef and Island'', J. Richards and others, April 1858, being published by the British Admiralty. On the resulting chart three positions are proposed for a lighthouse: on Pratas Island, on the north-east corner, or on the southern edge near where HMS ''Reynard'' had stranded. In the north-east corner of the lagoon the chart notes "Anchorage for junks", indicating regular use by fishing and other small vessels taking shelter. The chart's rubric noted that the available safe draft for vessels entering was only , so it was restricted to relatively small vessels only. In 1866,
Cuthbert Collingwood (naturalist) Cuthbert Collingwood (1826–1908) was an English naturalist, surgeon and physician. Life Born at Greenwich on 25 December 1826, he was fifth of six sons of Samuel Collingwood (1786–1852), an architect and contractor, of Wellington Grove, Green ...
visited Pratas Island and later published a description of it. In 1908–1909, a Japanese businessman named Nishizawa Yoshizi (西澤吉次) established a
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
collecting station. He destroyed the Dawang
Joss Joss may refer to: * Joss (name), including a list of people with the name * JOSS, a time-sharing programming language * Joss (Chinese statue), a religious object * Joss JP1, an Australian-built supercar * Joss paper, a type of burnt offering * J ...
House (大王庙), dug up graves and poured the bone ashes of Chinese fishermen into the sea, and renamed the atoll "Nishizawa Island". After a diplomatic confrontation, Chinese sovereignty was re-established, and Nishizawa withdrew, after being compensated by the Guangdong provincial government, and after paying compensation for the destruction of a Chinese fishermen's shrine. In December 1930, the schooner (Netherlands) ran aground on a coral reef off Pratas Island and was wrecked. On 22 May 1944, the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
was
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
ed and sunk by the US
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
, 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 ...
off Pratas Island at , while towing the disabled passenger-cargo ship ''Tsukuba Maru''. Casualties are unknown but her commanding officer was killed. Japanese naval personnel occupied Pratas Island during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Japanese Navy used the island as a weather station and listening post. On May 29, 1945, at 10:22 AM, a landing party consisting of Australian commandos and US naval personnel from the submarine raised the US flag, declared the island a United States territory, and named it Bluegill Island. The landing party destroyed a radio tower, weather station, fuel and ammunition dumps, and several buildings. They encountered no resistance because the Japanese had left the island prior to the arrival of ''Bluegill''. Pratas Island was later restored to
Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
of the
Republic of China 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 ...
(ROC). On September 12, 1946, the navy of the
Republic of China 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 ...
took over and garrisoned Pratas Island. On 6 June 1949, the ROC established the
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 ...
Special Administrative District ( 海南特別行政區), which included Pratas Island. In autumn 1954, the senior ROC politician
Chiang Ching-kuo Chiang Ching-kuo (27 April 1910 – 13 January 1988) was a politician of the Republic of China after its retreat to Taiwan. The eldest and only biological son of former president Chiang Kai-shek, he held numerous posts in the government ...
visited the island and made an inspection. On 9 June 1960, during Typhoon Mary, the Hong Kong cargo ship was driven against Pratas Reef and wrecked. Her 55 crew took to the liferafts and were rescued by the USS ''Yorktown'' (CV-10). While underway 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 ...
on 18 July 1965, the USS ''Frank Knox'' ran aground on Pratas Reef, and was only freed on 24 August after a very difficult salvage effort. On 13 April 1996, the jurisdiction of the Taiwan
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
District Court was extended to include Tungsha Island (Pratas Island). In May 1999, Kaohsiung Mayor
Frank Hsieh Frank Hsieh Chang-ting (; born May 18, 1946) is a Taiwanese politician and former defense attorney. A cofounder of the Democratic Progressive Party, he has served on the Taipei City Council, the Legislative Yuan, as the mayor of Kaohsiung City ...
visited the island and hung an address plate on the island’s fishing service station. On 21 December 2000, ROC President
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
visited the island with Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh. On 28 July 2005, President Chen Shui-bian again visited the island and inaugurated the Fifth Maritime Patrol Squad of the
Coast Guard Administration The Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council (CGA; ), also known as the Taiwan Coast Guard or R.O.C. Coast Guard, is charged with maintaining law and order, protecting the resources of the territorial waters of the Republic of Chin ...
. In January 2007, the ROC government designated the Pratas atoll as the Dongsha Atoll National Park, the first marine national park in Taiwan. On 8 January 2013, an office of
Chunghwa Post Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. is the official postal service of Taiwan (officially the Republic of China). Chunghwa Post was a government agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications until 2003, when it was reorganized into a governm ...
was established on Pratas Island. In September 2020, the
PRC 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 ...
conducted air drills over the waters between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island that intruded into the ROC Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The planes were issued radio warnings by the ROC military until they left. On 15 October 2020, a regular civilian charter flight by Uni Air had to abandon its trip from the main island of Taiwan to Pratas Island when Hong Kong air traffic controllers told the captain of the aircraft that there were "dangerous activities" happening below and that the Uni Air aircraft could not enter the Hong Kong
Flight Information Region In aviation, a flight information region (FIR) is a specified region of airspace in which a flight information service and an alerting service (ALRS) are provided. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) delegates which country is re ...
(FIR). The transcript of the conversation between the pilot and air traffic control was released by the ROC Civil Aeronautics Administration. The next day, the ROC Minister of National Defense
Yen Teh-fa Yen Teh-fa (; born 14 November 1952) is a Taiwanese politician and retired general of the Republic of China Army. His ancestral home was in Nanjing. He was previously the Minister of National Defense and the secretary-general of the National Securi ...
called on PRC not to "disrupt the order of international aviation". On 20 October, Deputy Chief of the ROC General Staff, Lieutenant-General Li Ting-sheng ( 李廷盛), visited Pratas Island. He made an inspection of the living facilities of the military personnel and gave them instructions. On 26 October, the same Uni Air aircraft made the round trip flight between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island. On 27 October 2020, a Y8 PRC military aircraft entered ROC airspace between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island for the twenty-first time that month. On 28 October,
Zhu Fenglian Zhu Fenglian (; born November 1977) is a Chinese diplomat who is currently serving as deputy director and spokesperson of the information bureau at the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. Early life Zhu was born in Meizhou, Guangdong pro ...
of the
Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China. It is responsible for setting and implementing guidelines and policies related to the Republic of China (Taiwan), as stipulate ...
of the PRC was asked whether, in light of
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
military exercises in
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
and
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, there was or was not a plan to take Pratas Island from the ROC. Feng responded that she did not have to answer hypothetical questions. On 2 November, eight Chinese
PLAAF The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the P ...
aircraft breached the ROC air defense identification zone (ADIZ) above an area of sea near Pratas Island. On 3 November, Y-8 plane entered the ADIZ of the ROC in the area between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island. On 4 November, the ROC Minister of National Defense,
Yen Teh-fa Yen Teh-fa (; born 14 November 1952) is a Taiwanese politician and retired general of the Republic of China Army. His ancestral home was in Nanjing. He was previously the Minister of National Defense and the secretary-general of the National Securi ...
, stated in a legislative hearing that since January 2020, 276 PRC military planes had entered the airspace between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island, activity that Yen associated with plans by the PRC for a creating its own ADIZ in the South China Sea. On 6 December, a PRC air force Y-8 plane entered the Taiwan ADIZ between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island, the fifth day in December that PRC military aircraft entered Taiwan's ADIZ.


Geography

Pratas Island is located from the rest of
Kaoshiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
, southwest of
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, southeast of
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and south of
Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...
,
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
in the northern part 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 ...
(). An international team of researchers conducted a comprehensive population genetic analysis of 11 marine species sampled from the island. They concluded that Dongsha Atoll is an important regional stepping-stone that promotes genetic connectivity among South China Sea reefs, as marine larvae can potentially reach a large number of reefs in the northern South China Sea. The protection of the island and surrounding reefs by the Taiwanese government as Dongsha Atoll National Park may therefore benefit the entire region. Pratas Island is long and wide; it is the only feature of the group
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 comb ...
. The island is made up of coral atolls and reef flats. Brush, vines and bushes cover some of the island - the rest is white sand. Flora and fauna on and around Pratas Island include: *
Silver silk tree Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...
*
Strawberry tung tree The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The f ...
*
Coconut tree The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), 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, ...
*
Little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of '' Sterna'', "tern". The specific ' ...
s *
Turnstone Turnstones are two bird species that comprise the genus ''Arenaria'' in the family Scolopacidae. They are closely related to calidrid sandpipers and might be considered members of the tribe Calidriini. The genus ''Arenaria'' was introduced by t ...
s *
Gull-billed tern The gull-billed tern (''Gelochelidon nilotica''), formerly ''Sterna nilotica'', is a tern in the family Laridae. It is widely distributed and breeds in scattered localities in Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and the Americas. The Australian gull ...
s *
Parrotfish Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a Family (biology), family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found ...
*
Starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...
*
Rock lobster "Rock Lobster" is a song written by Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson, two members of the B-52's. It was twice recorded and released as a single, first by DB Records as their debut release in April 1978, and again the following year for the b ...
s In the ''Journal of Science'' (April 1867) there is a nine-page article entitled "The Natural History of Pratas Island in the China Sea" by Dr.
Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as ...
, the naturalist on board . It describes what was observed, especially bird life, during a visit of two days while the survey ship lay at anchor. Collingwood explored the island on 30 April 1866. The Vereker Banks () are northwest of Pratas Atoll. North and South Vereker Banks are under water., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency "Feature Class (Code): Undersea (U)" North Vereker Bank ( 北衛灘) rises to below sea level with an average depth of to below sea level. A well head with a depth of lies off North Vereker Bank. Two to three miles of deep water separate North Vereker Bank and South Vereker Bank. South Vereker Bank ( 南衛灘) rises to below sea level. A well head, in a depth of over , lies north of the Vereker Banks at . The associated production platform and SPM make up Lu Feng Terminal; the terminal is enclosed by a restricted area. Exploration for oil is taking place in this area. There are also some
seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...
formations nearby which are not part of the three atolls: * Jianfeng Seamount (尖峰海山) * Maojia Seamount (芼架海山) * Beipo Seamount (北波海山)


Politics and government

The island is part of the
Republic of China (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 ...
with the
postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
817. Although there are no long-term inhabitants on the island, Pratas is administered by the
Kaohsiung City Government The Kaohsiung City Government is the municipal government of Kaohsiung. It was formed after the merger of Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City in December 2010. Its chief administrator is the directly elected Mayor of Kaohsiung. History In ...
under
Cijin District Cijin District (; Hokkien POJ: ''Kî-tin-khu'') is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of ...
(Qijin). The island has been uninhabited, yet nations (including
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 ...
and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
) have claimed them to be their overseas territory.


Military

, about five hundred Taiwanese marines were stationed on Pratas Island. The island has a network of underground bunkers. According to regulations updated on December 2, 2020, in the event that communication is cut off between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island or
Taiping Island Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and also known by various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being in length and in width, with an area of . I ...
(Itu Aba), the highest-ranking local officer can make the decision to fire back at assailants.


Cross-strait relations

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 ...
claims the Pratas Islands () as part of Chengqu,
Shanwei Shanwei (), or Swabue is a prefecture-level city in eastern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Jieyang to the east, Meizhou and Heyuan to the north, Huizhou to the west, and looks out to the South China Sea to the south. I ...
(Swabue),
Guangdong Province Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. p.10: "Pratas Reef (Tung-sha Ch'un-tao)The PRC lays claim to the reef by virtue of its assertion that it is the only China." According to an anonymous
PLA PLA may refer to: Organizations Politics and military * People's Liberation Army, the armed forces of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party * People's Liberation Army (disambiguation) ** Irish National Liberation Army, formerly called ...
source, plans created around 2010 by China for an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea include Pratas Island airspace. The PLA's actions near the southeast corner of the Taiwan AIDZ and Pratas Island in late 2020 led to speculation that the area might be declared part of an ADIZ by China. In the later half of 2020, repeated reports of Chinese military exercises and fly overs near the island were interpreted as an apparent attempt to cut off the
supply line Supply may refer to: *The amount of a resource that is available **Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers **Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission *Supply, as in confidenc ...
between Pratas Island and the main island of Taiwan.


Pratas Island settlement

As an island with no permanent inhabitants, it is visited largely by fishermen, military personnel and researchers. Amateur radio operators participating in the
DXCC An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication (or "working") with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazine ...
and Islands on the Air awards programs also visit occasionally.


Landmarks

An obelisk was erected after 1946. In 1954 the ROC Government personnel stationed on Pratas erected a stone tablet on the southern side of the island, facing the ocean.From Taiwan's
National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU; ) is a public research university in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. National Tsing Hua University was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, the then-president of the university, Mei Yiqi, and other ...
's "Discovering the South China Sea" article.
The Da Wang temple is dedicated to 'Kuang Kang' and 'The South China Sea Goddess' - Mazu. It is said that the statue of
Guan Gong Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...
came to Pratas Island on a canoe in 1948. The soldiers on Pratas Island built a temple to worship her in 1975. Today, the canoe is still kept in the temple. The joss sticks and candles are donated by soldiers, as was the golden sign hung in front of the statue. There is an 'Ever Green' pavilion in front of the temple which was also built by the soldiers. It is the most verdant place on the island. The Minister for Internal Affairs of the ROC erected the South China Sea Defense stone tablet to declare Republic of China sovereignty in 1989. In July 1991 the
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
City Government erected the Pratas Island measuring memorial stone tablet as a symbol that Pratas Island falls within the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City. Within Kaohsiung, the island belongs to
Cijin District Cijin District (; Hokkien POJ: ''Kî-tin-khu'') is a district of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, covering Cijin Island () and islands in the South China Sea. It is the second smallest district in Kaohsiung City after Yancheng District, with an area of ...
(Qijin). The ROC Government established the Triangulation Benchmark as the triangulation point for Pratas Island in December 1991. There are words on each side of the base of the triangulation point stone tablet. They read 'The Pratas Triangulation Point' on the front, and 'Longitude: 116o 43" 42.5601'E, Latitude: 20o 42' 6.2415'N, Height: 2.4875 meters.' The words 'Defend the South China Sea', written by the commander, Lo Ben Li, were also engraved on the stone tablet. The
National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU; ) is a public research university in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. National Tsing Hua University was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, the then-president of the university, Mei Yiqi, and other ...
webpage about the island states: "In addition to making it more convenient to survey and draw navigational maps, and to construct and develop facilities on the island, the establishment of the triangulation point is also the basis of our sovereign rights."


Public buildings

The library is located on one side of the main plaza, and is the center for soldiers to obtain spiritual nourishment. The library contains more than two thousand books. The military post office is Office No. 67. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications issued the 'South China Sea Islands Map Stamps' in 1996, as a set of two stamps. The inscription 'South China Sea Defense' from the national stone tablet on Pratas Island was printed on the five-dollar stamp, and the 'Defend the South China Sea' inscription from the national stone tablet on
Taiping Island Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and also known by various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being in length and in width, with an area of . I ...
was printed on the seventeen-dollar stamp. The background was the south China coastline, Taiwan and Hainan Island with the blue sky and sea. This was the first time that the ROC had issued stamps with the theme of the South China Sea. In 1987 the military and civilian occupants built the 'Pratas Fishermen's Service Station'. The station was built in traditional Chinese courtyard house style, and provides convenient services for fishermen and boats in the South China Sea, insuring the fishermen's safety and upholding ROC sovereignty. The services provided include lodging, medical rescue, entertainment and supply. The station also provides lodging for the scientists who come to conduct research on the island. In 2012
National Sun Yat-sen University National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU; ) is a public research-intensive university renowned as an official think tank scholars' community, located in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. NSYSU is listed as one of six national research universities, ...
's Dongsha Atoll Research Station (DARS) was established for
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
biogeochemistry Biogeochemistry is the scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment (including the biosphere, the cryosphere, t ...
, and
oceanography Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
research.


Energy

Diesel-fueled generators are used to power the island. In March 2016, a solar energy system built by the
Coast Guard Administration The Coast Guard Administration of the Ocean Affairs Council (CGA; ), also known as the Taiwan Coast Guard or R.O.C. Coast Guard, is charged with maintaining law and order, protecting the resources of the territorial waters of the Republic of Chin ...
went into operation. The system covers an area of 310.6 m2 and produces 53,200 kWh of electricity each year.


Transportation

The
Dongsha Island Airport Dongsha Airport is located on Pratas Island (Tungsha/Dongsha) in Cijin District of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Uni Air offers flights from Kaohsiung once per week each Thursday, however the service is only available for Coast Guard Administration sta ...
features a runway located on the north end of Pratas Island with a small airport terminal at the eastern end. The airport is used by the
ROC military The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Mats ...
. A main shack and subordinate shack are located on the southeast end of the island. There are no refueling facilities. Two piers on the southeast shore allow for small watercraft to land. A circle with a radius of centered on Pratas Island, referred to as VHR7, is a prohibited area for aeronautical purposes. The 'VH' in VHR7 denotes 'Hong Kong' and the 'R' denotes a 'Restricted Area'. Pratas Island and VHR7 are located within the Hong Kong
Flight Information Region In aviation, a flight information region (FIR) is a specified region of airspace in which a flight information service and an alerting service (ALRS) are provided. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) delegates which country is re ...
(FIR). (Note: In the maps (Figures 7.1, 8.1 & 8.2), the VHR7 circle is within the Hong Kong FIR.)


Gallery

File:八據點潟湖.jpg, Pratas Island Lagoon File:機場漲潮.jpg, Airport File:東沙冬天 14.jpg, Pratas Island Beach File:((WDPA-555512092)) Dongsha Atoll National Park, WEY, 10.jpg, Southern edge of Pratas Atoll
(Pratas Island can be seen in the distance)


See also

*
List of islands of Taiwan The islands comprising the Taiwan Area under the jurisdiction of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC) are classified into various island groups. The Geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is the largest island and the main c ...
*
List of Taiwanese superlatives This is a list of Taiwanese superlatives. Geography Ecology Demography Structures References

{{Asia in topic, Extreme points of, collapsed=yes Lists of superlatives, Taiwanese Taiwan-related lists, Superlatives ...
*
Politics of the Republic of China The Republic of China (Chinese: 中華民國政治, Pinyin: ''Zhōnghuá Mínguó de zhèngzhì'') (commonly known as Taiwan) is governed in a framework of a representative democratic republic under a Five-Power system envisioned by Sun ...
*
South China Sea Islands The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs and seamounts in the South China Sea. The islands are mostly low and small, and have few inhabitants. The islands and surrounding seas are subject to overla ...


References


External links


Satellite image of the Pratas atoll
Google Maps

www.laserbase.com.tw

vm.nthu.edu.tw

vm.nthu.edu.tw

vm.nthu.edu.tw
東沙二十part1:擁有世界級珊瑚生態的神秘東沙島在哪裡?
{{Authority control Archipelagoes of the Pacific Ocean Islands of Taiwan Landforms of Kaohsiung Islands of the South China Sea Disputed islands Territorial disputes of China Territorial disputes of the Republic of China