Sin Cowe Island , also known as Sinh Ton Island ( vi, Đảo Sinh Tồn); Rurok Island ( tl, Pulo ng Rurok, lit=Island of Peak );

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 ...

, is an island 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 ...

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 ...

. With an area of , it is the seventh largest Spratly island and the third largest of those occupied by Vietnam. It has a fringing reef which is above water at low tide. This island has been controlled by Vietnam since 1974, first by

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

ARVN The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April 1975. It is estimated to have suffe ...

Navy, followed by the Navy of the

Socialist Republic of 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 ...

after 1975. The island is also claimed by China, the Philippines 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 nort ...

. It is part 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 ...

Topography and Structures

Sin Cowe island is garrisoned by Vietnamese soldiers. The structures on it include a two-storied government building, anti aircraft guns, artillery and a Vietnamese Sovereignty marker. There is also a civilian population with a school, children's playground, medical station and wind turbines for electricity generation.

References

External links

Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{island-stub Islands of the Spratly Islands Union Banks

Topography and Structures

See also

References

External links