Spratly Island, also known as Storm Island ( vi, Đảo Trường Sa Lớn; ; ), is the fourth largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea with an area of , and the largest of the Vietnamese-administered Spratly islands. In 2016 the Vietnamese embarked on a land reclamation program at ten locations in the Spratly Islands. At Spratly Island 37 acres have been reclaimed, which has allowed for the addition of a harbour and the doubling of the length of the island's runway to a length of about . It is also claimed by China (PRC) and

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 ...

Location

Spratly island lies west of the SW of Dangerous Ground in the western half of the Spratly Islands. It is neighboured by Ladd Reef to the west, the

London Reefs The London Reefs are located between and ( and ) in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. The four major features within the area (Central London Reef, Cuarteron Reef, East London Reef, and West London Reef West London Reef ( tl, ...

to the east, and others.

History in the 20th century

In April 1930, France sent the dispatch boat ''( aviso)'', ''la Malicieuse'', to the archipelago and raised the

flag of France The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Irelan ...

on a high mound on Spratly Island, also known as ''île de la Tempête''. According to an official announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France occupied Spratly Island on April 13, 1930. On 21 December 1933, the Governor of Cochinchina, Jean-Félix Krautheimer, signed Decree No. 4702-CP merging Spratly Island,

Amboyna Cay Amboyna Cay, also known as vi, Đảo An Bang; ms, Pulau Amboyna Kecil; Datu Kalantiaw Island ( tl, Pulo ng Datu Kalantiaw, lit=Island of Datu Kalantiaw); Mandarin , and other names, is an island of the Spratly Islands group in the South China ...

, Itu Aba Island, Northeast Cay, Southwest Cay, Loaita Island, Thitu Island and other dependent islands with Ba Ria province (present-day Vietnam's

Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu ) is a province of Vietnam. It is located on the coast of the country's Southeast region. It also includes the Côn Đảo islands, located some distance off Vietnam's southeastern coast. From 1954 to 1975, under South ...

). In April 1939 Japan occupied the island provoking protests from the French. The Japanese also laid claim to 1000 square miles of the South China sea between 7 to 12 degrees north and 111 to 112 degrees east. During the occupation of the island by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the time of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, the island was known by the Japanese as . After World War II, the Republic of China Navy sent a fleet of vessels to the South China Sea to take over the occupation of islands from Japan. In 1946, the Republic of China government announced the sovereignty of this island, set a milestone, and named it "Nanwei Island". (Nanwei is the name of the Chairman of Guangdong Province in China in 1946 – Chinese: 南威島). During the early 1960s, the Republic of Vietnam Navy stopped off at the island several times. In 1963, three ships (HQ-404 ''Huong Giang'', HQ-01 ''Chi Lang'' and HQ-09 ''Ki Hoa'') visited and systematically rebuilt steles on a number of islands in the archipelago. On May 19, 1963, they built one on Spratly Island. However, the war on the mainland led to the absence of Vietnamese troops on the island until 1974 when South Vietnam set up a permanent garrison there after the Crescent Group of the Paracel Islands was

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

to China. On April 29, 1975, the

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 ...

evicted South Vietnam's troops and occupied the island.

Administration

Under the South Vietnamese regime, Spratly Island was placed under the administration of

Khánh Hòa province KH may refer to: Places * Cambodia (Kampuchea, Kambuja, ''Srok Khmer''), a sovereign state with ISO 3166-2 alpha code KH ** .kh, the Internet country code top-level domain for Cambodia * Kutná Hora District, Czech Republic (vehicle plate code) * ...

. In 2007, the Vietnamese government upgraded the island's status to a commune-level town which is in charge of administrating all nearby Vietnamese-controlled features such as Amboyna Cay and Barque Canada Reef. On the island lies Trường Sa District's administrative center.

Geography

Spratly Island is shaped like an

isosceles triangle In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at least'' two sides of equal length, the latter versio ...

. According to a document published by the Political Department of Vietnam's Navy Command, the island is in length, up to in width and has an area of while several foreign documents often use a slightly smaller number of . It is 3.4 to 5 metres above sea level during low tide. The island has a variety of vegetation with a source of brackish water which can be utilized for bathing, washing and watering plants. The fringing reefs that lie at all three corners are up to wide and uncovered at low tide.

Climate

With the typical meteorological characteristics of an archipelago, the Spratly Islands have a cool summer and a warm winter. The dry season, spanning from February to May, is characterized by a higher temperature from 4:30 AM to 19:00 PM. May to January is the time of the rainy season, when temperatures are lower during daytime, but thunderstorms more likely to occur.

Ecology

The island's plants are mostly '' Barringtonia asiatica'', '' Ipomoea pes-caprae'', ''

Heliotropium foertherianum ''Heliotropium arboreum'' is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It is native to tropical Asia including southern China, Madagascar, northern Australia, and most of the atolls and high islands of Micronesia and Polyn ...

'', and some kinds of

bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

and grass which grow poorly due to the harsh climate. Spratly Island is home to some birds and has

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 ...

deposits. Islanders try to cultivate

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus ''Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

, chili pepper and a variety of vegetables and herbs. There are also hundreds of dogs and much poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese.

Facilities

Trường Sa Airport

The original runway was built in 1976–77. From 2004, the configurations included a landing strip that could accommodate small fixed-wing propeller aircraft ( PZL M28 Skytruck,

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

). Aircraft were parked on a small tarmac area next to the runway which runs the entire length of the island, with both ends ending on beachfront. Homes surround the two sides of the runway and a small two-story building with a control tower on the roof is located by the apron. Since 2016, photos and reports were published showing extensive land-reclamation and construction work at Spratly Island, with new harbours and extension of the runway to at least . The island also has a helicopter pad.

Other facilities

Built in 1977, the meteorological station on Spratly Island has station index number 48920 as assigned by the World Meteorological Organization. Vietnam Military Telecommunications Corp., known commonly as Viettel, established mobile coverage in the Spratlys Island in 2007 to assert sovereignty and allow soldiers to speak with their families back home. Energy is provided by

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s and wind turbines. Additional facilities included a small jetty with two piers, a clinic, a cultural house, a radio tower and a Buddhist pagoda. A primary school has been in operation since April 2013. There is a 5.5 m-high obelisk at the southern tip.

References

External links

Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spratly Island (Proper) Islands of the Spratly Islands World War II occupied territories