Triton Island (; ) is the westernmost and southernmost of the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea and currently controlled by the People's Republic of China. The word ''paracel'' is of Portuguese origi ...

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 South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

. It is located on the southwest corner of Triton Reef and has an area of above sea-level. The reef including the island measures about in area. The island is administered by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and is also claimed by the

Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The island was historically known by the Chinese as ''Bànlù Zhì'' (), and as ''Luó Dǎo'' () to Chinese fishermen. Other Chinese sources have it named as 南建岛, as it was the southernmost point claimed by China until after 1933. The current Chinese name commemorates the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN, Chinese, 中華民國海軍) , colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy ( Chinese, 台湾海军) by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy ( Chinese, 國軍海軍) ...

warship ''ROCS Chung-chien'' () sent in 1946 to claim the Paracel Islands.

History

Lacking a native population, ownership of the Paracel Islands has been disputed since the early 20th century. In the aftermath of the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...

, until 1974 Vietnam occupied Pattle Island, approximately northeast. Control has been enforced by the People's Republic of China since the

Battle of the Paracel Islands The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: 西沙海战 (pinyin Xisha haizhan)；Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was an engagement between the Chinese and South Vietnamese navies near the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The battle ...

. In 1973 the cargo ship USNS ''Sgt. Jack J. Pendleton'' was abandoned on the reef of Triton Island, having run aground there en route from Vietnam to the Philippines. The with other units, including UDT teams, salvaged cargo from the ''J.J. Pendleton'' in fall of 1973. The passage through the reef, in the southwest corner of the island, was to allow amphibious craft access to the beach to offload cargo. This operation continued for about one month. ''Pendleton'' had originally run around on Triton Island during a typhoon in October and was further driven ashore in the midst of three additional typhoons in the following weeks. On April 10, 1979, Vietnam sent three armed ships to try to land, but they were captured by the troops stationed on the island, with a total of 24 people. This incident became one of the basis for the commendation of this troops in August 1982. In 2023, China began constructing an airstrip on Triton Island. It subsequently upgraded its military presence on the island to include a

synthetic-aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

for tracking

stealth aircraft Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared, visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology. The F-117 Ni ...

Freedom of navigation maneuvers

On January 30, 2016, the United States warship passed within 12 nautical miles of the island.

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

stated that it had notified none of the three claimants to the island beforehand, and stated the reason for the transit was to protect

freedom of navigation Freedom of navigation (FON) is a principle of law of the sea that ships flying the flag of any sovereign state shall not suffer interference from other states when in international waters, apart from the exceptions provided for in international ...

, "consistent with international law". The People's Republic of China called the voyage "provocative" and that it "violated relevant Chinese laws by entering Chinese territorial waters without prior permission". In July 2017, the

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

navigated within 12 miles of Triton island as part of a FONOP (Freedom of navigation operation). In May 2018, the

navigated within 12 miles of Triton island as part of a FONOP (Freedom of navigation operation).

References

{{South China Sea Baselines of the Chinese territorial sea Paracel Islands