Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Ayungin, lit=Cluster of he silver perch; vi, Bãi Cỏ Mây; and

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 a shoal or

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

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 ...

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 Phi ...

, west of

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Claimed by several nations, the shoal is currently militarily occupied by the

History

The shoal is one of three named after Thomas Gilbert, captain of the : * First Thomas Shoal – (South of Second Thomas Shoal)NGA Chart 93046
- SE Dangerous Ground * Second Thomas Shoal – (Southeast of

Mischief Reef Mischief Reef, also known as Panganiban Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Panganiban); vi, Đá Vành Khăn; also known in Mandarin ;, is a low tide elevation (LTE) reef/atoll surrounding a large lagoon in the SE of Dangerous Ground in the east of the Spr ...

) * Third Thomas Shoal – (Northeast of Flat Island - some distance N of Second Thomas Shoal)NGA Chart 93045
- NE Dangerous Ground

Geographical location

Located south-east of

(), Second Thomas Shoal is near the centre of Dangerous Ground in the north-eastern part of the Spratly Islands; there are no settlements north or east of it. It is a tear-drop shaped

, long north–south and fringed with coral reefs. The coral rim surrounds a lagoon which has depths of up to and is accessible to small boats from the East. Drying patches are found east and west of the reef rim.

Geographical features

On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that Second Thomas Shoal is, or in its natural condition was, exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide and, accordingly, has low-tide elevations that do not generate an entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. p.174

Territorial claims

Second Thomas Shoal is claimed by the

and China. The Philippine navy maintains a presence of less than a dozen navy personnel on the long Second World War US-built Philippine Navy landing craft BRP Sierra Madre, BRP ''Sierre Madre'' (LT-57), which was deliberately run aground at the shoal in 1999 in response to the Chinese reclamation of

. The Philippines claims that the shoal is part of its Territorial waters#Continental shelf, continental shelf, while parts of the Spratly group of islands, where Second Thomas Shoal lies, are Spratly Islands dispute, claimed by China, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. In 2014, the Chinese government asked the Philippines to remove the grounded ship. Philippine supply ships subsequently avoided Chinese blockades in order to deliver food, water and other supplies to the garrison. PRC coast guard vessels blocked two attempts by Philippine ships to resupply the garrison on March 9, 2014. Supplies were airdropped to the garrison three days later. A supply ship with replacement troops successfully reached the shoal on March 29, 2014 by sailing through shallow waters where the PRC vessels (with deeper Draft (hull), drafts) were unable to follow. During the approach, Philippine crew members and troops on the resupply ship waved the V sign, peace sign at the pursuing Chinese coast guard crew. Since then, the Philippine military has been sending monthly relief missions in the form of air dropped provisions to the troops stationed here. In November 2021, Chinese Coast Guard vessels used water cannons and blocked two Philippine supply boats, preventing the boats from delivering essential supplies to the Philippine marine forces stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre.

Alternate names

The Singapore National University Gazetteer (Number 75967), and the US NGA Gazetteer list the following as other names for the Second Thomas Shoal: * Mandarin Chinese - Ren'ai Jiao * Other Chinese names - Jen-ai An-sha, Jen-ai Chiao, Jên-ai Chiao, Ren'ai Ansha, 仁愛暗沙, 仁爱礁, 断节 * Vietnamese language, Vietnamese - Bãi Cỏ Mây * Filipino language, Filipino - Ayungin * French language, French - Banc Thomas Deuxième * Other English names - Thomas Shoal Second * Other names - Duanjie

References

External links

Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{South China Sea Shoals of the Spratly Islands Territorial disputes of China Territorial disputes of the Republic of China Territorial disputes of the Philippines Disputed territories in Southeast Asia Kalayaan, Palawan