Sabina Shoal, also known as Escoda Shoal ( tl, Kulumpol ng Escoda);

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 ...

; vi, Bãi Sa Bin, is an

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 NE of Dangerous Ground 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 ...

. The Philippines puts it under the jurisdiction of Brgy. Pag-asa, Kalayaan,

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 ...

. It is claimed by 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 ...

, and 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 ...

Geography

Sabina Shoal lies in position 09° 45' N 116° 28' E, 123.6

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

from

Palawan Island Palawan is the largest island of the province of Palawan in the Philippines and fifth-largest by area and tenth-most populous island of the country, with a total population of 994,101 as of 2020 census. The north west coast of the island is alon ...

. It lies 56

southwest of Carnatic Shoal, with two main parts and an area of . The eastern half of Sabina Shoal consists of reefs awash, while the western half consists of banks 3.7 to 8.3 meters deep, and reefs enclosing a

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 ...

. The features are well within the

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 ...

' EEZ closest to

island.

Disputes and controversies

In 1995, soon after occupying

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 Spra ...

, China (PRC) installed 3

buoys A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...

near Sabina Shoal. They were confiscated by the Philippines. On April 27, 2021, during a joint maritime patrol operations of the

Philippine Coast Guard The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ( fil, Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas) is recognized as the third armed uniformed service of the country attached to the Philippines' Department of Transportation, tasked primarily with enforcing laws within Ph ...

(PCG) and

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources The Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ( fil, Kawanihan ng Pangisdaan at Yamang-tubig, abbreviated as BFAR), is an agency of the Politics of the Philippines, Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture (Philippin ...

(BFAR) in the area, seven Chinese maritime militia vessels were spotted anchored at the atoll. After several challenges from '' BRP Cabra'' of PCG, the militia vessels promptly left the area.

References

Atolls 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 Disputed atolls {{asia-geo-stub