Swallow Reef, also known as ms, Pulau Layang-Layang, lit=; vi, Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin ; Celerio Reef ( tl, Bahura ng Celerio, lit=), is an oceanic

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 gro ...

of the Spratly Islands administered by

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, which is situated approximately northwest of Kota Kinabalu,

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

. The atoll is about 7 km long and 2 km wide with a central lagoon. The part of the atoll above sea level is a reef on the south-east rim which had an original land area of approximately , but with reclaimed land now covers , measuring over long and wide. The

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ms, Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia; TLDM; Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defense operations. RMN's area of op ...

(RMN) has maintained a presence on the reef since 1983, but as with all of the Spratly Islands, the ownership is disputed, and it is also 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 List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the

Republic of China 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 ...

(Taiwan) and

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 ...

. 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 ...

does not lay claim to Swallow Reef. The island has gained recognition as a destination for scuba divers. Layang Layang is especially known for the hammerhead sharks during the May mating season. Its air transport needs are served by the Layang-Layang Airport.

History

On 21 June 1980, a plaque was erected on the reef by

's PASKAL special forces.This blog
contains a useful summary of the history of the Malaysian settlements in the Spratly Islands. It expands on the basic facts provided in the Mohd Nizam Basiron chapter (Ref 4), filling in some of the gaps.
(''Note: A blog is NOT a WP:RS - hence the "citation needed" tag - but until a RS is identified, it's better than nothing.'') In May 1983, eighteen PASKAL members built their first encampment, signifying the start of the

's presence. At the time, the only infrastructure available was a helipad for personnel transfer, and the special forces had to camp under the open skies on the bare reef. Naval Station "Lima" was constructed in April 1986, consisting of a small living-cum-operations centre. In 1989, the government decided to develop the island into a tourist spot. By 1991, the resort had completed construction and had developed into a comfortable and popular diving spot. By 1995, more buildings were added, including two air-conditioned accommodation blocks, an aircraft landing strip, two hangars, a radar station, an air traffic control tower, watchtowers and a jetty. On 20 July 2003, the Layang-Layang Airport expansion which increased the length of the runway from to was completed. As a result, the length of the island increased from 1.2 kilometres to over 1.5 kilometres. In July 2004, a marine research facility, MARSAL (Marine Research Station Pulau Layang-Layang) was opened. On 5 March 2009,

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president of ...

, the Malaysian Prime Minister of the time, visited the island.

Tourism

File:Swallow Reef sea1.jpg File:Swallow Reef sea2.jpg File:Swallow Reef sea3.jpg The island has a reputation as a destination for scuba divers, with clear water and a variety of marine life including hammerhead sharks, pygmy seahorses, jack fish, barracuda and manta rays. File:Layang-Layang diving6.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving11.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving12.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving17.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving19.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving23.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving25.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving35.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving42.jpg File:Layang-Layang diving9.jpg

Facilities

Layang-Layang Airport

The airport consists of a paved aircraft runway, two aircraft hangars, a radar station, an

air traffic control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

and watchtowers. The runway, made of concrete, is 1367m long and 28m wide. The runway has a Pavement Classification Number of 032RBXU, indicating that the runway is a medium strength rigid pavement, with a high maximum tire pressure. The aviation facilities on the island allow the operation of

C130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

transport planes and CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Layang Layang Aerospace offers flights for civilians to and from the airport.

Layang-Layang Resort

Layang-Layang is a 3 star resort located on the island open from 28 February – 1 September. It has 86 rooms and shares the look of a Borneo Longhouse, the traditional community homes of Borneo's tribal people. The resort's restaurant serves Asian and Western Cuisine. There are also fresh water swimming pools and a body massage and foot reflexology centre called Raba Raba House. File:Swallow Reef10.jpg File:Swallow Reef3.jpg File:Swallow Reef8.jpg

Naval Station Lima

The

has maintained an "offshore naval station" on the island since 1983, and CB90 assault craft based in the station patrol the surrounding waters. Several anti-ship and anti-aircraft guns are placed around the reef, and the personnel operate a

Starburst MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers. History Founding and early su ...

air defence system to prevent low level attacks on the island. The jetty is located inside the lagoon of the submerged atoll, and has access to the sea through a man-made path cleared of corals. The naval personnel are normally stationed on the island on a three-month rotational deployment, transferring from Kota Kinabalu, where the Naval Area Base II (Mawila II) is located.

Marine Research Station

The Malaysian Fisheries department operates a marine research facility, MARSAL (Marine Research Station Pulau Layang-Layang) on the island.

Utilities

Electricity

The main power source of the island comes from diesel generators. On the naval station, there is a large windmill maintained by state-owned power company Tenaga Nasional which harnesses power from wind speeds of up to 50 knots to provide additional electricity supply to the base.

Water

The island's clean water supply of 57 tons per day is obtained from a distilled water processing plant.

Post service

In 2015, Malaysia launched a postcode for those living on the island.

Internet and mobile cellular connectivities

Internet services are currently been improved and mobile connectivities will be improved from 2G to 4G by

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (Abbreviation: MCMC; ms, Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia) is a regulatory body whose key role is the regulation of the communications and multimedia industry based on the po ...

Climate

Swallow Reef is located within the equatorial belt and has an equatorial climate. It is closed to tourists from November to January each year due to heavy monsoon rains, however,

Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ms, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia; Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active p ...

personnel operate on the island year-long. Temperatures range from 24 to 32 °C. Although an equatorial climate comes with fairly high

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

, there are cooling sea breezes.

Accessibility

The only civilian flight route to Swallow Reef is a one-hour flight from

's capital Kota Kinabalu. Layang Layang Aerospace is the only airline that services this route, using its fleet of Nomad N22C planes. A return ticket must be purchased before departure from Kota Kinabalu International Airport. The

uses CB90 boats for access to the area and also stations the boats on the island for patrols in the area. The Royal Malaysian Air Force uses

CN235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles i ...

and

aircraft as well as

Nuri Nuri is a place in modern Sudan on the west side of the Nile, near the Fourth Cataract. Nuri is situated about 15 km north of Sanam, and 10 km from Jebel Barkal. Nuri is the second of three Napatan burial sites and the construction of ...

helicopters for access to the island.

References

External links

Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
* {{South China Sea Reefs of the Spratly Islands Landforms of Sabah Landforms of Malaysia Atolls of the Pacific Ocean