Yongle Qundao
| Yongle Qundao | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Waters | South China Sea | |
| Geographical location | 16 ° 30 ' N , 111 ° 40' E | |
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| Number of islands | 16 | |
| Total land area | > 3.473 km² | |
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The Yongle Qundao ( Chinese 永樂 群島 / 永乐 群岛 , Pinyin Yǒnglè Qúndǎo - "Yongle Islands", Vietnam. Nhóm Lưỡi Liềm ), English also Crescent Group, are an archipelago of coral atolls that form the Xisha Islands together with the Xuande Qundao . It is located around 330 km southeast of the Chinese island of Hainan and 400 km east of Vietnam in the South China Sea . The islands are controlled by the People's Republic of China and are part of the prefecture-level city of Sansha in Hainan Province. The archipelago is named after the Yongle emperor of the Ming dynasty , who sent Admiral Zheng He with his fleet on his first six voyages between 1405 and 1421. The English name Crescent Group usually only refers to the Yongle Atoll and does not include the other formations.
The Republic of China on Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the island group. The archipelago was occupied by South Vietnamese troops from 1956 to mid-January 1974 and was recaptured by the Chinese Navy on January 15, 1974 .
geography
The archipelago is made up of five atolls and a coral bank island.
Yongle Atoll
The Yongle Atoll (永乐 环礁) consists of 14 surface formations, five of which are larger islands. Chenhang Dao, together with the neighboring small Guangjin Dao, which is connected by an artificial dam, has the largest usable land area. A large port was established here. The infrastructure of the island pair is the best developed in the whole archipelago to date. The west side of the atoll is formed by Ganquan Dao, Shanhu Dao and Jinyin Dao. At that time, South Vietnam had its military base on Shanhu Dao . Ganquan Dao is a restricted military area of the Chinese People's Liberation Army . The Jinqing Dao coral pool is the largest of the Yongle Qundao. When Sansha City was founded, it was decided to develop Jinqing Dao into a trading center.
List of islands, sandbars and reefs of Yongle Atoll:
Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap
| Chinese name | Vietnamese name | English name | Coordinates | surface | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chenhang Dao (琛 航 岛) | Đảo Quang Hòa | Duncan Island | 16 ° 27 ' N , 111 ° 43' E | 0.28 km² | on the south side |
| Ganquan Dao (甘泉 岛) | Đảo Hữu Nhật | Robert Island | 16 ° 30 ' N , 111 ° 35' E | 0.3 km² | in the West |
| Guangjin Dao (广 金 岛) | Đảo Quang Hòa Tây | Palm Island | 16 ° 27 ' N , 111 ° 42' E | 0.06 km² | on the south side, direct neighbor of Chenhang Dao |
| Jinqing Dao (晋卿 岛) | Đảo Duy Mộng | Drummond Island | 16 ° 28 ' N , 111 ° 45' E | 0.21 km² | in the south East |
| Jinyin Dao (金银岛) | Đảo Quang Ảnh | Money Island | 16 ° 27 ' N , 111 ° 30' E | 0.36 km² | in the far west |
| Kuangzai Shazhou (筐 仔 沙洲) | Bãi Ngự Bình | Little Basket sandbar | 16 ° 27 ' N , 111 ° 36' E | 0.01 km² | Lingyang Jiao to the southeast |
| Lingyang Jiao (羚羊 礁) | Đá Hải Sâm | Antelope Reef | 16 ° 28 ' N , 111 ° 35' E | 0.012 km² | to the west, south of Ganquan Dao |
| Quanfu Dao (全 富 岛) | Đảo Ốc Hoa | All Wealth Island | 16 ° 35 ' N , 111 ° 41' E | 0.02 km² | northeast of Shanhu Dao |
| Shanhu Dao (珊瑚 岛) | Đảo Hoàng Sa | Pattle Island | 16 ° 32 ' N , 111 ° 36' E | 0.31 km² | north of Ganquan Dao |
| Shi Yu (石 屿) | Đảo Lưỡi Liềm | Stone Islet | 16 ° 33 ' N , 111 ° 45' E | 2,000 m² | two nautical miles east of Xianshe Yu |
| Xianshe Yu (咸 舍 屿) | Hòn Đá Mặn | Salty Hut Islet | 16 ° 33 ' N , 111 ° 43' E | 3,000 m² | two nautical miles southeast of Yagong Dao |
| Yagong Dao (鸭 公 岛) | Đảo Ba Ba | Hey Duck Island | 16 ° 34 ' N , 111 ° 41' E | 9,800 m² | southeast of Yin Yu |
| Yin Yu (银 屿) | Bãi Xà Cừ | Silver Islet / Observation Bank | 16 ° 35 ' N , 111 ° 42' E | 6,100 m² | one nautical mile northeast of Yagong Dao |
| Yinyu Zai (银 屿 仔) | Đảo Xà Cừ | Minor Silver Islet | 16 ° 35 ' N , 111 ° 42' E | 2,000 m² | southeast of Yin Yu |
| together | over 1.573 km² |
The four smaller atolls
The coral reefs of the four smaller atolls only partially rise above the water surface and only at low tide. Jiao is a closed atoll with a well-developed lagoon. Since it is on an international shipping route, a permanently manned lighthouse has been set up here. Huaguang Jiao also has a developed lagoon, but its reefs have several fractures that open the lagoon to the sea. Yuzhuo Jiao and Panshi Yu have closed lagoons. A 0.4 km² large sandbank adjoins the coral ring Panshi Yus in the northwest, which is only very seldom washed over by the water during particularly violent storm tides.
List of the four smaller atolls:
| Chinese name | Vietnamese name | English name | Coordinates | surface | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Jiao (北 礁) | Đá Bắc | North Reef | 17 ° 05 ' N , 111 ° 30' E | no information | in the North |
| Huaguang Jiao (华光 礁) | Đá Lồi | Discovery Reef | 16 ° 13 ' N , 111 ° 40' E | no information | in the south East |
| Panshi Yu (盘石 屿) | Đảo Bạch Quy | Passu Keah | 16 ° 03 ' N , 111 ° 46' E | 0.4 km² | south of Huaguang Jiao |
| Yuzhuo Jiao (玉琢 礁) | Đá Chim Én | Vuladdore Reef | 16 ° 21 ' N , 112 ° 01' E | no information | in the southeast, southwest of the Xuande Qundao |
| together | over 0.4 km² |
Zhongjian Dao
Zhongjian Dao, the southernmost of all the Xisha Islands, consists of gray sand that is deposited on a large coral bank. The island rises to a good 2 m above the water surface and is roughly triangular in shape with a length of 1850 m and a maximum width of 800 m. It was expanded and provided with a pier by the Chinese navy, which has a garrison there. Zhongjian Dao, which is about halfway between Yongxing Dao and Yongshu Jiao, is of great military importance for shipping traffic between Xisha and Nansha Islands . In late spring and early summer, the island is an important resting place for large schools of the common tern .
| Chinese name | Vietnamese name | English name | Coordinates | surface | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zhongjian Dao (中 建 岛) | Đảo Tri Tôn | Triton Island | 15 ° 47 ' N , 111 ° 12' E | 1.5 km² | in the southwest |
Administrative structure
As part of the city of Sansha, the islands are divided into two villages, which are directly subordinate to the city government, and a work and management committee, which is subordinate to a community and a village:
- Administrative units directly subordinate to the city government:
- Village Ling Yang (羚羊村), on Kuangzai Shazhou ;
- Yagong Village (鸭 公 村), on Yagong Dao ;
- Labor and Administrative Committee Yongle Qundao (永乐 群岛 工委 、 管委会):
- Resident Community Yonglequndao (永乐群岛社区) on jinqing Dao ;
- Jinqing Village (晋卿 村), on Jinqing Dao .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2011-06/China-Vietnam-Macht/komplettansicht Dangerous skirmishes in the South China Sea. - China is in an open territorial conflict with Vietnam. The sensitive dispute is about raw materials - and about supremacy in the region. (from June 15, 2011)