Zhongsha Islands

Zhongsha ( Macclesfield Bank )
Macclesfield Bank of the "Zhongsha Islands"
Waters	South China Sea
Water depth	9 m
Geographical location	15 ° 50 ′  N , 114 ° 20 ′  E Coordinates: 15 ° 50 ′  N , 114 ° 20 ′  E
length	130 km
width	70 km
surface	6th 448  km²
South China Sea with the "Zhongsha Islands" ( Macclesfield Bank , Helen Shoal , Truro Shoal , Scarborough Reef )

The so-called " Zhongsha Islands " ( Chinese  中 沙 群島  /  中 沙 群岛 , Pinyin Zhōngshā Qúndǎo , vietn. Bãi Trung Sa ) are a collection of sunken atolls , sandbanks , reefs , seamounts and an island in the South China Sea . The waters of the "Zhongsha Islands" are controlled by the People's Republic of China through the constant presence of the Chinese Navy . The Republic of China (Taiwan) , which defines the "Zhongsha Islands" in the same way as the People's Republic, is making claims to the entire area in the context of the Taiwan conflict .

history

Since the Song era , the accumulation of shoals has been called 千里 长沙Qianli Changsha , which translates as "sandbanks stretching over a thousand miles". It was not until the 1930s that the government of the Republic of China gave it the name "Nansha Islands" (南沙群岛), which was changed on September 13, 1946 to the current name "Zhongsha Islands".

Geographical breakdown of the so-called "Zhongsha Islands"

The "Zhongsha Islands" are made up of four groups of - with one exception - submarine formations, the largest of which gave them their name.

The Zhongsha Atoll

The "Great Zhongsha Atoll" ( Chinese  中 沙 大 環礁  /  中 沙 大 环礁 , Pinyin Zhōngshā Dà Huánjiāo , Vietnamese Bãi Macclesfield , English Macclesfield Bank , actually written MacClesfield ) is a sunken atoll with underwater reefs and shallows, which is roughly equidistant from the coasts of Vietnam , the Chinese island of Hainan and the main Philippine island of Luzon . The Paracel Islands are approximately 200 km to the west and the Spratly Islands 500 km to the south. Its elliptical shape has an extension of approx. 130 km from southwest to northeast, and over 70 km from southeast to northwest. Although it is completely covered by water, it is one of the largest atolls in the world with an area of ​​almost 6500 km². The broken coral reefs of the atoll are between 11 and 18 m under water, the flattest part of the whole atoll at Manbu Ansha is only 9 m. The lagoon sunk with the atoll has depths of up to 100 m, but remains significantly behind the directly adjacent sea depths in the west (2500 m) and east (4000 m).

Reefs and sandbanks of the atoll ring

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

Surname	Chinese	English name	Coordinates	Remarks
Anding Lianjiao	安定 连 礁	Addington Patch	15 ° 37 '  N , 114 ° 24'  E
Bengu Ansha	本 固 暗 沙	Bangkok Shoal	16 ° 00 ′  N , 114 ° 06 ′  E
Biwei Ansha	比 微暗 沙	Pigmy Shoal	16 ° 13 '  N , 114 ° 44'  E	also: "Pygmy Shoal"
Bofu Ansha	波 洑 暗 沙	Balfour Shoal	15 ° 27 '  N , 114 ° 00'  E	is also伏洑暗沙Fufu Ansha called
Ansha booth	布德 暗 沙	Bassett Shoal	15 ° 27 '  N , 114 ° 10'  E
Guodian Ansha	果 淀 暗 沙	Cawston Shoal	15 ° 32 '  N , 113 ° 46'  E
Haijiu Ansha	海 鸠 暗 沙	Plover Shoal	15 ° 36 '  N , 114 ° 28'  E
Huaxia Ansha	华夏 暗 沙	Cathay Shoal	15 ° 54 '  N , 113 ° 58'  E	sometimes by mistake: Cathy Shoal
Jimeng Ansha	济 猛 暗 沙	Learmonth Shoal	15 ° 42 '  N , 114 ° 41'  E
Kongpai Ansha	控 湃 暗 沙	Combe Shoal	15 ° 48 '  N , 113 ° 54'  E
Luban Ansha	鲁班 暗 沙	Carpenter Shoal	16 ° 04 '  N , 114 ° 18'  E
Meibin Ansha	美 滨 暗 沙	Magpie Shoal	16 ° 03 '  N , 114 ° 13'  E
Meixi Ansha	美 溪 暗 沙	Smith Shoal	15 ° 27 '  N , 114 ° 12'  E
Paibo Ansha	排 波 暗 沙	Parry Shoal	15 ° 29 '  N , 113 ° 51'  E
Paihong Tan	排洪 滩	Penguin Bank	15 ° 38 '  N , 113 ° 43'  E
Taojing Ansha	涛 静 暗 沙	Tancred Shoal	15 ° 41 '  N , 113 ° 54'  E
Wuyong Ansha	武勇 暗 沙	Howard Shoal	15 ° 52 '  N , 114 ° 47'  E
Ximen Ansha	西門 暗 沙	Siamese Shoal	15 ° 58 '  N , 114 ° 03'  E
Yinji Tan	隐 矶 滩	Engeria Bank	16 ° 03 '  N , 114 ° 56'  E	also: "Egeria Bank"
Zhongbei Ansha	中 北 暗 沙	Oliver Shoal	15 ° 57 '  N , 115 ° 24'  E	was called 立 夫 暗 沙Lifu Ansha before 1983

Reefs and sand banks within the lagoon

Surname	Chinese	English name	Coordinates	Remarks
Lexi Ansha	乐 西 暗 沙	Phillip's Shoal	15 ° 52 '  N , 114 ° 25'  E
Manbu Ansha	漫步 暗 沙	Walker Shoal	15 ° 55 '  N , 114 ° 29'  E
Nanfei Ansha	南 扉 暗 沙	Margesson Shoal	15 ° 55 '  N , 114 ° 38'  E
Pingnan Ansha	屏南 暗 沙	Payne Shoal	15 ° 52 '  N , 114 ° 34'  E
Shitang Lianjiao	石塘 连 礁	Hardy patches	16 ° 02 '  N , 114 ° 46'  E
Zhizhang Ansha	指 掌 暗 沙	Hand shoal	16 ° 00 ′  N , 114 ° 39 ′  E

Reefs, sandbanks and seamounts to the east

In the east, about 220 km west of the Philippine island of Luzon , Huangyan Dao is the only island in the "Zhongsha Islands". Huangyan Dao is also claimed as a sovereign territory by the Philippines and has been under constant control of the People's Republic of China since April 2012, as the Philippine Foreign Minister also stated.

Surname	Chinese	English name	Coordinates	Remarks
Guanshi Tan	管事 滩	Stewart Bank	17 ° 20 '  N , 118 ° 50'  E	was not proclaimed a territorial body of water by the PRC in 1982
Huangyan Dao	黃岩 岛	Scarborough Shoal	15 ° 11 '  N , 117 ° 46'  E	consists of Nanyan (南岩) and Beiyan (北 岩), the south and north rocks
Telu Ansha	特鲁 暗 沙	Truro Shoal	16 ° 20 '  N , 116 ° 40'  E
Xianfa Ansha	宪法 暗 沙	Constitution Shoal	16 ° 20 '  N , 116 ° 44'  E

Added as underwater surveys, the seamounts Huangyan Haishan (黃岩海山) Shixing Haishan (石星海山), Xianbei Haishan (宪北海山) Xiannan Haishan (宪南海山) Zhangzhong Haishan (涨中海山) and Zhenbei Haishan (珍贝海 山).

Sandbank and seamounts in the south

Isolated in the south are Zhongnan Ansha , English Dreyer Shoal (中南暗沙; 13 ° 57 '  N , 115 ° 24'  O ) and in the surrounding waters, the sea mounts Chang Long Haishan (长龙海山) Longnan Haishan (龙南海山) and Zhongnan Haishan (中南海 山).

Sandbanks in the north

Only about 300 km south of Hong Kong are two submarine sandbanks, which are also counted among the "Zhongsha Islands".

Surname	Chinese	English name	Coordinates	Remarks
Shenhu Ansha	神 狐 暗 沙	St. Esprit Shoal	19 ° 33 '  N , 113 ° 02'  E
Yitong Ansha	一统 暗 沙	Helen Shoal	19 ° 12 '  N , 113 ° 53'  E

Administrative assignment

In the People's Republic of China, the "Zhongsha Islands" are administered as a "hypothetical large community " (中 沙 岛礁 虚拟 镇) of the prefecture-level city of Sansha in Hainan Province , whose hypothetical seat is on the island of Huangyan Dao (Scarborough Reef), approximately 450 km east of Macclesfield Bank.

The Republic of China assigns the "Zhongsha Islands" to the Qijin district of Kaohsiung city in southern Taiwan .

See also

• Dongsha Islands
• Xisha Islands
• Nansha Islands

Web links

• Illustrated account of the conflict over the Zhongsha Islands including Huangyan Dao - Chinese
• News photo series about the dispute with the Philippines over Huangyan Dao, the main island of the "Zhongsha Islands" - Chinese

supporting documents

• 中 沙 群岛Zhongsha Qundao (The Zhongsha Islands). In: Cui, Naifu 崔乃夫 (Ed.): 中华人民共和国 地名 大 词典, 第四 卷Zhonghua renmin gongheguo diming da cidian, di si juan (Large Lexicon of Place Names of the People's Republic of China, Volume 4). 商务印书馆Shangwu yinshuguan (trade publishing house). 北京 Beijing 2002, ISBN 7-100-03253-9 , p. 6628.
• Xu, Junming 徐俊鸣 u. Situ, Shangji 司徒 尚 纪: 中 沙 群岛Zhongsha Qundao (The Zhongsha Islands). In: 中国 大 百科全书 • 中国 地理Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu • Zhongguo Dili (Encyclopaedia Sinica • Geography of China). 中国 大 百科全书 出版社Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe (Encyclopaedia Sinica Publishing House). 北京 Beijing u. 上海 Shanghai 1993, ISBN 7-5000-0408-7 , p. 808.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ China's Island Strategy: "Redefine the Status Quo." M. Taylor Fravel, November 1, 2012, accessed August 21, 2013 . 
2. ↑ 菲 外长 承认 中国 已 控制 黄岩 岛 菲 船已 不能 进驻.腾讯 网, January 21, 2013, accessed August 22, 2013 (Chinese).