List of islands of Taiwan explained

The islands comprising the Taiwan Area under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (ROC) are classified into various island groups. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, is the largest island and the main component of the ROC-controlled territories. Islands that are claimed by the ROC but not administered, including those under the control of the People's Republic of China, and those disputed with other countries such as Senkaku Islands and most of South China Sea Islands, are excluded from this list.

At the adoption of Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China in the 1990s, these islands collectively form the "Free area of the Republic of China" or known alternatively as "Taiwan Area", which legally defines the territorial extent under the actual control of the ROC government.

Some Taiwanese islands have various translations in English due to different systems of romanization in Chinese language in use, or derivation of differing linguistic origins from Mandarin, Hokkien, indigenous languages or other foreign languages. Some islands also have different names derived from particular historical periods which remain in use to this day.[1]

Archipelagos of Taiwan

There are in total of 168 islands which can be classified into the following geographical units:

NameChineseMandarin
(Pinyin)		Taiwanese
(Pe̍h-ōe-jī)		Hakka
(Pha̍k-fa-sṳ)		Other nameNo. islandsMajor islandsDivision
TaiwanTáiwānTâi-oânThòi-vànFormosa22Taiwan, Orchid, Green, Lamay, GuishanMultiple
PenghuPénghúPhêⁿ-ôPhàng-fùPescadores90Penghu, Xiyu, Baisha, Cimei, Wang'anPenghu County
KinmenJīnménKim-mn̂gKîm-mùnQuemoynumerousKinmen, Lieyu, Dadan, ErdanKinmen County
MatsuMǎzǔMá-chó͘Mâ-chú36Nangan, Beigan, Dongyin, Xiyin, Dongju, XijuLienchiang County
WuqiuWūqiūO͘-khiuVû-hiuOckseu2Daqiu, XiaoqiuKinmen County
Tungsha/DongshaDōngshāTang-soaTûng-sâPratas1Pratas IslandKaohsiung Municipality
NanshaNánshāLâm-soaNàm-sâSpratly2Taiping Island, Zhongzhou ReefKaohsiung Municipality

List of major islands by area

List of Taiwanese islands with over 5 km2 of area.[2]

OrderNameChineseTaiwaneseHakkaGeographical unitAdministrative DivisionArea (km²)
1Taiwan Main Island/ FormosaTâi-oân pún-tóThòi-vàn pún-tóTaiwanmultiple35,807.82
2Kinmen Main IslandKim-mn̂g pún-tóKîm-mùn pún-tóKinmen4 townshipsKinmen134.25
3Penghu Main IslandPhêⁿ-ô pún-tóPhàng-fù pún-tóPenghuMagong, HuxiPenghu65.41
4Orchid IslandLân-sūLàn-yíTaiwanLanyuTaitung46.82
5Xiyu IslandSai-sūSî-yíPenghuXiyuPenghu17.84
–Waisanding ShoalGōa-sòaⁿ-téng-chiuNgoi-san táng-chûTaiwanKouhuYunlin17.22
6Green IslandLe̍k-tóLiu̍k-tóTaiwanLüdaoTaitung15.09
7Lesser Kinmen Island (Lieyu) Sió-kim-mn̂g-tóSéu-kîm-mùn-tóKinmenLieyuKinmen14.85
8Baisha IslandPe̍h-soa-tóPha̍k-sâ-tóPenghuBaishaPenghu13.88
9Nangan Island (Matsu)Lâm-kan-tóNàm-kôn-tóMatsuNanganLienchiang10.43
10Cimei/Qimei IslandChhit-bí-tóChhit-mî-yíPenghuCimeiPenghu7.59
11Lamay IslandLiû-khiû-sūLiù-khiù-yíTaiwanLiuqiuPingtung6.80
12Wang'an IslandBāng-oaⁿ-tóMong-ôn-tóPenghuWang'anPenghu6.74
13Beigan IslandPak-kan-tóPet-kôn-tóMatsuBeiganLienchiang6.44

List of islands by geographical unit

Taiwan proper

Penghu/Pescadores

Kinmen/Quemoy

[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Matsu Islands

[28] [29] [30]

Wuqiu/Ockseu

[34]

South China Sea Islands

Disputed islands

The highly controversial sovereignty disputes over both the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands and the South China Sea Islands (which are disputed and controlled by several countries) are complex with the disputed status of both Taiwan (the territories outlined in the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco) and the Republic of China (ROC) which controls Taiwan. As the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC) still compete their de jure claim as the sole legitimate government of the entire China, they effectively lay claim to the same extent of islands, including the South China Sea Islands and the Senkaku Islands, among others.[35] This makes these disputes multi-layered and therefore virtually impossible to solve by following the guidelines of international law.

The ROC maintains its historical claims to all of the South China Sea Islands.[36] [37] They are also claimed by five other claimants, namely the PRC, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. The islands within the Pratas and Spratly Islands which remain under the control of the ROC are assigned to Cijin District, Kaohsiung City, thus technically defining these islands to be part of the "Taiwan Area". The United Nations considers the South China Sea to be "international waters" and does not acknowledge any of the South China Sea Islands as "true islands". The acknowledgement of these islands as "true islands" is crucial because the definition of "islands" would justify the creation of an exclusive economic zone around them, which can be used to cut off international shipping lanes and to acquire natural resources such as oil which lie beneath the ocean.

Meanwhile, the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands[38] are claimed by the ROC as "Diaoyutai Islands" within Toucheng Township, Yilan County[39] and are considered to be part of geographic and provincial Taiwan by the ROC. The Senkaku Islands lie about 186 kilometres from the northeast of Taiwan Island, and situated roughly 330 kilometres from the east of mainland China. They form the westernmost extremity of the "Ryukyu Islands", which Japan administers as Okinawa Prefecture. The PRC also claims the Senkaku Islands as "Diaoyu Islands" as part of its claimed "Taiwan Province".

The PRC claims the islands of Taiwan and Penghu as part of its 23rd Taiwan Province, together with the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands (claimed as "Diaoyudao Islands"), which are also claimed by the ROC as part of its own Taiwan Province. The PRC claims Kinmen (Quemoy) as a county of the prefecture-level city Quanzhou, in Fujian Province. Matsu is claimed as part of Lianjiang County, part of Fuzhou, in Fujian Province. The Wuqiu islands are claimed as part of Xiuyu District, a district of the prefecture-level city Putian, in Fujian Province. Pratas Island is claimed as part of Chengqu in Shanwei (Swabue) Guangdong Province. The Nansha Islands controlled by the ROC, i.e. Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Reef, are claimed as part of Sansha, in Hainan Province. The PRC thus claims the ROC-controlled islands as part of its own Taiwan Province (Taiwan and Penghu), Fujian Province (Kinmen, Matsu and Wuqiu), Guangdong Province (Dongsha) and Hainan Province (Nansha).

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: zh:臺灣歷史地圖 增訂版 . Taiwan Historical Maps, Expanded and Revised Edition. February 2018. zh-tw. National Museum of Taiwan History. 978-986-05-5274-4. 14,154,158. Taipei. Chinese: 一地數名，反映了16-17世紀外界對臺灣的認知。. (Note: On pages 154 and 158, Baiyan is colored light green as is the rest of Kinmen County, excluding the Dadeng (Tateng) Islands. The islet is found in several other maps of Kinmen County (excluding the Dadeng Islands) included in the book.)
  2. Web site: https://www.moi.gov.tw/files/site_stuff/321/2/year/y05-19.ods. zh:05-19 臺灣島嶼面積. Location and Area of Islands in Taiwan. zh-tw,en. 20 October 2019. Ministry of the Interior.
  3. 記者盧賢秀,"北方三島小檔案"Web site: 存档副本 . 2010-08-30 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100901163440/http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2010/new/aug/30/today-fo8.htm . 島嶼的最東端是台灣極東點，. 2010-09-01 ., Liberty Times,2010-8-30.
  4. Web site: PENGHU From island to island. Penghu County Government. 2010s. 31 October 2019.
  5. Web site: https://www.penghu-nsa.gov.tw/Child/KnowPenghu/AboutPenghu02.htm. zh:澎湖的島嶼. zh-tw. 2 November 2019. Chinese: 澎湖國家風景區管理處.
  6. 金門地區離島通航航道公告圖. zh-tw. 25 August 2019 . n.d.. Coast Guard Administration (Taiwan). Chinese: 目嶼 三擔島 二擔島 Erhtan Island 大膽島 Tatan Island 大南礁 兔嶼 猛虎嶼 Menghu Islet 復興嶼 Fuhsing Islet 煙嶼（三角礁） 檳榔嶼 三嶼（三擔） 牛心 黃嶼 門口礁 獅嶼 桂子礁 烏礁 後頭嶼 小金門島 HSIAOKINMEN ISLAND （烈嶼）(Lienyü) 金門嶼 Kinmen Islet 大墘 建功嶼 大岩嶼 Dayan Islet 黑岩 洋山嶼 西園嶼 西山嶼（後嶼）東割 草嶼 北碇頭 母嶼 Muyü 北碇島 Peiting Island.
  7. https://ws.kinmen.gov.tw/001/Upload/305/relpic/8015/6771/3b18e2cb-b0ed-4dac-8076-4afb8f62625d.jpg. zh:金門縣行政區域圖. November 2017. Ministry of the Interior. zh-tw. Chinese: 北碇島 母嶼 白巖 草嶼 東割 烽遂角 后嶼 官澳礁 西園嶼 建功嶼 黑巖 大岩嶼 烏礁 桂子礁 獅嶼 牛心礁 小擔 檳榔嶼 烈嶼 復興嶼 猛虎嶼 兔嶼 石山 大膽島 二擔島 三擔島 四擔島 五擔 大坵島 小坵島. 9 August 2019.
  8. 金門地區限制（禁止）水域圖. zh-tw. 9 August 2019 . n.d.. 二．限制水域範圍：大金門地區低潮線向外延伸東方海面四千至六千公尺，南方海面八千至一萬公尺，北碇以東海面四千公 尺，大、二膽南海面二千公尺一線以內海域 三、禁止水域範圍：大金門地區低潮線向外延伸東方海面四千公尺，南方海面八千公尺，馬山北方一千五百公尺，北碇以東 海面四千公尺，大、二膽北、西、南海面二千公尺，小金門西海面、檳榔嶼、三腳礁、牛心礁、赤角礁一線以內海域. Mainland Affairs Council.
  9. Book: 辞海第六版. Cihai (Sixth Edition). . September 2009. zh. 上海. Shanghai. 上海辞书出版社. Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House.. 9787532628599. 1124. 金门 县名。在福建省东南海上、泉州市西南部。现由台湾省管辖。由以金门岛为主的大、小59个岛屿组成。面积149平方千米，人口约6.45万（2004年）。明置金门千户所，清设金门县丞，属同安县。1913年改隶思明县，1914年析置金门县。1928年直属福建省。农产有甘薯、花生等。矿产有玻璃砂、高岭土、铝土、煤。工业有机械、食品等。特产贡糖、高粱酒、金门马等。通公路。名胜古迹有成功洞、鲁王墓、水尾塔等。金门岛 亦称“大金门岛”、“吾洲屿”。在福建省东南部、厦门港口外台湾海峡中。属金门县，现由台湾省管辖。岛形如哑铃，东西宽，南北狭，中多丘陵，沿海多港湾、口岸。东西长约20千米，面积131.7平方千米。其西有小金门岛。名胜古迹有牧马侯（陈渊）祠、鲁王墓、海印寺、古岗湖、中山纪念林等。.
  10. Web site: Geographic environment. https://web.archive.org/web/20181028081129/http://wwww.kmnp.gov.tw/en/KinmenHistory.aspx?cid=2&chk=58a82533-1717-449f-8c94-683ae1b51138. 28 October 2018. 27 July 2019. Kinmen National Park. The 12 islands and islets comprising Kinmen mainland, Lieyu (small Kinmen), Da Dan, Er Dan, Dong Ding, Beiding, Cao islet, Hou islet, Jiangong islet, Fuxing islet, Menghu islet, Shi islet occupy an area of 150 square meters in total..
  11. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  12. zh:金門縣行政區域圖. Kinmen County. zh-tw,en. September 2007. Ministry of the Interior and Kinmen County Government. 978-986010742-5. [map]
    Dabo Reef Chinese: 大撥Siaobo Reef Chinese: 小撥Baiyan Island Chinese: 白巖

    [reverse, column 2]
    Chinese: 名稱(Name) Chinese: 英文(English) Chinese: 索引(Index)

    Chinese: 白巖 Baiyan Island O1.
    (Note: The County/City Boundary (Chinese: 縣（市）界) as shown in this map includes Dabo Reef, Siaobo Reef and Baiyan Island within Kinmen County.)
  13. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  14. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  15. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  16. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  17. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  18. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  19. Web site: NG 50-15 HSIA-MEN. Washington, D. C.. 1954. Perry–Castañeda Library Map Collection. Army Map Service. Ta-yen Hsü.
  20. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  21. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  22. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  23. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  24. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  25. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  26. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  27. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  28. Book: http://web.matsu.gov.tw/Resource/pdf/92c882a0-f657-48a9-bd36-392e9663d914.pdf. https://web.archive.org/web/20200108035349/http://web.matsu.gov.tw/Resource/pdf/92c882a0-f657-48a9-bd36-392e9663d914.pdf. 8 January 2020. zh:擬定連江縣風景特定區計畫說明書. Proposed Lienchiang County Designated Scenic Areas Plan Manual. June 2002. 16. 南竿鄉 南竿島 黃官嶼 鞋礁 北泉礁 劉泉礁 北竿鄉 鵝石 進嶼 蚌山 螺山 北竿島 浪岩 三連嶼 無名島 峭頭 小坵 大坵 龜島 中島 高登島 鐵尖島 白廟 老鼠 亮島.
  29. http://motclaw.motc.gov.tw/wfrmDownload.aspx?ID=3208&type=soid. zh:馬祖地區離島通航航道公告圖. zh-tw. 14 April 2017. 9 February 2020. Chinese: 東引島 Dongyin Island{....
  30. zh:連江縣行政區域圖. Lienchiang County. August 2007. zh-tw,en. Ministry of the Interior, Lienchiang County Government. 978-986010698-5. Chinese: 亮島 Liangdao Island.
  31. Web site: https://www.land.moi.gov.tw/ngis/chhtml/main.asp?area=ZA02&type=byArea. zh:連江縣土地段名代碼表. Department of Land Administration. 16 May 2012. 27 August 2019. zh-tw. Chinese: 地政事務所名稱(代碼) 連江(ZA) 鄉鎮市區名稱(代碼) 北竿鄉(02) 段 小段 代碼 備註{....
  32. Web site: https://www.land.moi.gov.tw/ngis/chhtml/main.asp?area=WA01&type=byArea. zh:連江縣土地段名代碼表. Department of Land Administration. 16 May 2012. 27 August 2019. zh-tw. Chinese: 地政事務所名稱(代碼) 連江(ZA) 鄉鎮市區名稱(代碼) 南竿鄉(01) 段 小段 代碼 備註{....
  33. , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  34. http://motclaw.motc.gov.tw/wfrmDownload.aspx?ID=3209&type=soid. zh:澎湖地區離島通航航道公告圖. zh-tw. 14 April 2017. 9 February 2020. Chinese: 烏坵嶼 Wuqiu Islet{....
  35. Book: Hudson. Christopher. The China Handbook. 2014. 59. Routledge . 9781134269662.
  36. http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/3115.html Taiwan's Spratly Initiative in the South China Sea
  37. Web site: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) reiterates its position on the South China Sea . 2015-07-07.
  38. Web site: Situation of the Senkaku Islands. 2014-04-04.
  39. Web site: ROC government reaffirms sovereignty over Diaoyutai Islands. 2015-07-24.

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