Zhongsha Islands Explained

Zhongsha Islands
Official Name:Zhongsha Daojiao Town
Native Name:中沙岛礁镇
Settlement Type:Town
Pushpin Map:South China Sea
Pushpin Label:Zhongsha Islands
Area Total Km2:0.000003
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Hainan
Subdivision Name2:Sansha
Subdivision Name3:Xisha District
Government Type:Town
Population Total:0
Timezone1:China Standard Time
Utc Offset1:+8
Footnotes:Territorial Dispute: There are on-going territorial disputes in the entire area covered by the town, whose administrative authority is not internationally recognized.
Zhongsha Archipelago
P:Zhōngshā Qúndǎo
Also Known As:Zhongsha District
P2:Zhōngshā Qúndǎo de Dǎo Jiāo jíqí Hǎiyù
Order:st

The Zhongsha Islands is a Chinese term for a collection of two skerries, many entirely submerged banks, seamounts, and shoals in the South China Sea. There are no islands in the Macclesfield Bank, the main part of Zhongsha. The Scarborough Shoal, which consists of two skerries, is not contiguous with the Macclesfield Bank but Chinese sources treat them as one chain of geographical features. The whole of the region is claimed by both the PRC and the ROC, and various bits of the eastern parts are claimed by the Philippines. No country has constant control of the whole region, and there are disputes - for example, see the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

The PRC claims to administer the area as Zhongsha Daojiao Town, a town under the Xisha District of the Sansha prefecture-level city in Hainan. It has one Village-level division, “Zhongsha Daojiao Residential Community”. However, the seat of this town and residential community is not within the Zhongsha Islets but, in Yongxing Town .

Aquaculture research has been conducted on Walker Shoal.[1]

Geography

The Zhongsha Islets include:

To the west, near the Paracel Islands:

To the east, near Luzon:

To the north:

To the south, near the Spratly Islands:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: China Focus: South China islands see green transformation. https://web.archive.org/web/20140913172536/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-07/30/c_133520232.htm. dead. September 13, 2014. 30 July 2014. 13 September 2014. news.xinhuanet.com.
    Interesting article, but it makes NO mention of either Aquaculture research or Walker Shoal ...