Zhongsha Islands

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 in fact, 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 Scarborough Shoal standoff.

Zhongsha Islands
中沙岛礁镇
Town
Zhongsha Daojiao Town
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHainan
Prefecture-level citySansha
DistrictXisha District
Government
 • TypeTown
Area
 • Total0.000003 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard Time)
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
Traditional Chinese中沙群島
Simplified Chinese中沙群岛
Literal meaningCentral Sands Archipelago
Zhongsha District
Traditional Chinese中沙群島的島礁及其海域
Simplified Chinese中沙群岛的岛礁及其海域
Literal meaningIslands, Reefs, and Waters of the Zhongsha Archipelago

The PRC claim to administer the area as Zhongsha Daojiao Town, a town under 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:

  • Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Dao)
    • Walker Shoal (Manbu Ansha 漫步暗沙; 15°55′N 114°29′E)

To the east, near Luzon:

To the north:

  • Helen Shoal (Itung Ansha or Yitong Ansha 一統暗沙; 19°12′N 113°53′E)
  • Stewart Shoal (Ssu-ti-wa-erh-t'e Ansha 管事暗灘; 17°20′N 118°50′E)
  • Huangyan Seamount (黃岩海山; 15°7′N 117°51′E)
  • Shixing Seamount (石星海山)
  • Xianbei Seamount (憲北海山)
  • Xiannan Seamount (憲南海山)
  • Zhangzhong Seamount (漲中海山)
  • Zhenbei Seamount (珍貝海山)

To the south, near the Spratly Islands:

  • Dreyer Shoal (Zhongnan Ansha, 中南暗沙; 13°57′N 115°24′E)
  • Zhongnan Seamount (中南海山)
  • Longnan Seamount (龍南海山)
  • Changlong Seamount (長龍海山)

References
  1. "China Focus: South China islands see green transformation". news.xinhuanet.com. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
    Interesting article, but it makes NO mention of either Aquaculture research or Walker Shoal ...
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