Recent from talks
Taiping Island
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Taiping Island
Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) in length and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) in width, with an area of 46 hectares (110 acres). It is located on the northern edge of the Tizard Bank (Zheng He Reefs; 鄭和群礁). The runway of the Taiping Island Airport is easily the most prominent feature on the island, running its entire length.
The island is administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan), as part of Cijin, Kaohsiung. It is also claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, in the ruling by an arbitral tribunal in the intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration, in the case brought by the Philippines against China, the tribunal classified Itu Aba as a "rock" under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (and therefore not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf). Both Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China rejected this ruling. According to an article from ASPI, a significant portion of international opinions views Itu Aba as an "island," despite the Tribunal's ruling, and that very few experts expected it to be classified as a "rock".
The adjacent unpopulated Zhongzhou Reef (Ban Than Reef) is also under the control of Taiwan.
In 1946, the Republic of China named it Taiping Island (Mandarin Chinese: 太平島; pinyin: Tàipíng Dǎo; lit. 'Very Peaceful Island') in honour of an ROC Navy warship, ROCS Tai-ping (太平號), which sailed to the island when Japan surrendered after the Second World War. The name Taiping Island is used by both the government in Taipei (ROC) and in Beijing (PRC). The island was also called by Hainanese fishermen in their dialect as "Widuabe" (黃山馬), in Mandarin Chinese: 黃山馬礁; pinyin: Huángshānmǎ Jiāo; lit. 'Yellow Mountain Horse Reef' and Chinese: 黃山馬峙; pinyin: Huángshānmǎ Zhì; lit. 'Yellow Mountain Horse Peak'. [citation needed]
Outside of China and Taiwan, a common name for the island is Itu Aba,[citation needed] which was in use prior to 1946. Two different etymological origins have been proposed for this name: that it is a Malay expression meaning "What's that?" (conventionally spelled in Malay: Itu apa?, lit. 'What's that?'); or that it is a corruption of Hainanese: Widuabe (黃山馬). Some Western sources including U.S. government publications continue to use "Itu Aba" as the primary designator of the land feature, often with "Taiping" in parentheses.
The Vietnamese name for the island is Ba Binh (Vietnamese: Đảo Ba Bình, lit. 'calm wave/sea island', chữ Hán: 島波平) and the Philippine English name is Ligao Island (or in Filipino/Tagalog: Pulo ng Ligaw, lit. 'Island of Lost / Wild').
During the Japanese occupation of the island 1939–45, the name Nagashima (長島; Long Island) was used.
Hub AI
Taiping Island AI simulator
(@Taiping Island_simulator)
Taiping Island
Taiping Island, also known as Itu Aba, and various other names, is the largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island is elliptical in shape being 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) in length and 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi) in width, with an area of 46 hectares (110 acres). It is located on the northern edge of the Tizard Bank (Zheng He Reefs; 鄭和群礁). The runway of the Taiping Island Airport is easily the most prominent feature on the island, running its entire length.
The island is administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan), as part of Cijin, Kaohsiung. It is also claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines and Vietnam.
In 2016, in the ruling by an arbitral tribunal in the intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration, in the case brought by the Philippines against China, the tribunal classified Itu Aba as a "rock" under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (and therefore not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf). Both Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China rejected this ruling. According to an article from ASPI, a significant portion of international opinions views Itu Aba as an "island," despite the Tribunal's ruling, and that very few experts expected it to be classified as a "rock".
The adjacent unpopulated Zhongzhou Reef (Ban Than Reef) is also under the control of Taiwan.
In 1946, the Republic of China named it Taiping Island (Mandarin Chinese: 太平島; pinyin: Tàipíng Dǎo; lit. 'Very Peaceful Island') in honour of an ROC Navy warship, ROCS Tai-ping (太平號), which sailed to the island when Japan surrendered after the Second World War. The name Taiping Island is used by both the government in Taipei (ROC) and in Beijing (PRC). The island was also called by Hainanese fishermen in their dialect as "Widuabe" (黃山馬), in Mandarin Chinese: 黃山馬礁; pinyin: Huángshānmǎ Jiāo; lit. 'Yellow Mountain Horse Reef' and Chinese: 黃山馬峙; pinyin: Huángshānmǎ Zhì; lit. 'Yellow Mountain Horse Peak'. [citation needed]
Outside of China and Taiwan, a common name for the island is Itu Aba,[citation needed] which was in use prior to 1946. Two different etymological origins have been proposed for this name: that it is a Malay expression meaning "What's that?" (conventionally spelled in Malay: Itu apa?, lit. 'What's that?'); or that it is a corruption of Hainanese: Widuabe (黃山馬). Some Western sources including U.S. government publications continue to use "Itu Aba" as the primary designator of the land feature, often with "Taiping" in parentheses.
The Vietnamese name for the island is Ba Binh (Vietnamese: Đảo Ba Bình, lit. 'calm wave/sea island', chữ Hán: 島波平) and the Philippine English name is Ligao Island (or in Filipino/Tagalog: Pulo ng Ligaw, lit. 'Island of Lost / Wild').
During the Japanese occupation of the island 1939–45, the name Nagashima (長島; Long Island) was used.
Recent media