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'Reef of Valor'); Vietnamese: Đá Chữ Thập, is a militarized reef occupied and controlled by China (PRC) as part of Sansha of Hainan Province [2] and is also claimed by the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), the Philippines and Vietnam. The atoll was named after the British tea clipper Fiery Cross, which was wrecked on the atoll on 4 March 1860.
This changed dramatically in 2014 with the PRC embarking on large-scale reclamations of the lagoons of Johnson South Reef (~10ha) and Fiery Cross Reef (~230ha), and other reclamations of then unknown extent at the Gaven Reefs and Cuarteron Reef. [1]
The Spratly Islands A geographic map of Spratly Islands [a] In 1939, the Spratly Islands were coral islets mostly inhabited by seabirds. [ 2 ] Despite the Spratly Islands naturally consisting of 19 islands (see below) , according to a Chinese 1986 source, the Spratly Islands consist of 14 islands or islets, 6 banks, 113 submerged reefs, 35 ...
The archipelago consists of 100 islets and reefs of which 45 are occupied by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam or the Philippines. ... Satellite image of Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands ...
Other parts of the Spratly Islands which are not inside Dangerous Ground include: 1.41 – 1.43 West of Dangerous Ground Fiery Cross Reef, London Reefs, Spratly Island; 1.44 – 1.48 South West and South of Dangerous Ground Amboyna Cay, Southwest Bank, Rifleman Bank, Swallow Reef
In the Spratly archipelago, China engaged in shallow-water dredging, removing "not only sand and gravel, but also the ecosystems of the lagoon and the reef flat, important parts of a reef." [26]: 4 The damaged reefs that Chinese dredgers gathered sand and gravel from "may not fully recover for up to 10 to 15 years."
In April 1930, France sent the dispatch boat , la Malicieuse, to the archipelago and raised the flag of France on a high mound on Spratly Island, also known as île de la Tempête. [9] According to an official announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France occupied Spratly Island on April 13, 1930. [10]
Johnson South Reef, part of the Union Banks sunken atoll, is located 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Fiery Cross Reef. Johnson South Reef is close to Sin Cowe Island (also in the Union Banks) which was occupied by Vietnam, and within the 200-nautical-mile Economic Exclusion Zone of the Philippines – a high profile and highly disputed area. [13]