Loaita Island

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Spratly Islands

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Johnson South Reef Skirmish
Southwest Cay Invasion

Philippine-Related

Kalayaan, Palawan
Policies, activities and history...

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Available Island/Reef Articles

Philippine-occupied
Thitu Island · Pagasa Island West York Island · Likas Island Northeast Cay · Parola Island Nanshan Island · Lawak Island Loaita Island · Kota Island Flat Island · Patag Island Lankiam Cay · Panata Island

Vietnam-occupied
Spratly Island · Truong Sa Island Southwest Cay · Song Tu Tay Island Sincowe Island · Sinh Ton Island Sandcay · Son Ca Island Namyit Island · Nam Yet Island Amboyna Cay · An Bang Island

Taiwan-occupied
Itu Aba Island · Taiping Island

Malaysia-occupied
Swallow Reef · Layang-Layang Island

China-occupied
Johnson South Reef · Chigua Reef Mischief Reef · Meiji Reef Subi Reef · Zhubi Reef

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Loaita Island or Kota Island (Tagalog: Kota; Chinese: 南鑰島; pinyin: Nanyue Dao; Vietnamese: Đảo Loại Ta)is the tenth largest Spratly island. It is the fifth largest Philippine-occupied Spratly island. Its area is 6.45 hectares. It is located 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Philippine-occupied Thitu Island (Pagasa Island) and 22 miles (35 km) north-northeast of Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba Island. This island is administered by the Philippines as part of Kalayaan, Palawan. Kota is a Malay word for a fort, town, or a city.

1 Environment
2 Philippine Occupation
3 See Also
4 External Links

[edit] Environment

Loaita fringes the Loaita bank and reef. Its calcarenite outcrop is visible along its western side at low tide. The present shape of the island indicates sand buildup along its eastern side. The anchor-shaped side will eventually connect with the northern portion as the sand buildup continues thereby creating another mini-lagoon in the process. The presence of migrating sea birds adds to the high phosphorus contents of the sand found in the island. Occasionally, giant sea turtles are reported to be laying their eggs in the island. It is covered with mangrove bushes, above which rose coconut palms and other small trees.

[edit] Philippine Occupation

This island is claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam with the Philippines currently occupying it. Several Philippine soldiers are stationed here since 1968, when Philippines occupied this feature. There are only one to two structures in this island that serve as shelters of the soldiers.

The soldiers stationed here are also the guards of nearby Lankiam Cay (Panata Island) which lies 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Kota Island. It is also occupied by the Philippines. Panata Island is too small and manning it 24 hours is a difficult task. Hence, soldiers at Kota Island guard Panata afar by regularly "watching" it from a tall structure (to increase the horizon distance). They also regularly visit Panata.

Loaita Nan and Loaita Cay, which are distinct from Kota Island, lies 5 miles (8 km) northwest and 1.5 miles (2 km) south-northeast of Kota respectively. These are unoccupied features but are largely controlled by the Philippines for their close proximity with Kota Island.