Northeast Cay

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Part of a series on
Spratly Islands

Confrontations

Johnson South Reef Skirmish
Southwest Cay Invasion

Philippine-Related

Kalayaan, Palawan
Policies, activities and history...

Others

Kingdom of Humanity
Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads

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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Northeast Cay or Parola Island (Tagalog: Parola; Chinese: 北子島; pinyin: Beizi Dao; Vietnamese: Đảo Song Tử Đông)is the fifth largest Spratly island and the third largest among Philippine-occupied Spratly islands. Its land area is 12.7 hectares. It is only 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of Vietnamese-occupied Southwest Cay (Pugad Island) and it can bee seen before the horizon. It is located 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Philippine-occupied Pag-asa (Thitu) Island. This island is administered by the Philippines as part of Kalayaan, Palawan. Parola is the Tagalog (adapted from Spanish language) word for a lighthouse.

1 Environment
2 Philippine Occupation
3 See Also
4 External Links

[edit] Environment

Some of Parola's outcrops are visible on its western side. It has high salinity groundwater and vegetation limited to beach type of plants. The corals around the island were mostly destroyed by rampant use of dynamite fishing and cyanide method employed by non-Filipino fishing boats in the past. It is covered with grass and thick trees. Much of the fringing reef is above water at high tide. It supported a beacon in 1984. It also has guano deposits.

[edit] Philippine Occupation

This island is claimed by the 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.

Parola Island can be considered as the second top priority of the Philippines for protection, after Pagasa Island, since it is very near Vietnamese-occupied Pugad Island. Pugad Island is previously occupied by the Philippines but was successfully invaded by South Vietnam in 1975. Few months later, the recently formed unified Vietnam took over. (See Southwest Cay Invasion for further discussion.)