Namyit Island

Namyit Island
Disputed island
Geography
Location South China Sea
Coordinates 10°10′54″N 114°21′36″E / 10.18167°N 114.36000°E / 10.18167; 114.36000Coordinates: 10°10′54″N 114°21′36″E / 10.18167°N 114.36000°E / 10.18167; 114.36000
Archipelago Spratly Islands
Administered by
Vietnam
Claimed by
People's Republic of China
Philippines
Republic of China (Taiwan)
NASA's satellite photo of Namyit Island

Namyit Island (Vietnamese: Đảo Nam Yết; Tagalog: Binago; simplified Chinese: 鸿庥岛; traditional Chinese: 鴻庥島; pinyin: Hongxiu Dao) is the third-largest island on Tizard Bank in the northwest of the Spratly Islands in South China Sea. With an area of 5.3 hectares (13 acres), it is the twelfth-largest naturally-occurring Spratly island, and the fifth-largest among the Vietnamese-occupied islands. The island is also claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Philippines and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

History in the 20th century

Although two South Vietnamese warships (the HQ-04 Tuy Dong and HQ-05 Tay Ket) stopped at Namyit Island in 1962,[1] South Vietnamese troops did not set up a permanent garrison on the islet until August 1973. On 6 September 1973, the Republic of Vietnam's Ministry of the Interior signed Decree No. 420-BNV/HCĐP/26 merging some Spratly islands, including Namyit, into Phuoc Hai Commune, Dat Do District, Phuoc Tuy Province.[2] South Vietnam continued to administer the entity until 27 April 1975 when their troops were evicted by the Vietnam People's Army.

Geography

11 nautical miles (20 kilometres) to the south of Itu Aba Island,[3] Namyit Island is a small oval-shaped coral island which is 600 metres (660 yards) in length and 125 metres (137 yards) in width. The coral reef on which the island lies is 0.2 metres (0.66 feet) to 0.4 metres (1.3 feet) above the sea during low tide.[3] There is a heliport at the end of island.[4]

Namyit Island Light is a white round tower with red bands standing 23 metres (75 feet) in height.

Ecology

Namyit Island has no source of fresh water, and its coral sand is not suitable for plants in general. The island is covered with small trees, bushes and grass and is inhabited by sea birds.[4] The surrounding water is home to four hundred and ninety-two species of plankton, eighty-six species of seaweed, two species of seagrass, two hundred and twenty-five species of benthic organisms, one hundred and sixty species of coral, four hundred and fourteen species of reef fish and two species of sea turtles.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "White Paper on the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands (1975) [part 2, split by uploading site]". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Republic of Vietnam). Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "A number historical and juridical documents on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagoes- Part 3". Authority of Foreign Information Service, Ministry of Information and Communications (Vietnam). 21 October 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 (in Vietnamese)Những điều cần biết về hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa và khu vực thềm lục địa phía nam [What you need to know about Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and southern continental shelf]. Political Department, Naval Command (Vietnam). 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Digital Gazetter of Spratly Islands". Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  5. ↑ (in Vietnamese) Nguyễn Đình Quân (15 September 2012). "Lập Khu bảo tồn biển Nam Yết". Tiền phong online. Retrieved 21 March 2013.

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