Paracel Islands
Situated in the northwestern regions of
the South China Sea, the Paracel Islands are a small collection of reefs, sand cays and islets,
shoals and submarine banks, located 205 km southeast from the large Chinese island of Hainan and
247 km east from the city of Da Nang on the central Vietnam coast; the
Spratly Islands lie 530 km to the southeast. The total land area of its
31 islands amounts to approximately 10 km².
The Paracel Islands consist of 10 distinct units — the Amphitrite Group and Woody Island, the Crescent Group, Bombay Reef, Discovery Reef, Lincoln Island, North Reef, Passu Keah, Triton Island, and Vuladdore Reef — as well as number of submarine banks and shoals. Located upon the reefs are 31 small islands and sand cays. The group forms a relatively compact unit spanning for 154 km north to south — from North Reef to Triton Island — and for 194 km southwest to northeast — from Triton Island to Lincoln Island.
Reefs of the Paracel Islands generally take the same form; most are submerged, orientated approximately east to west, with deep central lagoons and have dimensions of 10-20 km in length and 3-10 km in width. The major components are those of the Amphitrite Group in the northeast and the Crescent Group in the west. The groups largest island — the 2 km² Woody Island — is part of the Amphitrite Group.
It is common to place all of the islands and reefs of the Paracel Islands as being either in the Amphitrite or Crescent Groups. According to this scheme, the Amphitrite Group comprises all the islands and reefs of the Amphitrite Group itself, plus Lincoln Island; while the Crescent Group comprises North Reef, Triton Island, Bremen Bank, several other submarine banks, Bombay Reef, Vuladdore Reef, Discovery Reef, Passu Keah, as well as the islands and reefs of the Crescent Group itself.
The islands are the subject of a long running territorial dispute between China, Vietnam and Taiwan. They are uninhabited, with the exception of Chinese military installations on Woody Island and Duncan island.