Union Banks (Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs) is a large drowned atoll in the center of Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in South China Sea , 230 kilometres (120 nautical miles) west of the Philippine coast, containing islands and reefs whose ownership remains disputed and controversial . The closest atoll is Tizard Bank , 25 kilometres (13 nautical miles) due north of Union Banks. There are only two natural islands on the rim of the reef, Sin Cowe Island and Sin Cowe East Island.
5-799: The atoll is 55 kilometres (34 miles) long from Johnson South Reef in the southwest to Whitson Reef in the northeast, and up to 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) wide. Its total area measures 461 square kilometres (178 square miles). The central lagoon is up to 53 metres (174 feet) deep. Download coordinates as: Union Banks consists of the following islands and reefs, clockwise starting in the southwest corner: Key: yellow = occupied by PRC; violet = occupied by Vietnam Johnson South Reef Johnson South Reef , also known in Mandarin Chinese : 赤瓜礁 ; pinyin : Chìguā Jiāo ; Mabini Reef ( Filipino : Bahura ng Mabini , lit. 'Reef of Mabini '); Vietnamese : Đá Gạc Ma ),
10-770: Is a reef in the southwest portion of the Union Banks in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea . It is controlled by the People's Republic of China (PRC), but its ownership is disputed and also claimed by the Philippines , Taiwan (ROC) , and Vietnam . Johnson South Reef lies adjacent to the Vietnamese-controlled Collins Reef (also known as Johnson North Reef) which lies 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) to
15-567: The 1988 Johnson South Reef Skirmish between the PRC and Vietnam that resulted in the death of 64 Vietnamese soldiers, two Vietnamese boats being sunk, and the Chinese occupying the reef. The PRC government constructed an embankment building on the reef in the early 1990s. In July 2012, to further reinforce their claim, a Chinese fleet of 29 fishing vessels from Hainan protected by Yuzheng 310 (a fishery administration patrol ship) spent 20 days fishing in
20-399: The high-tide features at Johnson Reef are "rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own and accordingly shall be entitled to 12nm of territorial sea measured from its baseline but have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". Johnson South Reef has been occupied by the People's Republic of China since 1988, and is claimed by Vietnam . It was the site of
25-746: The northwest. It is naturally above water only at low tide. Prior to 2014 it housed a number of small buildings, wharves and a fortified Chinese maritime observation station. On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that Johnson Reef contains, within the meaning of Article 121(1) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), naturally formed areas of land, surrounded by water, which are above water at high tide. However, for purposes of Article 121(3) of UNCLOS,
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