The Gaven Reefs, also known as the Burgos Reefs (), is a group of two
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
s in the
Tizard Bank of the
Spratly Islands
The Spratly Islands (; zh, s=南沙群岛, t=南沙群島, p=Nánshā Qúndǎo; ; ) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atoll ...
in the
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. The two individual reefs are known as and in
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, and and in
Vietnamese).
They are occupied and controlled by
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(PRC) as part of
Sansha, and claimed by
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
(ROC), the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
. They have a supply platform and a reef fortress.
The northern reef (Nánxūn Jiāo) comprises and its highest point is above sea level. The southern reef (Xīnán Jiāo) comprises . Since 2014, north reef has been subject to significant reclamation activities.
[
]
Geographical features
On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
concluded that for purposes of Article 121(3) of the Convention, the high-tide features at Gaven Reef (North) are rocks that cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own and accordingly shall be entitled to 12 nm of territorial sea measured from its baseline but have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.[ p.259] PCA also concluded that the features at Gaven Reef (South) are, or in their natural condition were, exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide and are, accordingly low-tide elevations that do not generate entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.[
]
Military development
The supply platform at the reef has anti-aircraft gun
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
s, naval gun
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for more specialized roles in surface warfare such as naval gunfire support (NGFS) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) engagements. T ...
s, search radars and radio communications equipment, and reclamation work during 2014–15 expanded its area to .
See also
* Great wall of sand
* Nine-dotted line
References
External links
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
Reefs of the Spratly Islands
Reefs of the South China Sea
Reefs of China
Reefs of the Philippines
Reefs of Vietnam
Tizard Bank
Landforms of Khánh Hòa province
Artificial islands of Asia
Disputed reefs
{{Asia-geo-stub