Hughes Reef (
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 ...
, ) is a reef in
Union Banks
Union Banks (Pagkakaisa Banks and Reefs) is a large drowned atoll in the center of Dangerous Ground (South China Sea), Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in South China Sea, west of the Philippine coast, containing islands and reefs whose o ...
in the
Spratly group of islands,
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 ...
claimed by the
PRC (China), the
ROC (Taiwan), 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 ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, 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 ...
. It is only above water at low tide.
The
PRC
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...
has
reclaimed land
Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamatio ...
on the reef, bringing its area to 7.6 hectares, and occupied the reef. The reef has a lighthouse on top of a two storied defence outpost.
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 Hughes Reef is, or in its natural condition was, exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide and, accordingly, its low-tide elevations do not generate an entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
[ p.174]
Military development
In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that Hughes Reef has been armed with anti-aircraft weapons and a
CIWS
A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...
missile-defence system.
See also
*
Great wall of sand
*
Nine-dotted line
References
External links
Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative Island Tracker
{{Spratly Islands topics
Reefs of the Spratly Islands
Reefs of China
Union Banks
Artificial islands of Asia
Disputed reefs