Mangsee Islands
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The Mangsee Islands are a group of two small islands in the far south west portion of 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 ...
. The group comprises North Mangsee Island and South Mangsee Island. Together they form a
barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...
within the Balabac, a municipality of the province of
Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
. Based on the 2010 Census, the population of the Mangsee Islands was 8,433. By the time of the 2015 Census, the population has grown into 9,016.


History

Together with the Turtle Islands, the barangay enjoys the historical distinction of being territory that was not under Philippine administration at the time of independence in 1946. This is due to their unique history. By an international treaty concluded in 1930 between the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
(in respect of its then overseas territory, the
Philippine Islands 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 the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(in respect of its then protectorate, the State of North Borneo), the two powers agreed the international boundaries between those respective territories. In that treaty the United Kingdom also accepted that the Turtle Islands as well as the Mangsee Islands were part of the Philippine archipelago and therefore under United States sovereignty. However, by a supplemental international treaty concluded at the same time, the two powers agreed that those islands, although part of the Philippine archipelago, would remain under the administration of the State of North Borneo's British North Borneo Company. The supplemental treaty provided that the British North Borneo Company would continue to administer those islands unless and until the United States government gave notice to the United Kingdom calling for administration of the islands to be transferred to the United States. The United States never gave such a notice.Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines regarding the transfer of the administration of the Turtle and Mangsee Islands to the Philippine Republic; Cmd 8320
/ref> On 4 July 1946, the
Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
was born. It became the successor to the United States under the treaties of 1930. On 15 July 1946, the United Kingdom annexed the State of North Borneo and, in the view of the United Kingdom, became the sovereign power with respect to what had been the State of North Borneo. On 19 September 1946, the Republic of the Philippines notified the United Kingdom that it wished to take over the administration of the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands. Pursuant to a supplemental international agreement, the transfer of administration became effective on 16 October 1947.


Geography and society

The islands are situated in the
Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...
at the south-western tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and
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 ...
. South Mangsee Island is the larger of the two islands but is tiny measuring just 23 square hectares.Controlled chaos on Palawan islet; article by By: Redempto D. Anda - Correspondent; ''Philippine Inquirer'', 18 January 2012 With a population of nearly 9,000, mostly ethnic Sama Muslims, the islands are very densely populated. South Mangsee is home to the majority of the population as well as governmental institutions such as an elementary school established in 1975. Mangsee is closer to Sabah, Malaysia, than to the southernmost Palawan town of Balabac to which it belongs administratively. There have been issues with the safety of the islands'
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
. In 2000, Mangsee was hit by an epidemic that killed around 200 people in a span of about two weeks, in what was believed to be caused by
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
. As of 2012, the barangay still did not have a resident doctor. Due to the problems, most of the islands inhabitants seek treatment to neighbouring Banggi Island in Sabah. Smuggling to and from Malaysia, as well as fishing, are important economic activities in Mangsee.


Accessibility

Access to the Mangsee Islands is difficult, as there are no regular means of transportation to the area.


References

{{Palawan Islands of Palawan Landforms of the Sulu Sea Philippines–United Kingdom relations Malaysia–Philippines relations