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Zhongsha Islands

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Zhongsha Islands
中沙岛礁镇
Zhongsha Daojiao Town
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceHainan
Prefecture-level citySansha
DistrictXisha District
Government
 • TypeTown
Area
 • Total0.000003 km2 (0 sq mi)
Population
 • Total0
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Territorial Dispute: There are on-going territorial disputes in the entire area covered by the town, whose administrative authority is not internationally recognized.
Zhongsha Archipelago
Simplified Chinese中沙群岛
Traditional Chinese中沙群島
Literal meaningCentral Sands Archipelago
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngshā Qúndǎo
Zhongsha District
Simplified Chinese中沙群岛及其海域
Traditional Chinese中沙群島及其海域
Literal meaningIslands, Reefs, and Waters of the Zhongsha Archipelago
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngshā Qúndǎo de Dǎo Jiāo jíqí Hǎiyù

The Zhongsha Islands is a Chinese term for a collection of two skerries, many entirely submerged banks, seamounts, and shoals in the South China Sea. There are no islands in the Macclesfield Bank, the main part of Zhongsha. The Scarborough Shoal, which consists of two skerries, is not contiguous with the Macclesfield Bank but Chinese sources treat them as one chain of geographical features. The whole of the region is claimed by both the PRC and the ROC, and various bits of the eastern parts are claimed by the Philippines. No country has constant control of the whole region, and there are disputes - for example, see the Scarborough Shoal standoff.

The PRC claims to administer the area as Zhongsha Daojiao Town, a town under the Xisha District of the Sansha prefecture-level city in Hainan. It has one Village-level division, “Zhongsha Daojiao Residential Community”. However, the seat of this town and residential community is not within the Zhongsha Islets, but in Yongxing Town.

Aquaculture research has been conducted on Walker Shoal.[1]

Geography

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The Zhongsha Islets include:

To the west, near the Paracel Islands:

To the east, near Luzon:

To the north:

To the south, near the Spratly Islands:

References

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  1. ^ "China Focus: South China islands see green transformation". news.xinhuanet.com. 30 July 2014. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
    Interesting article, but it makes NO mention of either Aquaculture research or Walker Shoal ...