Southwest Cay

Southwest Cay
Southwest Cay Invasion
Date 1975
Location Southwest Cay
Result Vietnamese Capture of Southwest Cay
Belligerents
Philippines Philippines South Vietnam South Vietnam North Vietnam North Vietnam later as Vietnam (unified)

Southwest Cay or Song Tu Tay Island (Tagalog: Pugad; Chinese: 南子岛; pinyin: Nanzi Dao; Vietnamese: Đảo Song Tử Tây) is an islet in the Spratly Islands. With an area of 12 hectares, it is the sixth largest Spratly island and the second largest among the Vietnamese-occupied Spratly islands. It holds the archipelago's highest point, at 4 meters above sea level. It is about 1.75 miles from Northeast Cay (Song Tu Dong Island) and is part of North Danger Reef. The island is claimed also by People's Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Philippines.

Southwest Cay was once a breeding place for birds and was covered with trees and guano. Export of guano was once carried out "on a considerable scale."[1]

Contents

History

In 1933, the French Government took official possession of the Spratley islands including North East Cay and South West Cay. Three ships, the Alerte, the Astrobale and the De Lanessan took part in the expedition. The following quotations are from an account given by H. Cucherousset in L'Eveil economique de l'Indochine (No. 790 of May 28, 1933):

”Further north still, at the level of Nhatrang, is the atoll named "North Danger" , the Alerte took possession of two sandy islands (cayes) where it found some Japanese fishing. The De Lanessan went there too and explored the little island. The latter is perceptibly higher than the others, the highest point reaching 5 metres. The phosphate beds are considerable and were much exploited by the Japanese. "

After possession had been taken, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the following notice in the French Journal Officiel dated July 26, 1933 (page 7837):

"Notice concerning the occupation of certain islands by French naval units.

The French government has caused the under mentioned isles and islets to be occupied by French naval units:

Group of two islands situated at latitude 111o29' north and longitude 114o21' east of Greenwich, with their dependent isles (36) (Possession taken April 10, 1933).

The above-mentioned isles and islets henceforward come under French sovereignty (this notice cancels the previous notice inserted in the Official Journal dated July 25, 1933, page 7784)."

In 1939, Japan occupied the islands and would remain there until the end of World War II. In 1956, France transferred the islands to South Vietnam.

In 1959, the South Vietnamese Government renamed the Song Tử islands (meaning twins after their resemblance to each other) "Tây" (meaning West) and "Đông" (meaning East) respectively. They was annexed to Phuoc Tuy province, South Vietnam. In 1961, the two South Vietnam Navy cruisers, the Van Kiep and the Van Don, landed on the islands of Song Tu Tay (South-West Cay).

On May 24, 1963, the sovereignty steles were rebuilt on Song Tu Dong (North East Cay) and Song Tu Tay (South West Cay) by crew members of the three vessels Huong Giang, Chi Lang and Ky Hoa of South Vietnam.

In 1968, Philippines troops occupied Song Tu Dong (North East Cay, Parola) and Song Tu Tay (Pugad).

After PRC had occupied the Paracels islands, Republic of Vietnam troops in February 1974 occupied Song Tu Tay Island as part of Operation Tran Hung Dao 48.

Captured by Vietnam

In 1975, a party was held for the Philippine commanding officer at Parola. Philippine forces guarding Pugad Island attended the party and upon their return, found that the South Vietnamese, who were then Allies, had occupied the island in their absence.

In April, 1975, there was a skirmish between South Vietnam troop and North Vietnam task force on this island. The North Vietnam task force won and has occupied the island ever since. Some of the South Vietnamese who had taken over the island from the Philippines fled Pugad Island and swam to Parola island to seek refuge.

Although the PRC, ROC (Taiwan) and Philippines all claim Parola, no clashed have been recorded since 1975.

Song Tu Tay Island is in the northern edge of the Spratly chain. It is within North Danger Reef which also contains the Philippine-occupied Northeast Cay (Parola Island), Vietnamese-occupied South Reef and unoccupied North Reef. Southwest Cay and Northeast Cay are located just 1.75 miles away from each other, within sight of one another.

See also

External links

References and notes

Coordinates: 11°26′N 114°20′E / 11.433°N 114.333°E / 11.433; 114.333


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Southwest Cay — Serrana Bank Serrana Bank von der ISS aus gesehen Gewässer Karibisches Meer Archipel Anzahl der Inseln …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cay Sal Bank — is the third largest (after Great Bahama Bank and Little Bahama Bank) and the westernmost of the Bahama Banks. It is located between 23º27 N 24º10 N and 079º25 W – 080º35 W. In a geographical sense, it is separate from the Bahamas proper as it is …   Wikipedia

  • Northeast Cay — Part of a series on the Spratly Islands …   Wikipedia

  • Rum Cay — is an island and district of the Bahamas. Lat.: N23 42 30 Long.: W 74 50 00 Size: 30 Sq. mlsRum Cay, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of San Salvador Island, is mainly flat with rolling hills that rises to about 120 feet (37 m). Christopher Columbus… …   Wikipedia

  • Mo Cay Nam District — Mỏ Cày Nam is a district (huyện) of Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The district is established on March 2009. Mỏ Cày Nam is bordering with Giồng Trôm District on east, Trà Vinh Province on the west, Mỏ Cày Bắc and Giồng Trôm… …   Wikipedia

  • Policies, activities and history of the Philippines in Spratly Islands — This article discusses the policies, activities and history of the Republic of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands. It also discusses the general feelings of Filipino people about the issue, causing this article to discuss some anti Chinese… …   Wikipedia

  • Pedro Bank — is a large bank of sand and coral, partially covered with seagrass, about 80 km south and southwest of Jamaica, rising steeply from a seabed of 800 meters depth. It slopes gently from Pedro Cays to the west and north with depths from 13 to 30… …   Wikipedia

  • Coral Sea Islands — Map of the Coral Sea Islands Map of the Coral Sea Islands Territo …   Wikipedia

  • Serrana Bank — Vorlage:Infobox Insel/Wartung/Höhe fehlt Serrana Bank Serrana Bank von der ISS aus gesehen Gewässer Karibisches Meer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Pedro Cays — Lagekarte Gewässer Karibisches Meer Geographische Lage …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”