SPRATLY ISLANDS (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Geography)

Context: China renewed calls for the Philippines to remove an ageing ship from a reef that Manila uses to press its stake in the Spratly Islands in defiance of Beijing's claim to nearly the entire South China Sea.

• The move comes after the Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of firing water cannon against boats on a resupply mission to its garrison stationed on the grounded vessel at the weekend.

Spratly Islands

• The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
• The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam.
• It is claimed in its entirety by China, Taiwan and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
• The northeast part of the Spratly Islands is known as Dangerous Ground and is characterized by many low islands, sunken reefs, and degraded, sunken atolls with coral.
• Economic activity has included commercial fishing, shipping, guano mining, oil and gas exploitation, and more recently, tourism.