SABINA SHOAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 1/2 – Geography/IR)
Context: China's natural resource ministry has just released its inaugural survey report on the Sabina Shoal, a disputed area in the South China Sea. This marks the first official assessment of the region's natural resources.
Sabina Shoal
- About: Sabina Shoal, also known as Xianbin Reef, is an oceanic coral atoll on a seamount in the eastern Spratlys Islands in the South China Sea.
- Geographic Location: It is situated approximately 75 nautical miles from Palawan, Philippines.
- Territorial Claims:
o Philippine EEZ: Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Sabina Shoal falls within the Philippines' 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
o Chinese Claims: China claims the shoal and much of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory, maintaining a continuous presence there. It is 630 nautical miles from China.
- Physical Characteristics:
o Dimensions: The shoal extends about 23 km along its northwest-southeast axis.
o Particulars: It consists of two main parts connected by a narrow section: the larger western part is 13 km long and 6 km wide, while the eastern part measures 10 km by 3 km.
o Lagoon and Coral Ring: Both parts feature a central lagoon surrounded by a coral ring with discontinuous shallow sections.
South China Sea
- About: It is one of the world's busiest waterways and plays a crucial role in global trade and merchant shipping.
- Location: The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean.
