List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands
This page features a series of lists of maritime features in the Spratly Islands:
- Features by area
- Features by major reef / bank / etc.
- Features by name
- Features by occupier and/or claimant
Features by area
This changed dramatically in 2014 with the PRC embarking on large-scale reclamations of the lagoons of Johnson South Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, and other reclamations of then unknown extent at the Gaven Reefs and Cuarteron Reef. Reports of the extent of land reclaimed on Swallow Reef vary. The PRC land reclamations have continued on a total of seven sites. In 2015, Subi Reef, Hughes Reef and Mischief Reef were added. Refer to the table below for the most recently available data. In summary, there have been reclamations of very large areas at three sites by the PRC, reclamations of large areas at 8 sites and reclamations of lesser areas at a number of sites. There does not appear to have been any reclamation of Philippine occupied areas. There have been small Taiwanese reclamations at Itu Aba, very small but functionally significant reclamations at six Malaysian sites, and a number small but significant reclamations at Vietnamese sites in 2016, most particularly at Spratly Island where the runway has been extended and a sheltered harbour added.
The following table contains the 16 largest "natural" features,, plus the features with significant amounts of reclaimed land:
| # | Feature | in Atoll | "Natural" Area | Location | Currently occupied by | Reclaimed Area |
| 1 | Itu Aba Island | Tizard Bank | ROC | ~ | ||
| 2 | Thitu Island | Thitu Reefs | Philippines | |||
| 3 | West York Island | West York Island | Philippines | |||
| 4 | Spratly Island | Spratly Island | Vietnam | ~ | ||
| 5 | Northeast Cay | North Danger Reef | Philippines | |||
| 6 | Southwest Cay | North Danger Reef | Vietnam | ~ | ||
| 7 | Sin Cowe Island | Union Banks | Vietnam | ~ | ||
| 8 | Nanshan Island | Loaita Bank | Philippines | |||
| 9 | Sand Cay | Tizard Bank | Vietnam | ~ | ||
| 10 | Loaita Island | Loaita Bank | Philippines | |||
| 11 | Swallow Reef | Swallow Reef | Malaysia | ~ | ||
| 12 | Namyit Island | Tizard Bank | Vietnam | |||
| 13 | Amboyna Cay | Amboyna Cay | Vietnam | |||
| Grierson Reef | Union Banks | Vietnam | ~ | |||
| West Reef | London Reefs | Vietnam | ~ | |||
| Central Reef | London Reefs | Vietnam | ~ | |||
| 14 | Flat Island | Loaita Bank | Philippines | |||
| 15 | Loaita Cay | Loaita Bank | Philippines | |||
| 16 | Lankiam Cay | Loaita Bank | Philippines | |||
| Mischief Reef | Mischief Reef | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Subi Reef | Thitu Reefs | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Fiery Cross Reef | Fiery Cross Reef | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Cuarteron Reef | London Reefs | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Gaven Reefs | Tizard Bank | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Johnson South Reef | Union Banks | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Hughes Reef | Union Banks | 00.00 | PRC | ~ | ||
| Pearson Reef | SW Dangerous Ground | 00.00 | Vietnam | ~ | ||
| Cornwallis South Reef | SW Dangerous Ground | 00.00 | Vietnam | ~ |
Features by major reef / bank / etc.
The boundaries of the Spratly Islands are not firmly defined. West-to-east, the islands range from the coastal waters of Vietnam to the east of Dangerous Ground and the Palawan Passage, and south-to-north from the coastal waters of Borneo and the southern South China Sea to the north of Dangerous Ground and the Reed Bank.The major feature of the area is Dangerous Ground, an oblong area approximately SW-NE, at its widest, with an area of about 52,000 nm². It lies approximately between 7.5–12°N, 113–117°E, and US NGA literatureetc. seems to consider its centre as. The remainder of the Spratly Islands are mainly to the west and south of Dangerous Ground, with some features to the east.
The Spratly Islands can be roughly divided into seven sub-areas relative to Dangerous Ground:
- NW of Dangerous Ground
- NE Dangerous Ground
- SE Dangerous Ground
- SW Dangerous Ground
- E of Dangerous Ground
- S of Dangerous Ground and
- W of Dangerous Ground
Starting in the NW, and progressing in a generally SW direction, the features include:
Features by name
Features by occupier and/or claimant
A feature is occupied by a country if one of the following is true:- Soldiers and/or civilian citizens of a country are present in the feature, either by building structures over the feature to house the citizens or by manning a ship anchored over the feature.
- Regularly visited by soldiers of a country, not necessarily having soldiers present in it 24 hours. These features must lie near a feature occupied by the country in the way of the first condition. Presence of structures is not necessary. This is the case of Philippine-occupied Flat Island and Lankiam Cay where soldiers stationed at Nanshan Island and Loaita Island respectively, regularly visit on a daily basis.
Summary
Occupied features
Republic of China (Taiwan)
People's Republic of China
Republic of the Philippines
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Malaysia
Note that the Royal Malaysian Navy have established 5 Offshore naval stations on reclaimed land:- 1983 Station Lima
- 1986 Station Uniform
- 1986 Station Mike
- 1999 Station Sierra
- 1999 Station Papa
| Int'l Name | Local Names | Description | Area | Reclaimed area |
| Swallow Reef/ Island |  Celerio | The eleventh largest Spratly island. Treeless cay and rocks up to 3 m high surround a lagoon. Malaysia has drawn territorial seas around this and Amboyna Cay. Some 70 plus soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Lima". Has a 1.4 km airstrip, jetty and dive resort. Occupied since 1983. | 6.2 | ~35ha |
| Swallow Reef/ Island |  弹丸礁 彈丸礁Danwan Jiao | The eleventh largest Spratly island. Treeless cay and rocks up to 3 m high surround a lagoon. Malaysia has drawn territorial seas around this and Amboyna Cay. Some 70 plus soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Lima". Has a 1.4 km airstrip, jetty and dive resort. Occupied since 1983. | 6.2 | ~35ha |
| Swallow Reef/ Island |  Đá Hoa Lau | The eleventh largest Spratly island. Treeless cay and rocks up to 3 m high surround a lagoon. Malaysia has drawn territorial seas around this and Amboyna Cay. Some 70 plus soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Lima". Has a 1.4 km airstrip, jetty and dive resort. Occupied since 1983. | 6.2 | ~35ha |
| Swallow Reef/ Island |  Terumbu Layang Layang | The eleventh largest Spratly island. Treeless cay and rocks up to 3 m high surround a lagoon. Malaysia has drawn territorial seas around this and Amboyna Cay. Some 70 plus soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Lima". Has a 1.4 km airstrip, jetty and dive resort. Occupied since 1983. | 6.2 | ~35ha |
| Ardasier Reef | Antonio Luna | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Has a few sandy patches. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Uniform". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Ardasier Reef | 光星仔礁 光星仔礁 Guangxingzai Jiao | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Has a few sandy patches. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Uniform". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Ardasier Reef | Bãi Kiêu Ngựa | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Has a few sandy patches. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Uniform". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Ardasier Reef | Terumbu Ubi | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Has a few sandy patches. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Uniform". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Dallas Reef | Rajah Matanda | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed. Malaysia is also using this reef for tourism. | 0 | - |
| Dallas Reef |  光星礁 Guangxing Jiao | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed. Malaysia is also using this reef for tourism. | 0 | - |
| Dallas Reef | Đá Suối Cát | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed. Malaysia is also using this reef for tourism. | 0 | - |
| Dallas Reef | Terumbu Laya | Naturally above water only at low tide. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed. Malaysia is also using this reef for tourism. | 0 | - |
| Erica Reef / Enloa Reef | Gabriela Silang | Above water only at low tide. Some isolated rocks on the eastern edge stand above high water. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Sierra". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Erica Reef / Enloa Reef | 簸箕礁 簸箕礁 Boji Jiao | Above water only at low tide. Some isolated rocks on the eastern edge stand above high water. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Sierra". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Erica Reef / Enloa Reef | Đá Én Ca | Above water only at low tide. Some isolated rocks on the eastern edge stand above high water. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Sierra". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Erica Reef / Enloa Reef | Terumbu Siput | Above water only at low tide. Some isolated rocks on the eastern edge stand above high water. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Sierra". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Investigator Shoal | Pawikan | Above water only at low tide. Some large rocks at the western end are visible at high water. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Papa". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Investigator Shoal | 榆亚暗沙 榆亞暗沙 Yuya Ansha | Above water only at low tide. Some large rocks at the western end are visible at high water. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Papa". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Investigator Shoal | Bãi Thám Hiểm | Above water only at low tide. Some large rocks at the western end are visible at high water. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Papa". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Investigator Shoal | Terumbu Peninjau | Above water only at low tide. Some large rocks at the western end are visible at high water. Encloses a lagoon. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Papa". Occupied since 1999. | 0 | - |
| Louisa Reef | 南通礁 南通礁 Nantong Jiao | Rocks 1 m high. Malaysia operates a lighthouse here. | 0 | - |
| Louisa Reef | Terumbu Semarang / Barat Kecil | Rocks 1 m high. Malaysia operates a lighthouse here. | 0 | - |
| Mariveles Reef | Mariveles | A sand cay, 1.5–2 m high, surrounded by two lagoons, parts of which are above water at high tide. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Mike". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Mariveles Reef | 南海礁 南海礁 Nanhai Jiao | A sand cay, 1.5–2 m high, surrounded by two lagoons, parts of which are above water at high tide. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Mike". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Mariveles Reef | Đá Kỳ Vân | A sand cay, 1.5–2 m high, surrounded by two lagoons, parts of which are above water at high tide. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Mike". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Mariveles Reef | Terumbu Mantanani | A sand cay, 1.5–2 m high, surrounded by two lagoons, parts of which are above water at high tide. Several soldiers stationed at Royal Malaysian Navy offshore EEZ station "Mike". Occupied since 1986. | 0 | - |
| Total | 1 island, 5 reefs, 1 shoal | 6.2 | - |