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 Match 224   DB Rec# - 7,676  Dataset-WOFACT

Title         :Spratly Islands 
Text          : 
                                 Spratly Islands 
 
                                    Geography 
 
Location: 
    Southeastern Asia, group of reefs in the South China Sea, about two-thirds 
    of the way from southern Vietnam to the southern Philippines 
Map references: 
    Southeast Asia 
Area: 
  total area: 
    NA sq km but less than 5 km2 
  land area: 
    less than 5 sq km 
  comparative area: 
    NA 
  note: 
    includes 100 or so islets, coral reefs, and sea mounts scattered over the 
    South China Sea 
Land boundaries: 
    0 km 
Coastline: 
    926 km 
Maritime claims: 
    NA 
International disputes: 


    all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam; parts 
    of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines; in 1984, Brunei 
    established an exclusive economic zone, which encompasses Louisa Reef, but 
    has not publicly claimed the island 
Climate: 
    tropical 
Terrain: 
    flat 
Natural resources: 
    fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential 
Land use: 
  arable land: 
    0% 
  permanent crops: 
    0% 
  meadows and pastures: 
    0% 
  forest and woodland: 
    0% 
  other: 
    100% 
Irrigated land: 
    0 sq km 
Environment: 
  current issues: 
    NA 
  natural hazards: 
    typhoons; serious maritime hazard because of numerous reefs and shoals 
  international agreements: 
    NA 
Note: 
    strategically located near several primary shipping lanes in the central 
    South China Sea; includes numerous small islands, atolls, shoals, and coral 
    reefs 
 
                                     People 
 
Population: 
    no indigenous inhabitants; note - there are scattered garrisons 
 
                                   Government 
 
Names: 
  conventional long form: 
    none 
  conventional short form: 
    Spratly Islands 
Digraph: 
    PG 
 
                                     Economy 
 
Overview: 
    Economic activity is limited to commercial fishing. The proximity to nearby 
    oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and
 
    gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no 
    reliable estimates of potential reserves; commercial exploitation has yet to
 
    be developed. 


Industries: 
    none 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Ports: 
    none 
Airports: 
  total: 
    4 
  with paved runways under 914 m: 
    3 
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 
    1 
 
                                 Communications 
 
Telephone system: 
  local: 
    NA 
  intercity: 
    NA 
  international: 
    NA 
Radio: 
  broadcast stations: 
    AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA 
  radios: 
    NA 
Television: 
  broadcast stations: 
    NA 
  televisions: 
    NA 
 
                                 Defense Forces 
 
Note: 
    about 50 small islands or reefs are occupied by China, Malaysia, the 
    Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

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Updated: March 12, 1996