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133-621: Part of the Spratly Islands , in the South China Sea , the Kalayaan municipality, which includes Thitu Island (locally known as Pag-asa, the administrative center of Kalayaan Island Group) is 280 nautical miles (320 mi; 520 km) northwest of Puerto Princesa and 932 kilometres (503 nmi; 579 mi) south-west of Metro Manila . It consists of a single barangay named Pag-asa located on Thitu, which also serves as

266-584: A disputed archipelago in the South China Sea . Composed of islands, islets , cays , and more than 100 reefs , sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls , the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines , Malaysia , and southern Vietnam . Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km (490 acres) of naturally occurring land area, which

399-594: A British naval captain who gave his name to Meads Island (Itu Aba) in the 1870s. In an affidavit made in 1971, the group claimed to represent the Kingdom of Humanity/ Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads , which they asserted was in turn the successor entity for a supposed Kingdom of Humanity established between the two world wars on Meads Island, allegedly by the son of the British captain. This claim to this would-be micronation fell dormant after 1972, when several members of

532-422: A communist and called for the overthrow of the government. With the communist organization estimated to still have more than 40,000 duly registered members by March 1951, the government went on with its sustained campaign to cope with the worsening peace and order problem. The 1951 budget included the use of a residue fund for the land resettlement program in favor of the surrendered HUKS. The money helped maintain

665-487: A decision from President Quirino. Quirino's administration excelled in diplomacy, impressing foreign heads of states and world statesmen by his intelligence and culture. He had official travels to the United States, European countries, and Southeast Asia. During his six years in office, he and his Foreign Affairs Secretary , Helen Cutaran Bennett , was able to negotiate treaties and agreements with other nations of

798-539: A devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs. Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus, professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami 's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science School , has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a marine park . One region of

931-601: A full term under the Liberal Party ticket , defeating Nacionalista former president José P. Laurel as well as fellow Liberalista and former Senate President José Dira Avelino . The Quirino administration was generally challenged by the Hukbalahap , who ransacked towns and barrios. Quirino ran for president again in November 1953 but was defeated by Ramon Magsaysay in a landslide. Elpidio Quirino y Rivera

1064-537: A future alliance of these neighboring nations for common protection and aid. The Quirino administration faced a serious threat in the form of the communist Hukbalahap movement. Although the Huks originally had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla army in Luzon, communists steadily gained control over the leadership, and when Quirino's negotiation with Huk commander Luis Taruc broke down in 1948. Taruc then openly declared himself

1197-519: A lease to work guano "on Sprattly island and Amboyna Cay" During the Second World War troops from French Indochina and Japan were in occupation. In 1956 Filipino adventurer Tomás Cloma Sr. decided to "claim" a part of Spratly islands as his own, naming it the " Free Territory of Freedomland ". In the 1950s, a group of individuals claimed sovereignty over the islands in the name of Morton F. Meads, supposedly an American descendant of

1330-662: A naval base and a diving resort. Investigator Shoal is currently under de facto administration of Malaysia although is claimed by the Philippines as part of the municipality. Kalayaan is located in the western section of the Province of Palawan. It consists of one barangay : Currently, the barangay exercises jurisdiction over eight islets (four of which are cays ) and three reefs, with an aggregate land area of approximately 79 hectares (0.79 km; 200 acres; 0.31 sq mi). They are as follows: The islets that comprise

1463-461: A naval port, a five-bed lying-in clinic, an evacuation center, a municipal covered court, a police station, a coast guard station, a marine research station, and a small integrated elementary and high school. Formerly an exclusively military installation, Thitu Island was opened to civilian settlement in 2002. Thitu Island (Pag-asa) hosts a 1,300-meter runway constructed in the early 1970s on orders of Major General Jose Rancudo, Commanding General of

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1596-541: A number of his followers had either submitted themselves to the conditions of the Amnesty proclamation or surrendered their arms. In the face of countercharges from the Huk to the effect that the government had not satisfied the agreed conditions, President Quirino ordered a stepped-up campaign against dissidents, restoring once more an aggressive policy in view of the failure of the friendly attitude previously adopted. To bring

1729-509: A number of the Spratly Islands, including Taiping Island , built weather stations on two of the islands, and administered them as part of French Indochina. This occupation was protested by the Republic of China (ROC) government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited nine of the islands. In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on

1862-412: A professor of marine biology and ecology at the University of Miami 's Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, said, "The worst thing anyone can do to a coral reef is to bury it under tons of sand and gravel ... There are global security concerns associated with the damage. It is likely broad enough to reduce fish stocks in the world's most fish-dependent region." He explained that

1995-498: A regional conference sponsored by the Philippines. Taiwan and South Korea did not attend the conference because the latter did not contemplate the formation of a military union of the Southeast Asian nations. On the other hand, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and others were not invited because, at the time, they were not free and independent states. Due to the request of India and Indonesia, no political questions were taken up

2128-441: A series of half-grabens and rotated fault-blocks which lie parallel and en echelon. The long axes of the horsts, rotated fault blocks and half- grabens form well-defined linear trends that lie parallel to magnetic anomalies exhibited by the oceanic crust of the adjacent South China Sea. The horsts, rotated fault blocks, and the rock forming the bottoms of associated grabens consist of stretched and subsided continental crust that

2261-492: A staff of twenty workers, following their period of stay in the Philippines, beginning in July 1950, finally submitted its report on October of the same year. The report made several proposals, most noteworthy, of which were that the United States on, President Quirino gamely and patriotically, took in the recommendations and sought to implement them. Thus, in November 1950, President Quirino and William Chapman Foster , representing

2394-559: A symbol of the country's contribution to the cause of freedom outside native shores. Other Philippine Combat Teams successively replaced the first contingent sent, and they all built a name for discipline, tenacity, and courage, until the armistice that brought the conflict to a halt. By the time of the creation of the Integrity Board, the Bell Mission, led by American banker Daniel W. Bell and composed of five members with

2527-1237: Is Mayor Roberto M. del Mundo, who won an upset victory on May 9, 2016. Spratly Islands Spratly Islands dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Philippines and the Spratly Islands Dangerous Ground (South China Sea) Great Wall of Sand History of the Spratly Islands List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands List of airports in the Spratly Islands Vietnamese DK1 rigs Royal Malaysian Navy Offshore Bases Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads Free Territory of Freedomland Southwest Cay incident (1975) East Sea Campaign (1975) Johnson South Reef skirmish (1988) The Spratly Islands ( Filipino : Kapuluan ng Kalayaan ; Mandarin Chinese : 南沙群島/南沙群岛 ; pinyin : Nánshā Qúndǎo ; Malay : Kepulauan Spratly ; Vietnamese : Quần đảo Trường Sa ) are

2660-575: Is a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles. Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Although it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of bottom trawlers fitted with chain rollers. In 1994, a routine patrol by Taiwan's marine navy confiscated more than 200 kg (400 lb) of potassium cyanide solution from fishermen who had been using it for cyanide fishing . These activities have

2793-719: Is also recorded in the History of Yuan to have been explored by the Chinese during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries. However, the Yuan also ruled over Korea , Outer Mongolia , and parts of modern Russia . They are also referenced, sometimes with different names, in the Ming dynasty. For example, in the Mao Kun map dating from Zheng He 's voyage of

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2926-469: Is composed of Triassic , Jurassic , and Cretaceous strata that include calc-alkalic extrusive igneous rocks, intermediate to acid intrusive igneous rocks, sandstones , siltstones , dark-green claystones , and metamorphic rocks that include biotite – muscovite – feldspar – quartz migmatites and garnet – mica schists . The dismemberment and subsidence of continental crust into horsts, rotated fault blocks and half-grabens that underlie

3059-469: Is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. Taiping Island (Itu Aba) was reportedly covered with shrubs , coconut , and mangroves in 1938; pineapple was also cultivated there when it was profitable. Other accounts mention papaya , banana , palm , and even white peach trees growing on one island. A few islands that have been developed as small tourist resorts had soil and trees brought in and planted where there

3192-504: Is spread over an area of more than 425,000 km (164,000 sq mi). The Spratly Islands are one of the major archipelagos in the South China Sea which complicate governance and economics in this part of Southeast Asia due to their location in strategic shipping lanes. The islands are largely uninhabited, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves, and as such are important to

3325-446: Is the least populated municipality in the Philippines. Kalayaan's annual budget is 47 million pesos (about $ 1.1 million). All the islands and shoals within the municipality are disputed territories all or some of which are claimed by China , Malaysia , Taiwan , and Vietnam . There are records of various cultures in the region passing through the islands for trade. Permanent populations and military stations only became apparent in

3458-735: The ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation . There are a number of memorials dedicated to Quirino. In 1964, the municipality of Angaki in Ilocos Sur was renamed to Quirino in his honor. The province of Quirino , established in 1966, was named in his memory. Streets like the Quirino Avenue in Manila and Elpidio Quirino Avenue in Parañaque are named for him. The Novaliches–Ipo Road, where his retirement home

3591-596: The Anglo-Saxon bloc, as well as by the group of Spanish-speaking nations, thus underscoring the hybrid nature of the Filipino people's culture and upbringing. Incumbent President Quirino won a full term as President after the untimely death of President Manuel Roxas in 1948 in the November 1949 presidential election . His running mate, Senator Fernando López , won as Vice President . Despite factions created in

3724-595: The First Lady . On July 17, 1948, Congress approved Republic Act No. 333, amending Commonwealth Act No. 502, declaring Quezon City as the new capital of the Philippines , replacing Manila . Nevertheless, pending the official transfer of the government offices to the new capital site, Manila remained to be such for all effective purposes. The term Hukbalahap was a contraction of Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (in English: The Nation's Army Against

3857-676: The Free World . Two Asian heads of state visited the country—President Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China in July 1949 and President Sukarno of Indonesia in January 1951. In 1950, at the onset of the Korean War , President Quirino authorized the deployment of over 7,450 Filipino soldiers to Korea, under the designation of the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK). While I recognise

3990-689: The Guangdong government representing the Qing dynasty . China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. A Vietnamese map from 1834 also combines the Spratly and Paracel Islands into one region known as "Vạn Lý Trường Sa", a feature commonly incorporated into maps of the era ( 萬里長沙 ) ‒ that is, the same as the aforementioned Chinese island name Wanli Changsha . According to Hanoi , Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng ( Golden Sandbanks , referring to both

4123-533: The Lê dynasty , 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century. Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that its neighbour had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands. In 1888 the Central Borneo Company were granted

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4256-482: The Nacionalista and Democratic Parties formed a coalition to ensure Quirino's full defeat. On Election Day , Quirino was defeated by Magsaysay with a landslide vote margin of 1.5 million. Quirino was accused of a Golden arinola scandal which led him to losing the 1953 Philippine presidential election Upon assuming the reins of government, Quirino announced two main objectives of his administration: first,

4389-574: The Supreme Court Ricardo Paras administered the oath of office. On the same day, Quirino delivered his short, 47-word inaugural remarks at the same room. His first official act as the President was the proclamation of a state mourning throughout the country for Roxas's death. Since Quirino was a widower, his surviving daughter, Victoria, would serve as the official hostess and perform the functions traditionally ascribed to

4522-471: The United States through the 1898 Treaty of Paris . The 1898 Treaty of Paris created a treaty line, where Scarborough Shoal, the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands, and parts of Tawi-tawi continued to be under Spanish sovereignty. This led to talks between Spain and the United States, which ended upon the signing of the 1900 Treaty of Washington , which rectified retroactively the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Under

4655-598: The United States government , signed an agreement by virtue of which the former pledged to obtain the necessary Philippine legislation, in keeping with the Bell Mission Report, while envoy Foster promised the necessary by the same report. However, much as he tried to become a good president, Quirino failed to win the people's affection. Several factors caused the unpopularity of his administration, namely: Following his failed bid for re-election, Quirino retired to private life. He offered his dedication to serve

4788-645: The economic reconstruction of the nation and second, the restoration of the faith and confidence of the people in the government. In connection to the first agenda, he created the President's Action Committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA) to mitigate the sufferings of indigent families, the Labor Management Advisory Board to advise him on labor matters, the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives Financing Administration (ACCFA) to help

4921-403: The green turtle ( Chelonia mydas , endangered ) and the hawksbill turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata , critically endangered ) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as Pratas ) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined. Seabirds use

5054-460: The "New Southern Islands", the forerunner name for Kalayaan, as part of the Philippines. In 1947, Tomás Cloma stumbled upon the Kalayaan islands, which were uninhabited at the time. On May 11, 1956, together with forty men, Cloma took formal possession of the islands, lying some 380 miles (610 km) west of the southern end of Palawan and named them the "Free Territory of Freedomland". Four days later, Cloma issued and posted copies of his "Notice to

5187-673: The 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi) limit of territorial waters. While accepting the 12-nmi principal with respect to territorial waters, the letter did not actually address the issue of defining actual territorial boundaries. North Vietnam recognised China's claims on the Paracels and Spratly Islands during the Vietnam War as it was being supported by China. Only after winning the war and conquering South Vietnam did North Vietnam retract its recognition and admitted it recognised them as part of China to receive aid from China in fighting

5320-422: The 1875 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino with the addition of military telegraph lines, military cable lines, eastern cable company lines, and military department boundaries. The official map of the entire Philippine territory under Spanish rule was effectively adopted as the entire Philippine territory under American rule. During the 1928 Islas Palmas international case, the United States, as representative of

5453-698: The 1887 Sino-French Tonkin Boundary convention signed after the Sino-French War recognised the sovereignty of China over the Paracel and Spratly islands. The line mentioned in the convention can be more accurately described as a shorthand for dividing islands between China and Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin , but not its maritime waters. In the 1950s amid warming ties between the two countries, Mao Zedong decided to hand over Bạch Long Vĩ Island , which lies to

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5586-573: The 1900 Treaty of Washington, "all islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago, lying outside the lines described in Article III" were also ceded to the United States as part of the territory of the Philippines, where Scarborough Shoal, the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands, and the rest of Tawi-tawi was included. From 1899 to 1902, the United States war department in the territory of the Philippines republished and reissued four times

5719-503: The 19th and early 20th centuries by mariners from different European powers (including Richard Spratly , after whom the island group derives its most recognisable English name, who visited the group in the 1840s in his whaler Cyrus ). However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and the Paracel Islands but eventually withdrew the survey, after receiving protests from

5852-525: The 20th century. In 1734, the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines published the first edition of the Velarde map , which details territories under full sovereign control of Spanish Philippines, including Scarborough Shoal (called Panacot in the indigenous language in the map) and Kalayaan or Spratly Islands (referred in the map as Los Bajos de Paragua ), and is the earliest map to showcase

5985-551: The 60th anniversary of his death. Quirino was married to Alicia Syquía (1903–1945) on January 16, 1921. The couple had five children: Tomás, Armando, Norma, Victoria , and Fe Angela. On February 9, 1945, his wife and three of their children (Armando, Norma and Fe Angela) were killed by Japanese troops as they fled their home during the Battle of Manila . His brother Antonio Quirino was the owner of Alto Broadcasting System, which later merged with Chronicle Broadcasting Network to form

6118-689: The Americans. In 1987, China installed a small military structure on Fiery Cross Reef under the pretext of building an oceanic observation station and installing a tide gauge for the Global Sea Level Observing System . After a deadly skirmish with the Vietnamese Navy, China installed some military structures on more reefs in the vicinity of the Philippines and Vietnamese occupied islands and this led to escalating tensions between these countries and China over

6251-614: The Economic Development Corps (EDCOR), with its settlements of 6,500 hectares in Kapatagan ( Lanao ) and 25,000 hectares in Buldon ( Cotabato ). In each group taken to these places there was a nucleus of former Army personnel and their families, who became a stabilizing factor and ensured the success of the program. Indeed, less than ten percent of the Huks who settled down gave up this new lease in life offered them by

6384-523: The Filipino people, becoming the "Father of Foreign Service " in the Philippines. In the evening of February 29, 1956, Quirino was preparing to attend a meeting when he suffered a massive heart attack. He died shortly thereafter at 6:35 pm, at the age of 65, at his retirement house in Novaliches , Quezon City. President Ramon Magsaysay later declared March 1 to 15 as a " period of national mourning ", wherein all flags at all government establishments in

6517-503: The House of Representatives prepared a five-count accusation ranging from nepotism to gross expenditures. Speaker Eugenio Pérez appointed a committee of seven, headed by Representative Lorenzo Sumulong to look into the charges preparatory to their filing with the Senate , acting as an impeachment body. Solicitor General Felix Angelo Bautista entered his appearance as defense counsel for

6650-638: The Japanese Soldiers), members of which were commonly referred to as Huks . With the expiration of the Amnesty deadline on August 15, 1948, the government found out that the Huks had not lived up to the terms of the Quirino-Taruc agreement. Indeed, after having been seated in Congress and collecting his back pay allowance, Huk leader Luis Taruc surreptitiously fled away from Manila, even as

6783-483: The Ministry of National Resources (MNR) when it issued Administrative Order No. 8. The first recorded election in Kalayaan was on January 30, 1980, where Aloner M. Heraldo was elected as the first municipal mayor. The Municipality of Kalayaan "demilitarized" on January 18, 1988, and the first appointed mayor, Alejandro Rodriguez, was replaced by his appointed vice mayor, Gaudencio R. Avencena. The first free election

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6916-575: The PACSA, charges with extending aid, loans, and relief to less fortunate citizens. Both the policy and its implementation were hailed by the people as harbingers of great benefits. As part of his agrarian reform agenda, President Quirino issued Executive Order No. 355 on October 23, 1950, which replaced the National Land Settlement Administration with Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) which takes over

7049-529: The Paracels and the Spratly Islands from February 1939 to August 1945. Japan annexed the Spratly Islands via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction. Parts of the Paracels and Spratly Islands were again controlled by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan, since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area, however no successor

7182-414: The Paracels between 1881 and 1884. China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. The Qing dynasty's successor state, the Republic of China, claimed the Spratly and Paracel islands under the jurisdiction of Hainan. In 1933, France asserted its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony French Indochina . It occupied

7315-694: The Philippine Air Force . In February 1992, the Armed Forces of the Philippines named the runway "Rancudo Airfield" in honor of its architect. On June 9, 2020, the Department of National Defense led the inauguration of a beaching ramp on Thitu Island (Pag-asa) which was finally completed after three years. The facility enabled to bring in more materials and equipment to repair and maintain the airstrip and building of other facilities. Also, Department of Transportation (DOTR) confirmed that

7448-774: The Philippines. Quirino had lost his own wife and three children to the Japanese, along with five other members of his family. Despite this great personal loss, he said, "I do not want my children and my people to inherit from me hate for people who might yet be our friends, for the permanent interest of the country." Due to the high anti-Japanese sentiment at the time, many observers considered his actions to be political suicide. Controversially, Quirino even pardoned Japanese war criminals who murdered, raped, and inflicted other serious crimes towards Filipinos during World War II. The Manila Bulletin , an influential Filipino newspaper, has described his actions as "a historic gesture of 'forgiving

7581-556: The Senate. Quirino ran for re-election to the presidency with José Yulo as his running mate in 1953 despite his ill health. His Secretary of National Defense , Ramon Magsaysay , resigned from office and joined the Nacionalista Party . Other prominent Liberals including Vice President Fernando Lopez, Ambassador Carlos Romulo, and Senators Tomás Cabili and Juan Sumulong also bolted Quirino's party. On August 22, 1953,

7714-401: The Spratly Archipelago either as a whole or in part. The Philippines occupies 10 reefs and islands. The People's Republic of China presently occupies seven reefs. The Republic of China (Taiwan)'s solitary island is the largest in the archipelago at approximately 43 hectares (0.43 km). Vietnam occupies 21 islets and reefs. Malaysia claims 7 reefs including Layang Layang which currently hosts

7847-552: The Spratly Archipelago, named Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam's Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The site, with an area of 160 km (62 sq mi), is currently managed by the Khánh Hòa Provincial People's Committee of Vietnam. Military groups in the Spratly Islands have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood, and hunting for

7980-418: The Spratly Islands (including Taiping Island) after accepting the Japanese surrender of the islands based on the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations . The Republic of China then garrisoned Itu Aba (Taiping) island in 1946 and posted Chinese flags. The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims. The Republic of China drew up the map showing the U-shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, showing

8113-413: The Spratly Islands and surrounding sea bottom occurred in two distinct periods. They occurred as the result of the tectonic stretching of continental crust along underlying deeply rooted detachment faults. During the Late Cretaceous and Early Oligocene , the earliest period of tectonic stretching of continental crust and formation of horsts, half-grabens, and rotated fault-blocks occurred in association with

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8246-512: The Spratly Islands is known as Dangerous Ground and is characterised by many low islands, sunken reefs, and degraded, sunken atolls with coral often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than 1,000 metres (3,000 ft) – all of which makes the area dangerous for navigation. The islands are all of similar nature; they are cays (or keys): sand islands formed on old degraded and submerged coral reefs. The Spratly Islands contain almost no arable land , are largely uninhabited, and very few of

8379-535: The Spratly Islands were not Philippine territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratly Islands were not part of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with the United States . However, no document was found to that effect. The Philippines then claimed the Spratly Islands in 1971 under President Marcos , after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba. Taiwan's garrison from 1946 to 1950 and 1956-now on Itu Aba represents an "effective occupation" of

8512-413: The Spratly Islands. China established a coastal defence system against Japanese pirates or smugglers. In 1958, China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters that encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam 's prime minister, Phạm Văn Đồng , sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai , stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) respected the Chinese decision regarding

8645-449: The Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and it used the islands as a submarine base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the Japanese occupation, these islands were called Shinnan Shoto ( 新南諸島 ), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands ( 西沙群岛 ), they were put under the governance of the Japanese authority in Taiwan on 30 March 1939. Japan occupied

8778-421: The Spratly Islands. Southeast and west of them, there also exist thick accumulations of sediments that possibly might contain economic oil and gas reserves, which lie closer to the Spratly Islands. In some cays in the Spratly Islands, the sand and pebble sediments form the beaches and spits around the island. Under the influence of the dominant wind direction, which changes seasonally, these sediments move around

8911-459: The Spratly and Paracel Islands), which lay near the coast of the central Vietnam, as early as 1838. In Phủ Biên Tạp Lục ( The Frontier Chronicles ) by scholar Lê Quý Đôn , both Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to the Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during

9044-405: The Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947. Japan had renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty together with the Paracels, Pratas and other islands captured from the Chinese, and upon these declarations, the government of the Republic of China reasserted its claim to the islands. At the peace conference, South Vietnam declared Vietnamese sovereignty over

9177-475: The Spratlys, but North Vietnam supported China's authority. The Chinese Kuomintang force withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing Chinese Communist Party due to their losses in the Chinese Civil War and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Taiwan quietly withdrew troops from Taiping Island in 1950, but then reinstated them in 1956 in response to Tomás Cloma 's sudden claim to

9310-479: The Thitu Island. On June 12, 2021, The National Power Corporation switched on its P33 million Kalayaan Diesel Power Plant project that covered the supply, delivery and installation of the 300 kilowatt diesel generating sets, a 13.8-kilovolt (kV) distribution line and fuel oil storage tanks, providing round-the-clock power to the facilities on the Thitu Island. On June 8, 1982, Loaita (Kota) and Lankiam (Panata) islands were designated as marine turtle sanctuaries by

9443-695: The United States as a great builder in this country, I have never surrendered the sovereignty, much less the dignity and future of our country. In 1951, the Philippines signed the Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States to deter the threat of communism that existed during the Cold War . The military alliance remains to this day a key pillar of American foreign policy in Asia that also includes defense pacts with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia. In an apparent show of genuine forgiveness and an attempt to improve public relations with Japan, Quirino granted amnesty to all Japanese war criminals and Filipino collaborators who were serving time or on death row in

9576-652: The United States. Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948, taking his oath of office two days after the death of Manuel Roxas two days earlier of a heart attack after delivering a speech at Clark Air Base in Pampanga . The inauguration took place at the Council of State Room of the Malacañang Palace in Manila as the second non-scheduled extraordinary presidential inauguration . Associate Justice of

9709-609: The Whole World" on each of the islands as "a decisive manifestation of unwavering claim over the territory". On May 31, 1956, Cloma declared the establishment of the Free Territory of Freedomland, ten days after sending his second representation to the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs , informing the latter that the territory claimed was named "Freedomland". On July 6, 1956, Cloma declared his claim to

9842-524: The administration party, Quirino won a satisfactory vote from the public. It was the only time in Philippine history where the duly elected president, vice president and senators all came from the same party, the Liberal Party. The election was widely criticized as being corrupt, with violence and fraud taking place. Opponents of Quirino were beaten or murdered by his supporters or the police and

9975-688: The archipelagic baselines of the Philippines , was enacted into law. It gave additional weight to the Philippines' sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group under Section 2, sub-paragraph A which described the territory as a "Regime of Islands"—a concept defined in the United Nation Convention on Law of the Sea for similar bodies of land. In 2012, the government began its legal battle against China in international court. The court proceedings occurred from 2013 to 2016. In 2016,

10108-553: The archipelago's naturally occurring islands is 177 ha (440 acres) and 200 ha (490 acres) with reclaimed land. Due to confusion, the Spratly Islands at times were also referred to as the Paracels . The Spratly Islands consist of islands, reefs, banks and shoals made up of biogenic carbonate . These accumulations of biogenic carbonate lie upon the higher crests of major submarine ridges that are uplifted fault blocks known by geologists as horsts . These horsts are part of

10241-550: The chief executive. Following several hearings, on April 19, 1949, after a rather turbulent session that lasted all night, the congressional committee reached a verdict completely exonerating the President. In September 1949, the Fourth General Assembly of the United Nations elected delegate Carlos P. Romulo as its President . The first Oriental to hold the position, Romulo was strongly supported by

10374-399: The claimants in their attempts to establish international boundaries. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, China (PRC) , Taiwan (ROC) , the Philippines, and Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone in

10507-485: The conference. Instead, the delegates discussed economic and, most of all, cultural, problems confronting their respective countries. Strangely enough however, the Baguio Conference ended with an official communiqué in which the nations attending the same expressed their united agreement in supporting the right to self-determination of all peoples the world over. This initial regional meet held much promise of

10640-761: The country were flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning. Quirino's remains lay in state at the Malacañang Palace from March 2 to 4. On March 5, a necrological service was held for him at the Legislative Building in Manila and his remains were later interred at the Manila South Cemetery . On February 29, 2016, his remains were relocated and reinterred at a special tomb site in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig , in time for

10773-620: The current day reefs, shoals and cays of the Spratly Islands. Starting with their formation in Late Cretaceous, fine-grained organic-rich marine sediments accumulated within the numerous submarine half-grabens that underlie sea bottom within the Dangerous Ground region. The geological surveys show localised areas within the Spratly Islands region are favourable for the accumulation of economic oil and gas reserves. They include thick sequences of Cenozoic sediments east of

10906-496: The dash-line utilized by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China (PRC) was declared as invalid by the South China Sea Arbitration ruling. As of November 2023, 26 governments support the ruling, 17 issued generally positive statements noting the ruling but not called for compliance, and eight rejected it. In addition to the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia all claim

11039-415: The date of the election on April 23, 1946. The act was signed by President Osmeña on January 5, 1946. Quirino was nominated as Senate President Manuel Roxas 's running mate. The tandem won the election. As Vice President, Quirino was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Quirino's five years as president were marked by notable postwar reconstruction, general economic gains and increased economic aid from

11172-511: The early 15th century, Shixing Shitang ( 石星石塘 ) is taken by some to mean Spratly, however different authors interpret the identities of these islands differently. Another Ming text, Haiyu (海語, On the Sea), uses Wanli Changsha ( 萬里長沙 ) for Spratly and noted that it is located southeast of Wanli Shitang (Paracels). When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing dynasty continued to include

11305-725: The election continues to be seen as corrupt. Quirino's second inauguration took place on Friday, December 30, 1949, at the Independence Grandstand in Manila . Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Manuel Moran administered the oath of office. In May 1950, upon the invitation of President Quirino and through the insistent suggestion of United Nations General Assembly President Romulo, official representatives of India , Pakistan , Ceylon , Thailand , Indonesia , and Australia met in Baguio for

11438-460: The farmers market their crops and save them from loan sharks, and the Rural Banks of the Philippines to facilitate credit utilities in rural areas. Enhancing President Manuel Roxas' policy of social justice to alleviate the lot of the common mass, President Quirino, almost immediately after assuming office, started a series of steps calculated to effectively ameliorate the economic condition of

11571-735: The forebears of the Cham people , an Austronesian-speaking people that founded the Old Champa empire that ruled what was known for centuries as the Champa Sea. In the Song Dynasty work Zhu fan zhi by Zhao Rugua , the name "Thousand Li Stretch of Sands" ( Qianli Changsha , 千里長沙 ) and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools/Beds" ( Wanli Shitang 萬里石塘 , or Wanli Shichuang 萬里 石 床 ) were given, interpreted by some to refer to Paracel and Spratly respectively. Wanli Shitang

11704-437: The government closer to the people, he revived President Quezon's "fireside chats", in which he enlightened the people on the activities of the Republic by the periodic radio broadcasts from Malacañang Palace. Riding on the crest of the growing wave of resentment against the Liberal Party, a move was next hatched to indict President Quirino himself. Led by Representative Agripino Escareal, a committee composed of seven members of

11837-525: The government. To promote the smooth restructuring of the Armed Forces of the Philippines , the military were made to undergo a reorganization. Battalion combat teams of 1,000 men each were established. Each operated independently of the High Command, except for overall coordination in operational plans. A total of 26 Battalion Combat Teams were put up. New army units were also established, such

11970-447: The group drowned in a typhoon. The following are political divisions for the Spratly Islands claimed by various area nations (in alphabetical order): In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratly Islands. Some Chinese scholars and officials argue that

12103-417: The increasing industrialisation of neighbouring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, over-exploitation of natural resources, and environmental pollution . Disruption of nesting areas by human activity and/or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle

12236-481: The independent South Korea. The United Nations immediately took up this challenge to the security of this part of the world. Carlos Romulo soon stood out as the most effective spokesman for the South Korean cause. On behalf of the government, Romulo offered to send a Philippine military contingent to be under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur , who had been named United Nations supreme commander for

12369-467: The installation of free Wi-Fi facilities at Pag-asa Intergrated School, Barangay Hall, and other sites on the Thitu Island. This has allowed children on the island to continue with their distance learning. By day, the residents get electricity from a power generator owned by the municipal government. By night, they shift to stored solar power that comes from 1.5-volt solar panels installed on

12502-482: The island as part of Freedomland . As of 2013 , Taiping Island is administered by Taiwan. After pulling out its garrison in 1950 when the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan, when the Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratly Islands and, Taiwan again regarrisoned Itu Aba in 1956. In 1946, the Americans allegedly reminded the Philippines at its independence that

12635-404: The island to change the shape and size of the island. For example, Spratly Island is larger during the northeast monsoon (about 700 by 300 metres (2,300 ft × 980 ft)), and smaller during the southwest monsoon (approximately 650 by 320 metres (2,130 ft × 1,050 ft)). Some islands may contain fresh groundwater fed by rain. Groundwater levels fluctuate during the day with

12768-480: The islands as resting, breeding, and wintering sites. Species found here include streaked shearwater ( Calonectris leucomelas ), brown booby ( Sula leucogaster ), red-footed booby ( S. sula ), great crested tern ( Sterna bergii ), and white tern ( Gygis alba ). Little information is available regarding the current status of the islands' seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting sites to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover

12901-426: The islands have a permanent drinkable water supply. Natural resources include fish, guano , oil and natural gas. Economic activity has included commercial fishing , shipping, guano mining, oil and gas exploitation, and more recently, tourism. The Spratly Islands are located near several primary shipping lanes. The islands and cays, listed in descending order of naturally occurring area, are: The total area of

13034-671: The islands to the government of the Philippines for one peso, after being imprisoned. In 1978, the Municipality of Kalayaan was created through Presidential Decree No. 1596 taking effect on June 11, 1978. This established what the document described as "a distinct and separate municipality of the Province of Palawan". PD 1596 defined the boundaries of the municipality as follows: i.e. 7º40'N 116º00'E; west to 7º40'N 112º10'E; north to 9º00'N 112º10'E; NE to 12º00'N 114º30'E; east to 12º00'N 118º00'E; south to 10º00'N 118º00'E; SW to 7º40'N 116º00'E. In 2009, Republic Act No. 9522, which defined

13167-435: The majority of Southwest Cay , a small island in the eastern Danger Zone. A variety of cetaceans such as dolphins , orcas , pilot whales , and sperm whales are also present around the islands. This ecoregion is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown. Political instability, tourism, and

13300-456: The mayor of the municipality at the time and a Smart Telecom executive. The company completed a maintenance visit to the cell site in 2011, thus ensuring continued operation of the facility. However, the cell site was inactive since 2015. On August 30, 2020, Smart Telecommunications repaired and upgraded its cell site for 4G/LTE services in Thitu Island (Pag-asa). In April 2021, the Department of Information and Communications Technology announced

13433-402: The municipality are generally flat. The highest ground elevation is approximately 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) above sea level. In the 2020 census, the population of Kalayaan was 193 people, with a density of 0.67 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1.7 inhabitants per square mile. The civilian population, which includes children, was introduced in 2001. Kalayaan municipality has an airstrip,

13566-646: The new government, he served as secretary of the interior and finance under the cabinet of President Manuel L. Quezon . After World War II, Quirino was elected vice-president in the April 1946 presidential election , consequently the second and last for the Commonwealth and first for the Third Republic . After the death of incumbent President Manuel Roxas in April 1948, he succeeded to the presidency. He won

13699-401: The new seaport and sheltered port in Thitu Island is completed and ready to operate by June 12. Smart Telecommunications established a cell site, connected to its main network via VSAT ( Very-small-aperture terminal ), on Thitu Island (Pag-asa) in 2005 making normal GSM-based cellphone communication with the island possible. The first call on the system took place on June 12 at 5:18 PM between

13832-482: The people. After periodic surprise visits to the slums of Manila and other backward regions of the country, President Quirino officially made public a seven-point program for social security which included the following: President Quirino also created the Social Security Commission and appointed Social Welfare Commissioner Asuncion Perez as its chairperson. This was followed by the creation of

13965-506: The presidency on April 17, 1948. She married Luis M. Gonzalez in 1950, who became Philippine ambassador to Spain from 1966 to 1971. Quirino was engaged in private law practice of until he was elected as member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Ilocos Sur's 1st congressional district from 1919 to 1922, succeeding Alberto Reyes. He served for only one term and was succeeded by Vicente Singson Pablo in 1922. Quirino

14098-653: The president and vice president of the Philippines and members of the Congress. In December 1945, the House Insular Affairs of the United States Congress approved the joint resolution setting the date of the election on not later than April 30, 1946. Prompted by this congressional action, President Sergio Osmeña called the Philippine Congress to a three-day special session. Congress enacted Commonwealth Act No. 725, setting

14231-686: The punitive expedition. The Philippines, thus, became the first country to join the United States in the offer of military assistance to beleaguered South Korea. President Quirino took the necessary steps to make the Philippine offer. On a purely voluntary basis, the first contingent – the Tenth Battalion Combat Team – was formed under Colonel Azurin, and dispatched to Korea, where its members quickly won much renown for their military skill and bravery. The name of Captain Jose Artiaga, Jr., heroically killed in action, stands out as

14364-504: The reason the world has heard little about the damage inflicted by the People's Republic of China to the reefs is that the experts can't get to them and noted "I have colleagues from the Philippines, Taiwan, PRC, Vietnam and Malaysia who have worked in the Spratly area. Most would not be able to get near the artificial islands except possibly some from PRC, and those would not be able to release their findings." Evidence of human presence in

14497-455: The region extends back nearly 50,000 years at Tabon Caves on Palawan. Therefore, it is difficult to say when humans first came upon this island group. Within historical times, several groups may have passed through or occupied the islands. Between 600 BC to 3 BC there was an east to west migration by members of the seafaring Sa Huỳnh culture . This may have led them through the Spratly Islands on their way to Vietnam. These migrants were

14630-564: The responsibilities of the Agricultural Machinery Equipment Corporation and the Rice and Corn Production Administration. To cope with the insistent clamor for government improvement, President Quirino created the Integrity Board to probe into reports of graft and corruption in high government positions. Vice President Fernando Lopez was most instrumental through his courageous exposés, in securing such

14763-774: The rhythm of the tides. Phosphates from bird faeces ( guano ) are mainly concentrated in the beach rocks by the way of exchange- endosmosis . The principal minerals bearing phosphate are podolite, lewistonite and dehonite. Coral reefs are the predominant structures of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total. In April 2015 the New York Times reported that China were using "scores of dredgers" to convert Fiery Cross Reef and several other reefs into military facilities. Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense monsoons . Larger islands are capable of supporting tropical forest , scrub forest , coastal scrub and grasses. It

14896-578: The rifting and later sea-floor spreading that created the South China Sea. During the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene additional stretching and block faulting of continental crust occurred within the Spratly Islands and adjacent Dangerous Ground. During and after this period of tectonic activity, corals and other marine life colonised the crests of the horsts and other ridges that lay in shallow water. The remains of these organisms accumulated over time as biogenic carbonates that comprise

15029-695: The same place as Thitu Island ). A number of maps of the South China Sea were later produced, but the first map that gives a reasonably accurate delineation of the Spratly Islands region (titled [South] China Sea, Sheet 1 ) was only published in 1821 by the hydrographer of the East India Company James Horsburgh after a survey by Captain Daniel Ross. A later 1859 edition of the map named the Spratly Island as Storm Island. The islands were sporadically visited throughout

15162-488: The seat of the municipal government. Besides Thitu Island, the municipality comprises six other islands: West York Island , Northeast Cay , Nanshan Island , Loaita Island , Flat Island (South China Sea) and Lankiam Cay (respectively locally named Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag and Panata), and three shoals or reefs: Irving Reef (Balagtas Reef), Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) and Commodore Reef (Rizal Reef). It

15295-439: The southeastern part of the Spratly Islands, which includes the uninhabited Louisa Reef . In 1939, the Spratly Islands were coral islets mostly inhabited by seabirds. Despite the Spratly Islands naturally consisting of 19 islands (see below) , according to a Chinese 1986 source, the Spratly Islands consist of 14 islands or islets, 6 banks, 113 submerged reefs, 35 underwater banks and 21 underwater shoals. The northeast part of

15428-473: The sovereignty of a nation over Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands. The official territories of the Philippines was again published in the 1808 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino and again in the 1875 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino , which continued to include the Kalayaan islands. After the Spanish-American War , Spain lost and ceded the territory of the Philippines to

15561-413: The status and ownership of reefs. Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino ( Tagalog: [kiˈɾino] ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur 's 1st district from 1919 to 1922. He

15694-574: The territory in maps compiled in 1724, 1755, 1767, 1810, and 1817, but did not officially claim jurisdiction over these islands. An early European map, A correct chart of the China Seas of 1758 by William Herbert, left the Spratly Islands region (known then as the Dangerous Ground) as largely blank, indicating that region has yet to be properly surveyed, although some islands and shoals at its western edge were marked (one appears at

15827-470: The territory of the Philippines, reiterated in a court memorandum that the 1875 Carta General del Archipielago Filipino "is both an American official and a Spanish official map" of Philippine territory, bounding the United States on its recognition of the Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands as Philippine territory. Under the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the 1935 Constitution

15960-572: The unforgivable'". All of the convicts were released by December 1953. They had been tried by the American-operated Philippine War Crimes Commission or Filipino civil courts. The pardons contributed to the reconciliation between the Philippines and Japan which eventually led to a friendly relationship. On June 25, 1950, the world was astonished to hear the North Korean aggression against

16093-478: The west of the dividing line and had Chinese inhabitants, to Vietnam. In 1933 and 1937 France sent diplomatic notes to China maintaining that the 1887 treaty determined the ownership of islands near the Móng Cái area only not anywhere beyond that. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also try to claim that a 1883 incident involving a German ship conducting surveys in the South China Sea without China's consent

16226-511: The whole world and the establishment of a separate government for the "Free Territory of Freedomland" with its capital on Flat Island (Patag Island). His declaration was met with violent and unfriendly reactions from several neighboring countries especially the Republic of China (ROC; on Taiwan since 1949), when it effectively garrisoned the nearby island of Itu Aba and intercepted Cloma's men and vessels found within its immediate waters on September 24, 1956. In 1974, Cloma ceded his rights over

16359-407: The wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques. A 2014 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report said: "Sand is rarer than one thinks". The average price of sand imported by Singapore

16492-778: Was US$ 3 per tonne from 1995 to 2001, but the price increased to US$ 190 per tonne from 2003 to 2005. Although the Philippines and China had both ratified the UNCLOS III, in the case of and Johnson South Reef , Hughes Reef , Mischief Reef , the PRC dredged sand for free in the EEZ the Philippines had claimed from 1978 arguing this is the "waters of China's Nansha Islands". Although the consequences of substrate mining are hidden, they are tremendous. Aggregate particles that are too fine to be used are rejected by dredging boats, releasing vast dust plumes and changing water turbidity. John McManus,

16625-452: Was adopted, reiterating the national territory of the Philippines, which included Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands. After regaining independence in 1946, the Philippines again asserted its claims to the Spratly islands. The Americans at the time discouraged the Philippines to avoid conflict with the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek, who was an ally of the United States. In 1946, Vice President Elpidio Quirino reiterated

16758-541: Was born on November 16, 1890, at the Vigan Provincial Jail in Vigan , Ilocos Sur . He was the third child of Mariano Quirino y Quebral of Caoayan , Ilocos Sur and Gregoria Rivera y Mendoza of Agoo , La Union . A Chinese mestizo descendant, Quirino was baptized on November 19, 1890. His daughter, Victoria , became the youngest hostess of Malacañang Palace , at 16 years old, when Quirino ascended to

16891-506: Was first elected as a senator from the 1st senatorial district in 1925. He was re-elected in 1931 and served until the bicameral Congress was abolished in favor of the unicameral National Assembly of the Philippines . He was later secured a comeback to the Senate in 1941, but was not able to serve until 1945 due to World War II . Soon after the reconstitution of the Commonwealth government in 1945, Senators Manuel Roxas , Quirino and their allies called for an early national election to choose

17024-407: Was held on May 11, 1992, where mostly young municipal officers under the leadership of Mayor Gil D. Policarpio served for nine years (1992-2001). A new administration assumed office on July 2, 2001, when Mayor Rosendo L. Mantes won the election on May 14, 2001. It was replaced by Mayor Eugenio B. Bito-onon Jr. who served from June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2016. The current mayor of the municipality

17157-404: Was named to the islands. In November 1946, the ROC sent naval ships to take control of the islands after the surrender of Japan . It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, Taiping Island , as its base, and it renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. Also following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the ROC re-claimed the entirety of

17290-594: Was none. A total of 2,927 marine species have been recorded in the Spratly Sea, including 776 benthic species, 382 species of hard coral, 524 species of marine fish, 262 species of algae and sea grass, 35 species of seabirds, and 20 species of marine mammals and sea turtles. Terrestrial vegetation in the islands includes 103 species of vascular plants of magnolia branches ( Magnoliophyta ) of 39 families and 79 genera. The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles. Both

17423-543: Was protested with Berlin and the Germans terminated the survey. Western scholars have determined, however, that this incident is not based on verifiable references and is inconsistent with other Chinese inaction during the same time period given that, in 1885, the German Admiralty published a two‐sheet chart entitled Die Paracel‐Inseln (The Paracel Islands). The chart documented the work of a German expedition to

17556-733: Was the first Airborne Unit, the Scout Rangers , the Canine Unit, and the Cavalry Unit. These units all showed considerable ability. After a sweep by the Liberals in 1949, many Filipinos doubted the election result. This brought a sweep by the Nacionalistas in the 1951 elections. There was a special election for the vacated Senate seat of Fernando Lopez , who won as vice president in 1949. The Liberals won no seats in

17689-504: Was then elected as a senator from 1925 to 1935. In 1934, he became a member of the Philippine Independence Commission that was sent to Washington, D.C. , which secured the passage of Tydings–McDuffie Act to the United States Congress . In 1935, he was also elected to the 1935 Constitutional Convention that drafted the 1935 Philippine Constitution for the newly established Philippine Commonwealth . In

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