China creates new map in the South China Sea amid tensions over disputed islands with the Philippines
Kyiv • UNN
The PRC publishes an updated map of Sansha with new designations for the Paracel and Spratly areas. These areas are the subject of territorial disputes between China and five neighboring countries.
The PRC defines new labels for the Paracel and Spratly districts, which were formally created in 2020 but have not yet appeared on maps.
Writes UNN with reference to Independent.
China has published an updated map of a southern city created to strengthen its claims in the South China Sea. The new designations are for the Paracel and Spratly districts, which were officially created in 2020 but have not appeared on maps until now.
Beijing released the geographic coordinates of 16 datum points around the shoal, the first official statement of baseline data for the area.
Sansha, China's southernmost city in Hainan, founded in 2012, controls disputed territories in the South China Sea, which are also claimed by neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has assigned regional codes to these two districts. The identifiers, used for census and administrative purposes, typically appear as the first six digits on the identity cards of residents born and registered in these areas.
Resource-rich and strategically important, Sansha has undergone significant development in recent years, with facilities such as banks and schools.
The City's jurisdiction covers more than 280 islands, shoals, reefs and related maritime features together with their surrounding waters totalling approximately 800,000 square miles of sea and land. The territory includes most of China's claims with nine strokes covering the Paracel, Spratly and Zhongsha Islands.
China began administering the territory back in 1959 when it established a party committee and government office on Woody Island. The committee and office were replaced by new municipal bodies in 2012 when the town of Sansha was established, leading to the creation of new local government structures.
