Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery2018.2(2):210-214

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Citation:Tang, M.Spatial Dataset of the Islands and Reefs Occupied by Vietnam in the South China Sea[J]. Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery,2018.2(2):210-214 .DOI: 10.3974/geodp.2018.02.14 .

Spatial Dataset of the Islands and Reefs Occupied by Vietnam in the South China Sea

Tang, M.

Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China

 

 

Abstract: Spatial and geographical information of 29 islands and reefs (including 4 islands, 15 reefs, 3 sandbanks, 5 shoals and 2 underwater shoals) in South China Sea occupied by Vietnam during 1972-1998 was collected in the dataset. In which, there are 9 islands during the 1970s (Hongxiu Dao, Anbo Shazhou, Dunqian Shazhou, Jinghong Dao, Nanwei Dao, Nanzi Dao, Bisheng Jiao, Ranqing Shazhou, Zhong Jiao), 13 during the 1980s (Bolan Jiao, Daxian Jiao, Dong Jiao, Guihan Jiao, Liumen Jiao, Nailuo Jiao, Nanhua Jiao, Riji Jiao, Wumie Jiao, Xi Jiao, Bo Jiao, Qiong Jiao, Wanan Jiao), and 7 during the 1990s (Guangya Jiao, Pengbobao Jiao, Renjun Tan, Lizhun Tan, Xiwei Tan, Aonan Ansha, Jindun Ansha). The dataset is archived in .shp and .kmz formats with the data size of 6.5 KB after compression.

Keywords: Nansha Islands; Vietnam; islands and reefs; occupy; 1973-1998

1 Introduction                            

The Nansha Islands located in the south-eastern South China Sea (SCS), including Xiongnan Tan (11°57′00″N, 116°40′00″E) in the north, Zengmu Ansha (03°57′44″N-03°59′00″N, 112°16′25″E-112°17′10″E) in the south, Wanan Tan (07°32′00″N, 109°30′00″E) in the west and Haima Tan (10°43′00″N-10°51′00″N, 117°44′00″E-117°50′00″E) in the east, and covering an area of 823,000 km2. Totally, there are 287 islands and channels distributed along the N-S three-steps continental slope[1–2].

Chinese people have a long history using the SCS as a fishing ground and as an important pass way to other countries. Marine products from the SCS were found in historical records since the Three-Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.). Trade routes between Southeast Asian countries gradually emerged during the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. to 220 A.D.) by using the SCS. More important shipping routes were developed across the SCS during the Jin to Tang Dynasty (226-907 A.D.), as the rise in the Buddhist culture increased the demand to import Indian scriptures by sea. New trade routes to Southeast Asia, India, and Africa were opened up through the SCS as a result of Zheng He’s seven voyages (1405-1433 A.D.) in the Ming Dynasty.

The modern geological surveys and studies on SCS started in the1980s[3–4], mainly focused on the natural geographic environment[5–6], coral reef geomorphology[7–9], back-arc basin geological history[10–11], semi-quantitative analysis of economic, political, and natural value of Nansha Islands[12], and engineering geology studies[13]. Calculation of strategic value and analysis of the development potential were based on geographic parameters such as location, size, and water depth. Spatial interpolation, reclassification and grid calculation were operated in ArcGIS10.1. The results provide rational support for asserting maritime rights and interests and solving the South China Sea dispute[14].

2 Metadata of Dataset

Table 1 summaries the metadata of the spatial distribution dataset of the islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam in South China Sea, including: dataset full name, dataset short name, author, study area, publish and shared service platform and policy, etc.

Table 1  Metadata summary of spatial distribution dataset of the islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam in South China Sea[15]

Item

Description

Dataset full name

Spatial dataset of the islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam in the South China Sea

Dataset short name

29IslandsReefsInNanshaIslands(1973-1998)

Authors

Meng, T. M-4463-2016, Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing University, tame159@qq.com

Geographical region

South China Sea (5°N-12°N, 109°E-114°E)

Data Time

1973-1998

Data Formats

.kmz, .shp

Data Size

.kmz (3.60 KB), .shp (2.90 KB) (after compression)

Data files

Data stored as .shp files in the dataset are correlated to .kmz format in Google Earth

Foundation(s)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (2016ZWH005A-005)

Data publisher

Global Change Research Data Publishing and Repository, http://www.geodoi.ac.cn

Address

No. 11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China

Data sharing policy

Data from the Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository includes metadata, datasets (data products), and publications (in this case, in the Journal of Global Change Data & Discovery). Data sharing policy includes: (1) Data are openly available and can be free downloaded via the Internet; (2) End users are encouraged to use Data subject to citation; (3) Users, who are by definition also value-added service providers, are welcome to redistribute Data subject to written permission from the GCdataPR Editorial Office and the issuance of a Data redistribution license, and; (4) If Data are used to compile new datasets, the ‘ten percent principal’ should be followed such that Data records utilized should not surpass 10% of the new dataset contents, while sources should be clearly noted in suitable places in the new dataset16]

3 Methods

Sea bed morphology was based on interpolation of water depths and isobaths extracted from 11 charts (Table 2) by ArcGIS 10.1, in Mercator projection and CGCS 2000 coordinate system. Precise proportion of islands and reefs, and occupied date were from the literature[1213].

Table 2  Information on maritime charts in this study[14]

Chart ID

Publication date

Projection

Scale

Chart name

18100

Jan. 2013

Mercator
projection

1??250,000 (12°)

Shuangziqun Jiao to Zhenhequn Jiao

18102

Jun. 2012

Wanan Tan to Guangya Tan

18103

Jan. 2013

Huanglu Jiao to Nanan Jiao

18104

Mar. 2013

Zengmu Ansha and Approaches

18200

Jan. 2013

Liyue Tan

18300

Feb. 2013

Yongshu Jiao to Yinqing Qunjiao

18400

Mar. 2013

Zhenghe Qunjiao to Yongshu Jiao

18500

Feb. 2013

Nanfang Qiantan to Haikou Jiao

18600

Dec. 2012

Yinqing Qunjiao to Nanwei Tan

18700

Feb. 2013

Wumie Jiao to Huanglu Jiao

18800

Jan. 2013

Haikou Jiao to Yuya Ansha

4 Results and Verification

4.1 Results

(1) Spatial Distribution

This study covered the area ranging from 7°N-12°N and 109°E-115°E, containing 29 islands and reefs (4 islands, 15 reefs, 3 sandbanks, 5 shoals, and 2 underwater shoals).

Figure 1  Location of islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam in the South China Sea[15]

(2) Occupation Process

Islands and sandbanks with good living conditions were occupied first. Reefs and shoals were occupied later by constructing simple blockhouses during 1988-1990, and underwater shoals were the last to be occupied (Table 3).

Table 3  Types and date of occupation of islands and reefs[14]

Name

Type

Longitude (E)

Latitude (N)

Year of

occupied

Hongxiu Dao

Island

114°21′29″

10°10′59″

1973

Nanzi Dao

Island

114°19′19″

11°25′30″

1973

Dunqian Shazhou

Sandbank

114°28′0″

10°22′59″

1973

Jinghong Dao

Island

114°19′59″

9°52′59″

1973

Nanwei Dao

Island

111°54′39″

8°39′0″

1973

Anbo Shazhou

Sandbank

112°54′42″

7°52′12″

1973

Ranqing Shazhou

Sandbank

114°34′0″

9°54′0″

1978

Zhong Jiao

Reef

112°22′0″

8°55′59″

1978

Bisheng Jiao

Reef

113°42′0″

8°58′0″

1978

Nailuo Jiao

Reef

114°17′26″

11°23′9″

1988

Daxian Jiao

Reef

113°52′30″

10°4′0″

1988

Bolan Jiao

Reef

114°34′0″

10°24′39″

1988

Guihan Jiao

Reef

114°15′0″

9°45′0″

1988

Dong Jiao

Reef

112°36′29″

8°49′0″

1988

Xi Jiao

Reef

112°14′30″

8°51′0″

1988

Riji Jiao

Reef

111°40′29″

8°39′29″

1988

Liumen Jiao

Reef

113°58′29″

8°48′0″

1988

Nanhua Jiao

Reef

114°10′59″

8°43′0″

1988

Wumie Jiao

Reef

114°39′29″

8°51′29″

1988

Qiong Jiao

Reef

114°22′0″

9°46′0″

1989

Wanan Tan

Shoal

109°46′30″

7°30′0″

1990

Bo Jiao

Reef

113°19′0″

8°5′30″

1987

Guangya Tan

Shoal

110°31′0″

8°7′59″

1990

Renjun Tan

Shoal

110°36′29″

8°0′0″

1990

Pengbobao Jiao

Reef

111°44′30″

7°56′30″

1989

Lizhun Tan

Shoal

110°28′29″

7°48′0″

1991

Xiwei Tan

Shoal

109°58′0″

7°52′0″

1991

Jindun Ansha

Shoal (underwater)

111°31′59″

7°31′59″

1998

Aonan Ansha

Shoal (underwater)

111°45′0″

7°42′0″

1998

4.2 Spatial Verification with Google Earth Image

The correlation between this dataset and Google Earth is shown in Figure 2. The data points are shown as yellow pins overlapping with the Google Earth image.

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Figure 2  Data overlaid on Google Earth image

References

[1]       Zhao, H. T. Physical Geography of Nansha Islands [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 1996: 35-60.

[2]       Wang, Y. China Marine Geography [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 1996: 74-87.

[3]       Chinese Academy of Sciences. Report on the comprehensive survey of Spratly Islands and its adjacent sea area (Vol. 1) [R]. Beijing: Science Press, 1989: 11-106.

[4]       Chinese Academy of Sciences. Report on the Comprehensive Survey of Spratly Islands and its adjacent sea area (Vol. 2) [R]. Beijing: Science Press, 1989: 15-53.

[5]       Chen, S. J. The natural survey of Spratly Islands [J]. Marine Science Bulletin, 1982(1): 52-58.

[6]       Zhao, H. T. Integrated physical geographical regionalization of the Nansha Islands [J]. Tropical Geography, 1982, 16(4): 304-309.

[7]       Zhao, H. T, Song, C. J., Zhu, Y. Z. Geomorphic and modern sedimentary features of coral reefs in the hinterland of ‘dangerous ground’, Nansha Islands [J]. Quaternary Sciences, 1992, 12(4): 368-377.

[8]       Zhao, H. T., Song, C. J., Lu, B. A preliminary exposition of coral reef engineering geology [J]. Journal of Engineering Geology, 1996, 4(1): 86-90.

[9]       Zhao, H. T., Wang, L. R., Song, C. J. Geomorphological model of coral reefs in the South China Sea [J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2014, 36(9): 112-120.

[10]    Zhao, H. T., Zhu, Y. Z., Sha, Q. A. A study on the quaternary system of Yongshu Reef in Nansha Islands. Tropical Geography, 1994, 14(2): 97-104.

[11]    Zhao, H. T., Wen, X. S., Sun, Z. X., et al. Regional geology, geomorphology and paleooceanography of the Nansha Islands [J]. Tropical Geography, 1995, 15(2): 128-137.

[12]    Zhang, H. X. Strategic value evaluation of Nansha Islands, South China Sea [D]. Nanjing: Nanjing University, 2014: 25-157.

[13]    Wang, Z. X. Study on engineering geological properties of coral reefs and feasibility of large project construction on Nansha Islands [D]. Wuhan: Institute of rock and soil mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2008: 25-150.

[14]    Tang, M. Spatial distribution characteristic and strategic situation of the islands and reefs Invaded by Vietnam in the Chinese Nansha Islands [J]. Tropical Geography, 2015, 35(5): 739-744.

[15]    Tang, M. Spatial dataset of the islands and reefs occupied by Vietnam in the South China Sea [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2016. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.2016.02.19.V1.

[16]    GCdataPR Editorial Office. GCdataPR data sharing policy [OL]. DOI: 10.3974/dp.policy.2014.05 (Updated 2017).

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