Introduction
The Paracel Islands are surrounded by productive fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves. In 1932, French Indochina annexed the islands and set up a weather station on Pattle Island. China has occupied all the Paracel Islands since 1974, when its troops seized a South Vietnamese garrison occupying the western islands. China has built a military installation on Woody Island with an airfield and artificial harbor, and it has scattered garrisons on some of the other islands. Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the Paracel Islands.
Geography
- Land
- 7.75 sq km ca.
- Total
- 8 sq km ca.
- Water
- 0 sq km
land area is about 13 times the size of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
tropical
518 km
- Highest point
- unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m
- Lowest point
- South China Sea 0 m
16 30 N, 112 00 E
composed of 130 small coral islands and reefs divided into the northeast Amphitrite Group and the western Crescent Group
0 sq km (2022)
- Total
- 0 km
- Other
- 100% (2018 est.)
Southeastern Asia, group of small islands and reefs in the South China Sea, about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines
Southeast Asia
typhoons
none
a population of over 1,000 Chinese resides on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels; there are scattered Chinese garrisons on some other islands
mostly low and flat
People and Society
-0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
- Total
- 2,230 (2024 est.)
0.75% (2021 est.)
Government
- Conventional long form
- none
- Conventional short form
- Paracel Islands
Transportation
2 (2025)
7 (2025)
Military and Security
occupied by China, which is assessed to maintain 20 outposts or bases in the Paracels (Antelope, Bombay, and North reefs; Drummond, Duncan, Lincoln, Middle, Money, North, Pattle, Quanfu, Robert, South, Tree, Triton, Woody, and Yagong islands; South Sand and West Sand; Observation Bank); Woody Island is the main military base and includes an airstrip with aircraft hangers, naval facilities, surveillance radars, and defenses such as surface-to-air missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles (2025)
Environment
harm to reef systems from China's use of dredged sand and coral to build artificial islands; damage to ecosystem from human activities, including military operations, infrastructure construction, and tourism