Fiery Cross Reef

About

Fiery Cross Reef, also known as "Northwest Investigator Reef", Mandarin; pinyin: Yǒngshǔ Jiāo; Kagitingan Reef (Filipino: Bahura ng Kagitingan, lit. 'Reef of Valor'); Vietnamese: Đá Chữ Thập, is a militarized reef controlled and administered by China (PRC) as part of Sansha of Hainan Province and is also claimed by the Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), the Philippines and Vietnam. The atoll was named after the British tea clipper Fiery Cross, which was wrecked on the atoll on 4 March 1860. (A later sister ship was also named Fiery Cross). The atoll was surveyed by Lieutenant J. W. Reed of HMS Rifleman, who in 1867 reported it to be one extensive reef, and found the apparent wrecks of Fiery Cross and Meerschaum. In December 1934 the 'Land and Water Maps Inspection Committee' of the government of the China copied the English name "Fiery Cross Reef" and translated it as / Shizi huo jiao (literally Fire Cross Reef). This name was published on an official list of names in January 1935. In 1947, it was renamed "Yongshu Reef" by the government. At that time, Chinese fishermen called it "Tuwu". The atoll was occupied by China (PRC) in early 1988, despite immediate opposition from Vietnam, which led to armed conflict at Johnson Reef South in March of that year. In 2014, the PRC commenced reclamation activity in the area, and it has been converted into an artificial island of 27

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.