Thitu Island

About

Thitu Island, also known as Pag-asa Island (Filipino: Pulo ng Pag-asa, lit. 'Island of Hope'), Đảo Thị Tứ (Vietnamese: Đảo Thị Tứ) and Zhongye Island (/, pinyin: Zhōngyè Dǎo), is the second largest of the naturally occurring islands in Spratly Islands, having an area of 37.2 hectares (92 acres). It lies about 500 kilometers (310 mi) west of Puerto Princesa. Its neighbors are the North Danger Reef to the north, Subi Reef to the southwest, and the Loaita and Tizard Banks to the south. The island served as the poblacion (administrative center) of the Kalayaan municipality of Palawan province in the Philippines, it also administers nearly a dozen other islets, cays and reefs in the Spratly Islands. The island is 270 nautical miles (500 km, 310 mi) west from Palawan, Philippines. In 1971, following a storm on the island, the island was seized by the Philippines from the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is administered by the Philippines as a part of the Kalayaan municipality of Palawan Province. In May 2020, the island's new sheltered port and harbor were built, as well as a beaching ramp at the tip of the airstrip. In early 2023, the concreting of the runway was completed. Civilian infrastructure on the island include the airstrip, a lighthouse, a 5-bed lying-in clinic, a communication tower powered by Smart, and a small integrated elementary and high school. The island is t

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