Macclesfield Bank

Being in the latitude 15° 48' N. and longitude 5° E. from Sapata, we having a greater ſea that common, we brought to, and ſounded, and had ground 123 fathom, whole and broken ſhells with pieces of coral; we then judged ourſelves on the Weſtermoſt part of Macclesfield Bank, and we afterwards ſounded in ſeventy five fathom, the ſame bottom. And in latitude 16° 04ʹ N. had forty-five fathom.

1773, Robert Bishop, The East India Navigator's Daily Assistant, →OCLC, page 61

We now ſteered South half Eaſt, with a freſh breeze from the Eaſt North Eaſt, without any occurrence worth remarking, till noon of the 15th ; when, being in latitude 18° 57', and longitude 114°13', the wind veering to the North, we directed our courſe half a point more to the Eaſtward, in order to ſtrike ſoundings over the Maccleſfield Bank. This we effected at eight in the evening of the 16th, and found the depth of water to be fifty fathoms, over a bottom of white ſand and ſhells. This part of the Macclesfied^([sic – meaning Macclesfield]) Shoals we placed in latitude 15° 51', and longitude 114° 20'; which agrees very exactly with the poſition given in Mr. Dalrymple's map, whoſe general accuracy, if it ſtood in need of any ſupport, was confirmed, in this inſtance, by a great number of lunar obſervations, which we had an opportunity of making every day ſince we left the Typa.

1784, James King, A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of His Majesty, for Making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. […], volume III, London: […] W[illiam] and A. Strahan; for G[eorge] Nicol, […]; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, pages 448–449

In leaving the Grand Ladrone, ſhips always endeavour to ſtrike ſoundings on the Macclesfield Bank : ſometimes they are diſappointed ; and when that has been the caſe, all the journals I have ſeen ſhew them to have paſſed to the eaſtward of it.

1795, George Robertson, Memoir of a Chart of the China Sea, 2nd, corrected edition, →OCLC, page 4

In section C the slope of the plateau continues gradual to a depth of 30 fathoms, and in this respect is similar to the Macclesfield Bank. The Macclesfield Bank (Pl. XIV.) is situated 300 miles to the north of the Tizard ; it is 76 miles in length and 36 broad. — This bank is entirely submerged; the shallowest portion of the rim is 9 fathoms beneath the surface, and inside the bank the depth is from 40 to 50 fathoms.[...] It will be seen from the subjoined tabular list that 129 species of Madrepore corals (Hydrocorallines and Alcyonarians are not here included) have been determined from the Tizard and Macclesfield Banks; of this number 99 species are from the Tizard and 26 from the Macclesfield Bank, whilst 4 only are common to both.

1890 November, P. W. Bassett-Smith, “Report on the Corals from the Tizard and Macclesfield Banks, China Sea”, in The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, number 35, →OCLC, page 356

Although Vietnam, the PRC, and the ROC all claim the Paracel and Spratly Islands in their entirety (along with Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei, which claim parts or all of the Spratleys), Vietnam does not claim Macclesfield Bank or Scarborough Shoal, which lie further to the east or north of those island groups. The Philippines, however, does dispute both of these geologic features with China.

2014 June, Clarence J. Bouchat, The Paracel Islands and U.S. Interests and Approaches in the South China Sea, Carlisle, PA: United States Army War College Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 162

The Chungsha group, also known as Macclesfield Bank, just southeast of the Sisha, consists merely of a group of underwater reefs and sandbanks.

1956, Theodore Shabad, “The Kwangtung-Kwangsi Hills”, in China's Changing Map: A Political and Economic Geography of the Chinese People's Republic, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 169

The ownership of the Pratas Reef and the Macclesfield Bank, both situated closer to China than either Vietnam or the Philippines and smaller than the other two groups, has not been contested; they are Chinese, although with respect to the Macclesfield Bank, it is questionable how to own what lies underwater.[...]The Macclesfield Bank (Chungsha ch’ün-tao) consists of 24 shoals, 3 reefs and 2 banks, all of which are under water.

1974, United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, “Fact Sheet from Embassy of the Republic of Viet-Nam Information Office, Washington D.C., January 28, 1974, Entitled "The Sovereignty of the Republic of Viet-Nam Over the Archipelago of Hoang Sa (Paracels)"”, in Oil and Asian Rivals, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, pages 428, 458

The shoals and reefs of Zhongsha (or the Macclesfield Bank) do not emerge even at low water. It does, however, serve as a mid-sea anchorage area. The Chinese (and Taiwanese) assumption of territoriality—even to the extent of naming the submerged formations—provides a reference point for contiguous water and seabed claims.

1987, Donald E. Weatherbee, “The South China Sea: From Zone of Conflict to Zone of Peace?”, in Lawrence E. Grinter, Young Whan Kihl, editors, East Asian Conflict Zones: Prospects for Regional Stability and Deescalation, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 126

Moscow’s growing relationship with India and its military occupation of Afghanistan proceeded as though Communist China did not exist. The USSR has settled into military bases in Southeast Asia, and its navy uses the Macclesfield Bank as a mid-sea anchorage, despite Communist China’s complaints.

1987, A. James Gregor, “U.S. China Policy and Asian Security”, in Arming the Dragon: U.S. Security Ties With the People's Republic of China, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 110

In addition, the Philippines claimed that it had sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal in the Chungsha Islands (Macclesfield Bank), and demanded that China respect its rights and freedom of navigation in the region and abide by the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, COLREG).[…] The Philippines has argued that it has sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal in the Chungsha Islands (Macclesfield Bank).

高聖惕

2016 May 24, Michael Gau [高聖惕], “Why Does China Ignore South China Sea Arbitration Brought By the Philippines?”, in Kuomintang Official Website, sourced from United Daily News, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2024, General News