Spratly Islands

On the other hand, two moves by Japan during this period may have a certain significance. The first was announcement of Japanese occupation of the Spratly islands on March 31, complemented by the annexation, on April 18, of a group of reefs and islets 300 miles long between French Indo-China, the Philippines and British North Borneo in the South China Sea.[…] The line of least resistance, however, clearly lies toward the south. France and Britain, in particular, would have small military and naval forces at their disposal to protect their eastern possession; or the oil of the Dutch East Indies—for Japan the greatest prize of all. The occupation of Hainan and the Spratly islands has already pointed the way. Only one serious obstacle threatens attainment of this objective: the United States.

1939 April 21, T. A. Bisson, “Roosevelt Appeal Jolts Dictators”, in Foreign Policy Bulletin, volume XVIII, number 26, Foreign Policy Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 2-3

Japan has strengthened its naval position during the war by occupying Hainan Island, located midway between Hong Kong and French Indo-China and squarely athwart the sea route from Hong Kong to Singapore, and the Spratly Islands, off the coast of Indo-China, a little group of coral reefs which may be useful as advanced submarine bases.[…] Japan remained relatively passive during the first weeks of the new crisis generated by Hitler’s eastward march and the efforts of Great Britain to forge a wall of resistance among the East European countries. The seizure of the Spratly Islands, a small group of coral reefs off the southeastern coast of Indo-China, was a minor operation, although this would certainly not have taken place if France had not been too much concerned in Europe to assert its right of ownership over the Spratly group.

1942, William Henry Chamberlin, “Can Japan Rule East Asia?”, in Japan Over Asia, Revised and Enlarged edition, Garden City, NY: Blue Ribbon Books, →OCLC, pages 424, 430

In the eastern hemisphere the Japanese occupied the island of Hainan off French Indo-China; annexed the Spratly islands further south, between Indo-China and Borneo; and continued local gains in north China.

1945 January 20, “Seven New Year's Days”, in Army Talks, volume III, number 2, page 5

The Spratly Islands in the South China Sea are still occupied by troops of the Republic of China, according to Major General Li Chang-hao, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense.

1975 May 11, “ROC still holds Spratly Islands; no Red challenge”, in Free China Weekly, volume XVI, number 18, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1

As far as can be determined, all of the Spratly Islands are capped by active coral reef and there are no other rock outcrops. Most of the ‘islands’ are under water at high tide, but some maintain a partial low elevation of a rim surrounding a lagoon, in which case they are sparsely vegetated and inhabited by sea birds. There are no indigenous human inhabitants, but tourists visit for diving and fishing and the military occupy many for territorial claims.

2010 October 9, Charles S. Hutchison, V.R. Vijayan, “What are the Spratly Islands?”, in Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, volume 39, number 5, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC