Union Banks, Johnson South Reef, Sin Cowe, Hughes Reef, Whitsun Reef, Spratly Islands
Updated August 29, 2024 using analysis from Copernicus Browser, Sentinel-2 imagery and Maxar Xpress (evaluation site).
West of Mischief Reef and east of Fiery Cove Reef, we see an important atoll and shoal structure called Union Banks. It has many reefs and reclamation areas. It looks to have both Vietnamese and Chinese operated islands, based on Maxar Xpress data.
This is a significant reef structure with small reefs that are not in a contiguous atoll. We see four islands developed around a single reef and approximately 20 additional land and reef masses. This is a 34.5 mile in diameter reef system. Union Banks has 24 distinct formations, including Sin Cowe island, Whitsun Reef, and Hughes reef. To the northwest we see Sin Cowe Island. We will start at the South West and work our way around, then visit Sin Cowe.
West of Mischief Reef and east of Fiery Cove Reef, we see an important atoll and shoal structure called Union Banks. It has many reefs and reclamation areas. It looks to have both Vietnamese and Chinese operated islands, based on Maxar Xpress data.
This is a significant reef structure with small reefs that are not in a contiguous atoll. We see four islands developed around a single reef and approximately 20 additional land and reef masses. This is a 34.5 mile in diameter reef system. Union Banks has 24 distinct formations, including Sin Cowe island, Whitsun Reef, and Hughes reef. To the northwest we see Sin Cowe Island. We will start at the South West and work our way around, then visit Sin Cowe.
Johnson South Reef, China
Johnson South Reef a.k.a. Chigua Jiao (Chinese), Mabini Reef (Philippines) and Da Gac Ma (Vietnamese). According to Wikipedia, this island is occupied by the PRC, but is also claimed by Philippines, ROC and Vietnam./ It is just Southeast of Collins Reef, which is occupied by Vietnam.
Johnson South Reef, has a well developed, man-made island divided into four quadrants by roads based on Copernicus Browser Sentinel-2 L1C imagery from 7/31/2024. It is 461 meters long. Just north of the island we saw a navigation tower and a ship. The island is approached from a channel dug into the interior of the reef.
The island itself has a few tall structures, two balls on towers, a navigation light, a dock, and a helipad. Not much else, this looks like a work yard with one large building complex, and a port with a large crane. Location: 9°42'57"N 114°17’11"E. Looks like a transit yard. Satellite Imagery 11/6/2015, or ~9 years ago. It looks like a small, well-defended workyard in the middle of the ocean. There was a military skirmish over this island on March 14, 1988 between China and Vietnam since Vietnam at the time occupied islands in the Union Banks such as Sin Cowe Island.
It does have one of those buildings we have seen before in the Spratly Islands with turrets attached to the corners (this time only two on the sides closest to the water), and a ramp leading into the building above ground level, and a significant and multi-floor courtyard. Island diameter: 0.33 miles.
Johnson South Reef a.k.a. Chigua Jiao (Chinese), Mabini Reef (Philippines) and Da Gac Ma (Vietnamese). According to Wikipedia, this island is occupied by the PRC, but is also claimed by Philippines, ROC and Vietnam./ It is just Southeast of Collins Reef, which is occupied by Vietnam.
Johnson South Reef, has a well developed, man-made island divided into four quadrants by roads based on Copernicus Browser Sentinel-2 L1C imagery from 7/31/2024. It is 461 meters long. Just north of the island we saw a navigation tower and a ship. The island is approached from a channel dug into the interior of the reef.
The island itself has a few tall structures, two balls on towers, a navigation light, a dock, and a helipad. Not much else, this looks like a work yard with one large building complex, and a port with a large crane. Location: 9°42'57"N 114°17’11"E. Looks like a transit yard. Satellite Imagery 11/6/2015, or ~9 years ago. It looks like a small, well-defended workyard in the middle of the ocean. There was a military skirmish over this island on March 14, 1988 between China and Vietnam since Vietnam at the time occupied islands in the Union Banks such as Sin Cowe Island.
It does have one of those buildings we have seen before in the Spratly Islands with turrets attached to the corners (this time only two on the sides closest to the water), and a ramp leading into the building above ground level, and a significant and multi-floor courtyard. Island diameter: 0.33 miles.
According to Wikipedia, in 1987 the ROC had a South China Sea island under occupation, but the PRC did not. That was to change under a UN IUNESCO IOC mandate to establish an observation post in the South China Sea. At that time, Johnson South Reef and Fiery Cross Reef were potential PRC islands, along with Mischief Reef a few years later in 1994.
Johnson South Reef has a past between China and Vietnam, and a series of armed battles and skirmishes culminating in the March 14, 1998 skirmish between naval and marine forces. By the end, China had killed approximately 70 Vietnamese naval personnel and established control over the island. According to Wikipedia, the Vietnamese were inhabiting and creating presence and territorial domain over the islands of Union Banks, and nearby on islands such as Fiery Cross (also currently occupied by China), when China started establishing their own outposts. This was based on the 14th UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanogfraphic Commission (IOC) that ordered that China establish five observation posts for worldwide ocean survey, including one in the Spratly Islands in 1987.
In 1994, according to Wikipedia, a similar confrontation occurred when China assetted its ownership of Mischief Reef against the Philippines. In this case, the Philippines made a political protest and did not engage militarily, and now Mischief Reef is a fully militarized PRC island.
Johnson South Reef has a past between China and Vietnam, and a series of armed battles and skirmishes culminating in the March 14, 1998 skirmish between naval and marine forces. By the end, China had killed approximately 70 Vietnamese naval personnel and established control over the island. According to Wikipedia, the Vietnamese were inhabiting and creating presence and territorial domain over the islands of Union Banks, and nearby on islands such as Fiery Cross (also currently occupied by China), when China started establishing their own outposts. This was based on the 14th UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanogfraphic Commission (IOC) that ordered that China establish five observation posts for worldwide ocean survey, including one in the Spratly Islands in 1987.
In 1994, according to Wikipedia, a similar confrontation occurred when China assetted its ownership of Mischief Reef against the Philippines. In this case, the Philippines made a political protest and did not engage militarily, and now Mischief Reef is a fully militarized PRC island.
There are reclamation effort underway on Union Banks. These other islands are most likely Vietnamese.
Collins Reef
Moving north, we see infrastructure only (a pair of structures connected by a bridge) on Collins Reef, Vietnam, which shows a small spit of sandy reclamation and the two infrastructure elements are accessed via two navigation channels cut into the reef on the northern half. This is still true as of 7/31/2024 Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery.
Gent Reef has a small, sandy cay. Both have satellite imagery dated 2/10/2021, Northeast of Gent is Loveless Reef, which also has a little sandy patch in the reef. Satellite imagery also dated 2/10/2021. This is still the case as of 7/31/2024 from Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery.
Then we pass Sin Cowe, Sinh Ton Vietnam, to the Northeast. Then East of Sin Cowe we have Edmund Reef with a tiny sand spot dated 3/9/2021. Moving East further is McKennan Reef, which is a sand spit of land that looks like an ear, dated 3/9/2021. Some of these locations, such as Collins Reef, have navigation channels carved into the reefs near the infrastructure elements.
Collins Reef
Moving north, we see infrastructure only (a pair of structures connected by a bridge) on Collins Reef, Vietnam, which shows a small spit of sandy reclamation and the two infrastructure elements are accessed via two navigation channels cut into the reef on the northern half. This is still true as of 7/31/2024 Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery.
Gent Reef has a small, sandy cay. Both have satellite imagery dated 2/10/2021, Northeast of Gent is Loveless Reef, which also has a little sandy patch in the reef. Satellite imagery also dated 2/10/2021. This is still the case as of 7/31/2024 from Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery.
Then we pass Sin Cowe, Sinh Ton Vietnam, to the Northeast. Then East of Sin Cowe we have Edmund Reef with a tiny sand spot dated 3/9/2021. Moving East further is McKennan Reef, which is a sand spit of land that looks like an ear, dated 3/9/2021. Some of these locations, such as Collins Reef, have navigation channels carved into the reefs near the infrastructure elements.
Sin Cowe Island, Sinh Ton, Vietnam, on Union Bank.
Sin Cowe, a.k.a., Sinh Ton Island or Dao Sinh Ton (Vietnamese), Rurok Island or Island of Peak (Philippines), and Jinghong Dao (Chinese) is occupied by Vietnam. It is also claimed by PRC, Philippines and ROC.
Sin Cowe island has a protected bay / cove and a small island around it on 3.5 sides. I am struck by how much this island is focused on providing a protected cove, pier, and two launch ramps into the water. Most of the land reclaimed looks to be empty, thank you Maxar Xpress.
It sits atop a much larger, shallow shoal so we would expect over it to grow through land reclamation. Satellite imagery 3/9/2021. It is almost a perfect 0.31 mile square. It has a helipad, and most of the land is not yet developed. We see a seawall surrounding the entire island, and two ships tied up at the dock. The buildings look somewhat random and non-descript.
Location: 9°53'08"N 114°19’46”E.
After zooming in, we see that about half the island is undeveloped, and the other has about 30 structures on it, and a good landscaping of trees, in an otherwise sandy island. The island has a single helipad. The dock facilities look small, and we see two ships moored together, side by side, at the one pier space.
According to Wikipedia, there is both a civilian and military population.
Sin Cowe Island, or Sinh Ton Commune, is shown by Sentinel-2 L1C in very low resolution as being more mature, with more greenery and slightly more density in the buildings.
Sin Cowe, a.k.a., Sinh Ton Island or Dao Sinh Ton (Vietnamese), Rurok Island or Island of Peak (Philippines), and Jinghong Dao (Chinese) is occupied by Vietnam. It is also claimed by PRC, Philippines and ROC.
Sin Cowe island has a protected bay / cove and a small island around it on 3.5 sides. I am struck by how much this island is focused on providing a protected cove, pier, and two launch ramps into the water. Most of the land reclaimed looks to be empty, thank you Maxar Xpress.
It sits atop a much larger, shallow shoal so we would expect over it to grow through land reclamation. Satellite imagery 3/9/2021. It is almost a perfect 0.31 mile square. It has a helipad, and most of the land is not yet developed. We see a seawall surrounding the entire island, and two ships tied up at the dock. The buildings look somewhat random and non-descript.
Location: 9°53'08"N 114°19’46”E.
After zooming in, we see that about half the island is undeveloped, and the other has about 30 structures on it, and a good landscaping of trees, in an otherwise sandy island. The island has a single helipad. The dock facilities look small, and we see two ships moored together, side by side, at the one pier space.
According to Wikipedia, there is both a civilian and military population.
Sin Cowe Island, or Sinh Ton Commune, is shown by Sentinel-2 L1C in very low resolution as being more mature, with more greenery and slightly more density in the buildings.
Hughes Reef, Dongmen Jiao, China
Hughes Reef a.k.a. Dongmen Jiao (PRC), da Tu Nghia (Vietnamese) is maintained and operated by China. It is claimed by the PRC, ROC, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to Wikipedia.
This is a small island (0.39 mile diameter from East to West) with a significant dock, three radomes, a tall radio tower, a helipad, a navigation light, and one of those buildings with the four turrets sticking out of the corners (with cannons on the four roofs), the ramp leading up into the building above the ground floor, and a significant courtyard. Satellite Imagery is dated 3/9/2021, and the location is 9°54'35"N 114°29'43"E.
Hughes Reef has a significant protected cove shaped like a dogleg right that is marked by navigation lights before getting to the island. There is a major port off the eastern side of the island, named Dongmen Port.
There is one building complex and four tall, raised anti-aircraft cannon turrets at the corners, and the island has a concrete pier, three radomes on towers, and some navigation lights. It also has a helipad.
We notice a rectangular shape carved into the group on the eastern side of the island, and we have seen something like this, although covered in a blue tarp, on two other PRC islands.
Finally, Hughes Reef has additional land reclamation efforts underway in the northern part of the reef, so this island may be in line for growth.
According to low resolution satellite imagery from Copernicus Browser, Sentinel-2 L1C, we see the island has the same shape currently (7/31/2024), and we still see the additional reclamation work (two spits) to the west. There is a channel dug to the north of the island, and over the additional reclamation area, so it might be that this will become one much larger island. Current length is 626 m, and potential future length from joining the reclamations, 1.1 km.
Moving clockwise, we see five more islands and four of them appear to have minor land reclamation efforts underway.
Sin Cowe East, Dao Sinh Ton dong, Vietnam
The sixth island is Sin Cowe East island, with a small oval core, and a long tail of newly reclaimed land to the south. We also see a dock perpendicular to the Western side of the island. Satellite imagery dated 4/29/2019, and we see a helipad on the northern end of the island. Island diameter is 0.22 miles, including the sandy tail.
This is a small island with one large building, a few more smaller buildings along one main street, and a helipad to the north. It looks like the island is being extended to the South, and may become more than twice the size. This picture is from 04/29/2019.
We have read that Sin Cowe East is a an island of focus by Vietnam and will receive investment.
In recent Copernicus Browser Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery from 7/31/2024, it looks like this island may have been enlarged, but it is unclear due to the low resolution of the imagery. The enlarged island is showing as 326 meters long from north to south.
The sixth island is Sin Cowe East island, with a small oval core, and a long tail of newly reclaimed land to the south. We also see a dock perpendicular to the Western side of the island. Satellite imagery dated 4/29/2019, and we see a helipad on the northern end of the island. Island diameter is 0.22 miles, including the sandy tail.
This is a small island with one large building, a few more smaller buildings along one main street, and a helipad to the north. It looks like the island is being extended to the South, and may become more than twice the size. This picture is from 04/29/2019.
We have read that Sin Cowe East is a an island of focus by Vietnam and will receive investment.
In recent Copernicus Browser Sentinel-2 L1C satellite imagery from 7/31/2024, it looks like this island may have been enlarged, but it is unclear due to the low resolution of the imagery. The enlarged island is showing as 326 meters long from north to south.
On a last note, one of the satellite images captured the island reclamation infrastructure in action.
Lansdowne Reef, Vietnam, a.k.a., Xa Sinh Ton, Union Bank 6, is a natural reef with two infrastructure element on it connected by a bridge on the western side. It looks like these infrastructure elements are kicking up a lot of sand, and that sand is filling in the open water inside the reef (center of the overall picture). I wonder if this is what those two structures are made for, for bringing up sand from the ocean floor. It looks like Lansdowne Reef is being reclaimed and turned into an island as we watch. This satellite photo is from 02/10/2021, or almost three years ago.
Lansdowne Reef, Vietnam, a.k.a., Xa Sinh Ton, Union Bank 6, is a natural reef with two infrastructure element on it connected by a bridge on the western side. It looks like these infrastructure elements are kicking up a lot of sand, and that sand is filling in the open water inside the reef (center of the overall picture). I wonder if this is what those two structures are made for, for bringing up sand from the ocean floor. It looks like Lansdowne Reef is being reclaimed and turned into an island as we watch. This satellite photo is from 02/10/2021, or almost three years ago.
Whitsun Reef
Whitson Reef, a.k.a., Julian Felipe Reef (Filipino) and Niu e Jiao (PRC) and Da Ba Dau (Vietnam) is the northeast edge of the combined reefs and is the largest reef of the Union Banks. As of 4/29/2019 satellite imagery, Whitsun Reef had two sandy cay outcroppings. Location: 9°59'48"N 114°36'54"E.
This is a busy neighborhood, and we learned that on December 3, 2023, the Philippines monitored the presence of 135 Chinese maritime militia vessels in the vicinity of this reef. The reef was unclaimed as of 2016, but on March 21, 2021, about 220 Chinese fishing ships were moored at the reef, according to Wikipedia.
Whitson Reef, a.k.a., Julian Felipe Reef (Filipino) and Niu e Jiao (PRC) and Da Ba Dau (Vietnam) is the northeast edge of the combined reefs and is the largest reef of the Union Banks. As of 4/29/2019 satellite imagery, Whitsun Reef had two sandy cay outcroppings. Location: 9°59'48"N 114°36'54"E.
This is a busy neighborhood, and we learned that on December 3, 2023, the Philippines monitored the presence of 135 Chinese maritime militia vessels in the vicinity of this reef. The reef was unclaimed as of 2016, but on March 21, 2021, about 220 Chinese fishing ships were moored at the reef, according to Wikipedia.
Just West by Southwest of Whitsun Reef we see three other reefs that appear submerged and are uninhabited. Those are Empire Reef, Holiday Reef and Hallet Reef, as seen in the 3/9/2021 satellite imagery below.
Area
Name 1
Nearest Land
Distance from Land (miles)
Location (latitude & longitude)
Diameter (miles)
Date of Satellite Imagery
Airport Present?
Helipad Present?
Port / Dock Facility Present?
Buildings Present?
Defensive Infrastructure Present?
Athletic Facilities Present?
Hospital Present?
Sand Only Island?
Dredging Infrastructure Only?
Spratly Islands
Union Banks (with 4 developed and ~12 early stage)
Vietnam
206
9°42'57"N 114°17’11"E
34.5
11/6/2015
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes (on some)
Yes (on some)
Name 1
Nearest Land
Distance from Land (miles)
Location (latitude & longitude)
Diameter (miles)
Date of Satellite Imagery
Airport Present?
Helipad Present?
Port / Dock Facility Present?
Buildings Present?
Defensive Infrastructure Present?
Athletic Facilities Present?
Hospital Present?
Sand Only Island?
Dredging Infrastructure Only?
Spratly Islands
Union Banks (with 4 developed and ~12 early stage)
Vietnam
206
9°42'57"N 114°17’11"E
34.5
11/6/2015
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes (on some)
Yes (on some)