On October 25, 2022, Philippine photographer Ezra Acayan took a private plane to the islands and reefs stationed in Nansha, China, and took a large number of high-definition pictures at high altitudes, allowing us to see the latest changes in the three major islands of Nansha . The construction of the three major islands has achieved remarkable achievements, and they all turned into new maritime cities with dense buildings.
Yongshu Island Latest aerial photos
Zhubi Island Latest aerial photos
In recent years, my country has implemented several shrewd decisions, and has generally reversed the passive situation of South China Sea without causing conflicts, but we need to be vigilant about Vietnam's movements in several directions. It is particularly worth noting that Vietnam is expanding multiple islands on the largest reefs of the Nansha Islands .
Taiwan is stationed in Nansha’s largest natural island inaction and does nothing
Zhenghe reefs are located in the core of the Nansha Islands. They are the fourth column of the six reefs in Nansha from north to south. They are also the largest reefs in Nansha. The reefs are 56 kilometers long, about 19 kilometers wide and have an area of 615 square kilometers.
Zhenghe Reef Location map
Zhenghe Reefs are distributed on Zhenghe Reefs, two islands: Taiping Island and Hongmai Island , Dunqian Sand Case , and one sandbar, as well as large islands and reefs such as Zhongzhou Reef , Bowlan Reef, Anda Reef , and Nanxun Reef.
Among them, Taiping Island on the reefs is the largest natural island in Nansha. Its original area is about 0.43 square kilometers. It has been slightly expanded and has an area of nearly 0.5 square kilometers. It is stationed by Taiwan Province, China.
Taiping Island aerial photography
On June 6, 1956, the Taiwan authorities sent a battalion of Marines to station Taiping Island. is said to have the Taiping Island, which is known as the "heart of the South China Sea" and is stationed so early. Not to mention guarding the Nansha Islands, it is not difficult to guard the Zhenghe Reef where Taiping Island is located. Moreover, at this time, the Taiwan authorities were also stationed at Zhongye Island and Dunqian Shazhou.
Unexpectedly, for reasons of self-protection, the Taiwan authorities guarded the largest island in Nansha without taking action. First, on April 18, 1971, all garrisons on Zhongye Island were ordered to withdraw to Taiping Island to avoid the typhoon. After the typhoon, the troops avoiding typhoon did not return to Zhongye Island, but returned to Taiwan. Therefore, a vacuum period of nearly three months occurred, and the Philippines took the opportunity to invade Zhongye Island.
According to Taiwan’s military historical records, the newly sent troops to Zhongye Island found that the Philippine Marines were landing on the island. The detachment leader Colonel Hao Deyun believed that all the Philippine troops on the island could be wiped out within an hour. When he was preparing to attack, he suddenly received an order from the Taiwan authorities, which was: " not challenge, and the troops would be relocated to Taiping Island. "
On February 3, 1974, in order to avoid the typhoon, the Taiping Island commander ordered the Dunqian Shazhou defenders to withdraw from Taiping Island, and the Vietnamese troops immediately landed on Dunqian Shazhou to invade him.
This is a very speechless thing. Dunqian Shazhou is only 6.3 nautical miles away from Taiping Island, and is almost on a reef connected to Taiping Island, which shows that the Taiwan authorities have no fighting spirit to defend the Nansha. In the end, three large islands and reefs were occupied by Vietnam on the Zhenghe reefs.
Zhenghe Reef Satellite Map
Mainland China's entry into Nanxun Reef to protect Taiping Island
Nansha's largest reef and Taiping Island are crucial to China's stabilization of the situation in the South China Sea. In order to build the 74 International Marine Observation Station, China inspected more than 50 islands and reefs in Nansha in half a year. Finally, it chose to use Yongshu Reef as the center, and Huayang Reef , Zhubi Reef, Dongmen Reef , Chigua Reef and Nanxun Reef to arrange islands and reefs for guarding reefs.
The conditions for the five guarding reefs in Nanxun Reef are the worst. Not only are the reefs small, but the wind and waves are also the largest, and they are known as "Nansha among the Nansha". The most important reason why
chose to enter Nanxun Reef is that it is only 18 nautical miles away from Taiping Island on the largest reef in Nansha, which can ensure that Taiping Island is not unexpected. If Taiping Island falls into the hands of Vietnam, the consequences will be unimaginable.
If it weren't for protecting Taiping Island, China would have a better choice, because at that time, in addition to sending a 502 formation led by Chen Weiwen to control 9 islands and reefs in Nansha, another formation also sent to control the giant reefs in Nansha.
Daxian reef reef plate area reaches 24.8 square kilometers, while Nanxun Reef plate is only about 2 square kilometers. Because the number of reefs in China has been finalized, it has given up the choice of Nanxun Reef. It has to be said that it is a pity.
Nanxun Island built to protect Taiping Island
Nanxun Reef transformed from a reef to a "sea oasis"
On February 24, 1988, the People's Liberation Army entered a simple high-legged house on Nanxun Reef. On November 7, 1990, the horrific " Nanxun Reef Case " occurred in the high-legged house of Nanxun Reef, and all the soldiers stationed in the reef died or disappeared. The fundamental reason for the tragedy in
is that the enemy situation is too complicated, and the facilities in Nanxun Reef are too simple. It is almost 1991. Nanxun Reef is still a second-generation high-legged house. The other five garrison islands and reefs have long been the third-generation reinforced concrete building .
Nanxun Reef case sounded the alarm for the military. After the case, my country quickly built a third-generation permanent reinforced concrete reef fort in Nanxun Reef. The protection capacity and living conditions have been greatly improved, and the communication facilities of islands and reefs have been strengthened.
Nanxun Reef 3rd generation high-foot house
On June 6, 2014, China began to carry out large-scale land filling of Nanxun Reef, and built a dock, a large helicopter apron, an advanced radar station, a desalination factory and a nearly 30-meter-high complex on the island.
It is worth mentioning that a smart microgrid consisting of photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation and fuel power generation has also been built on Nanxun Island, and the power supply is as stable as inland cities.
Nanxun Island, with wind power,
Nanxun Island's greening achievements are even more incredible. The island's casuarina and coconut trees have become forests, and the coast's windbreak forest has become as lush as Taiping Island. The previous third-generation high-foot house has also been preserved intact. Compared with the two hatchbacks, it can be seen that the land area of Nanxun Island is hundreds of times that of the old reef.
October 25, 2022Nanxun Island aerial photography
October 25, 2022Nanxun Island aerial photography
October 25, 2022Nanxun Island aerial photography
Guarding the largest reefs in Nansha, Nanxun Island urgently needs to be expanded
If horizontal comparison is made, Nanxun Island has changed greatly, and it can be said that the world has changed. We are also confident that the tragedy will not happen again, but the mission of Nanxun Island has not changed yet, that is, guarding the largest reefs in Nansha and guarding Taiping Island.
However, as Vietnam is expanding wildly on Zhenghe Reefs, looking at Nanxun Island again, it is found that its area is seriously small, which is far smaller than that of Hong Mai Island, which is nearby Vietnamese troops. The latest satellite map shows that the area of Hong Mai Island has been expanded by 0.08 square kilometers in Vietnam to nearly 0.5 square kilometers, not only far exceeding Nanxun Island, but also exceeding Taiping Island, which Nanxun Island needs to protect.
Hong Mai Island’s latest satellite map in October 2022
In addition to Hong Mai Island, the Dunqian Sand Cover, which was originally occupied by Vietnam for hiding typhoons, is also being expanded. The latest satellite map shows that the Dunqian Sand Cover is also becoming a real large island, that is, the two illegally occupied islands on the Zhenghe Reefs are both expanding on a large scale.
October 2022 Dunqian Shazhou Satellite Map
Time is nowhere to be reached. my country should quickly start the construction of the second phase of Nanxun Island. Although the reef area of Nanxun Island is not large, it is nearly two square kilometers in size. A large port is reserved. The remaining reef plan can completely build an island with an area of about twice the area of Taiping Island, which can better fulfill its mission and suppress Vietnam's arrogance.
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