James Shoal

The name James Shoal first appeared in British documents as early as 1892,{{Cite web |date=1892-11-15 |title=No. 488.—CAPE, EAST INDIES, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIA STATIONS. CHINA SEA.—BORNEO—NORTH-WEST AND NORTH COASTS |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26345/page/6407/data.pdf |website=The London Gazette |page=6407 |access-date=2025-02-25 |archive-date=2021-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218030143/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26345/page/6407/data.pdf |url-status=live }} and is possibly named after James Brooke (1803–1868), the first White Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak.{{Cite book |author=Bill Hayton |title=The Invention of China |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-300-23482-4 |pages=215 |quote=Its claim becomes even more surreal 120 kilometres to the southwest at a place called the James Shoal, probably named after one of the 'White Rajahs' of Sarawak, Sir James Brooke.}}

Malaysia refers to James Shoal as Beting Serupai{{cite journal |author=Sumathy Permal |date=23 January 2015 |title=South China Sea Manoeuvrings: More of the same in 2015? |url=https://www.mima.gov.my/phocadownloadpap/seaviews/MIMA%20SeaViews%20No.%202.edited.pdf |journal=Sea Views |issue=2 |access-date=6 August 2020 |via=Maritime Institute of Malaysia }}{{Dead link|date=February 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ('Serupai Shoal'), with Serupai being a place name in Tatau District, Bintulu Division, Sarawak.{{Cite web |title=Ketua Kaum Daerah Tatau |url=https://bintulu.sarawak.gov.my/web/subpage/webpage_view/192 |access-date= |website=Portal Rasmi Pentadbiran Bahagian Bintulu |language=ms}}

Both the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) refer to James Shoal as Zengmu Reef{{cite web |title=Boundary |url=http://mk.china-embassy.org/eng/fac/t374367.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723064939/http://mk.china-embassy.org/eng/fac/t374367.htm |archive-date=23 July 2020 |access-date=23 July 2020 |website=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of North Macedonia |via=Internet Archive |quote=From north to south, the territory of China measures some 5,500 km, stretching from the center of the Heilongjiang River north of the town of Mohe to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands.}} / Zengmu Shoal{{Cite web |date=2014-01-27 |title=Chinese ships patrol disputed Zengmu Shoal |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/01/27/2003582275 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Taipei Times |archive-date=2014-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205085532/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2014/01/27/2003582275 |url-status=live }} / Zengmu Ansha{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Zheng |title=The Nine-Dashed Line: 'Engraved in Our Hearts' |url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/08/the-nine-dashed-line-engraved-in-our-hearts/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=The Diplomat |language=en |archive-date=2016-05-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160520160616/https://thediplomat.com/2014/08/the-nine-dashed-line-engraved-in-our-hearts/ |url-status=live }}/ Tseng-mu An-sha{{cite web |date=14 September 1971 |title=SOUTH CHINA SEA: UP FOR GRABS |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP08C01297R000300180018-3.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123072513/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP08C01297R000300180018-3.pdf |archive-date=23 January 2017 |publisher=Bureau of Intelligence and Research |page=5 |quote=2) James Shoal (Tseng-mu An-sha) 4°N., 112°15'E., marks the southern extent;}} ({{zh|c=|p=Zēngmǔ Ànshā|l=James hidden-sand / James shoal|s=曾母暗沙|t=曾母暗沙}}).

The name James Shoal first appeared in The London Gazette on November 15, 1892, as well as in the same year's British seafaring magazine The Nautical Magazine and Journal of the Royal Naval Reserve.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nSQSfkLOgW4C&dq=%22james+shoal%22&pg=PA1144 |title=The Nautical Magazine and Journal of the Royal Naval Reserve, Volume 61 |date=1892 |publisher=Spottiswoode |page=1144 |language=en |chapter=}} The article reported findings from a survey conducted by Commander A. M. Field of the British naval survey ship HMS Egeria, confirming the existence of a shoal lying off the northwestern coast of Borneo. The shoal has a depth of {{cvt|12|fathom|m}}, with surrounding waters ranging from {{cvt|22-31|fathom|m}}, and is located approximately {{cvt|25|miles|km}} northwest of Acis Shoals, at latitude 4°0' N, longitude 112°18' E. The origin of the name James Shoal is probably derived from James Brooke (1803–1868), the first White Rajah of the Kingdom of Sarawak.

In 1935, the Land and Water Maps Review Committee of the Republic of China (ROC) produced a list of Chinese names for the rocks and reefs of the South China Sea, most of which were simply direct translations or transliterations of English names found on British maps.{{Cite web |title=The South China Sea: Historical and legal background |url=https://www.geostrategy.org.uk/research/the-south-china-sea-historical-and-legal-background/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Council on Geostrategy |language=en-GB |archive-date=2024-10-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002231356/https://www.geostrategy.org.uk/research/the-south-china-sea-historical-and-legal-background/ |url-status=live }} In this list, James Shoal was transliterated as Zengmu Tan ({{zh|p=Zēngmǔ Tān|l=James sandbank|t=曾姆灘}}).{{Cite book |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/NLC404-01J003037-30740_%E6%B0%B4%E9%99%B8%E5%9C%B0%E5%9C%96%E5%AF%A9%E6%9F%A5%E5%A7%94%E5%93%A1%E6%9C%83%E6%9C%83%E5%88%8A_1935%E5%B9%B41%E6%9C%9F.pdf |title=水陸地圖審查委員會會刊 1935年1期 |year=1935 |location=Nanjing |pages=64 |language=zh |trans-title=The Comparison Table of Chinese and English Names of Islands in the South China Sea |chapter=中国南海各岛屿华英名对照表}} The term “zengmu” (曾姆) is a phonetic transliteration of "James", and “tan” (灘) means beach or sandbank. A beach or a sandbank is something that emerges above water, while a shoal is an underwater feature. James Shoal is 22 metres below the surface. It would appear that in 1935 the Chinese committee was unfamiliar with the area when it declared it to be a land feature, and based its territorial claims on a piece of territory that doesn’t exist.{{Cite web |date=2018-06-01 |title=Why names matter in South China Sea territorial disputes |url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2148755/why-names-matter-south-china-sea-territorial-disputes |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=2025-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207155125/https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2148755/why-names-matter-south-china-sea-territorial-disputes |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Hayton |first=Bill |date=2018-05-16 |title=China's Claim to the Spratly Islands is Just a Mistake |url=https://cimsec.org/chinas-claim-spratly-islands-just-mistake/ |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=Center for International Maritime Security |language=en |archive-date=2024-06-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240618112324/https://cimsec.org/chinas-claim-spratly-islands-just-mistake/ |url-status=live }}

In October 1947, the ROC Ministry of the Interior revised the names of the islands in the South China Sea to make them sound more Chinese. The name of James Shoal was changed to Zengmu Ansha ({{zh|c=|p=Zēngmǔ Ànshā|l=James hidden-sand|s=曾母暗沙|t=曾母暗沙}}).{{Cite web |author=the ROC Ministry of the Interior |date=October 1947 |title=南海诸岛新旧名称对照表 |trans-title=the Comparison Table of Old and New Names of the South China Sea Islands |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E8%AB%B8%E5%B3%B6%E6%96%B0%E8%88%8A%E5%90%8D%E7%A8%B1%E5%B0%8D%E7%85%A7%E8%A1%A8 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622043322/https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%8D%97%E6%B5%B7%E8%AB%B8%E5%B3%B6%E6%96%B0%E8%88%8A%E5%90%8D%E7%A8%B1%E5%B0%8D%E7%85%A7%E8%A1%A8 |archive-date=2022-06-22 |access-date= |website= |language=zh}} At this time, the Chinese government appeared to recognize its earlier misinterpretation of the term "shoal", because it coined the new word "ansha" (暗沙), literally “hidden sand”, as a neologism to use instead of "tan" in the name.{{Cite journal |last=Hayton |first=Bill |date=2019 |title=The Modern Origins of China's South China Sea Claims: Maps, Misunderstandings, and the Maritime Geobody |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26644051 |journal=Modern China |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=127–170 |doi=10.1177/0097700418771678 |jstor=26644051 |issn=0097-7004|url-access=subscription }} Additionally, the transliteration of "James" was changed to 曾母 (zēngmǔ), a more Sinicized form as it can be interpreted as "the mother of Zeng", which could evoke an association with Zengzi’s mother from Confucian teachings, despite there is no actual historical connection.{{Cite web |title=中国疆域最南端 曾母暗沙源自英国人名？ |trans-title=Zengmu Ansha, the southernmost territory of China, named after a British person? |url=https://www.ourchinastory.com/cn/8214/%E7%A5%9E%E5%B7%9E%E5%86%B7%E7%9F%A5%E8%AF%86%EF%BD%9C%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E7%96%86%E5%9F%9F%E6%9C%80%E5%8D%97%E7%AB%AF%20%E6%9B%BE%E6%AF%8D%E6%9A%97%E6%B2%99%E6%BA%90%E8%87%AA%E8%8B%B1%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E5%90%8D%EF%BC%9F |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=当代中国 |language=zh}} In December 1947, the ROC government printed an official map showing a "U-shaped line" encircling the area down to James Shoal, and claiming it as the southernmost territory of China.

In 1949, after winning the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communist Party established the People’s Republic of China (PRC), replacing the Republic of China (ROC) as the ruling government on the mainland and asserting its inheritance of the ROC’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. The PRC government kept the name Zengmu Ansha for James Shoal and has continued to declare it as the southernmost territory of China to this day.{{Cite web |date=2013-03-26 |title=Navy fleet reaches southernmost Chinese territory |url=http://en.people.cn/90786/8183686.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160227074517/http://en.people.cn/90786/8183686.html |archive-date=2016-02-27 |access-date=2025-02-25 |website=People's Daily}}

File:Txu-oclc-6654394-na-49-3rd-ed.jpg, 1959)]]

File:Luconia Shoals Department of State map 2016587286 (2015) (cropped).jpg showing James Shoal (lower left) and also showing Louisa Reef and Luconia Shoals.]]

Lying about {{Convert|45|nmi}} northwest of Bintulu, Malaysia on the Continental shelf of Borneo, the reef is {{convert|80|km}} from the Malaysian coast and about {{convert|1800|km}} from the Chinese mainland. Geographically, it sits south of the Spratly Islands, but is sometimes grouped with them as part of international disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea.

The reef is embedded in the continental shelf of Malaysia and well within its 200 nautical mile EEZ.{{cite web | url=https://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/mys_re_chn_2009re_mys_vnm_e.pdf | title=Joint Submission to United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) | date=20 May 2009 | access-date=15 March 2015 | publisher=United Nations | archive-date=21 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421133746/http://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/mys_re_chn_2009re_mys_vnm_e.pdf | url-status=live }}

Nearby reefs are Parsons' Shoal and Lydie Shoal,{{cite web |url= https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/chinas-james-shoal-claim-malaysia-the-undisputed-owner/#.VWhNA2MoDScCO14122 |title= China's James Shoal Claim: Malaysia the Undisputed Owner |date= 1 July 2014 |publisher= RSIS (Rajaratnam School of International Studies), Nanyang Technology University, Singapore |access-date= 29 May 2015 |archive-date= 18 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210218030134/https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/rsis/chinas-james-shoal-claim-malaysia-the-undisputed-owner/#.VWhNA2MoDScCO14122 |url-status= live }} and the Luconia Shoals, the latter 97 to 223 km to the north.

Malaysia's claim on the reef is based on the continental shelf principle, on the basis that Malaysia is the only country whose continental shelf covers James Shoal. International law defines continental shelf as a natural extension of a country's landmass to a distance of 200 nautical miles (maximum 350 nautical miles). Drawn from the mainland or any of its islands in the South China Sea, the continental shelf of China is well short of James Shoal. Similarly, James Shoal is also not part of the extended continental shelf of Vietnam, the Philippines or Republic of China (Taiwan).

In May 2009, Vietnam and Malaysia put up a Joint submission on the Extended Continental Shelf to the UN Committee on the Limit of Continental Shelf (CLCS) whereby Vietnam acknowledged that James Shoal is not part of its extended continental shelf.

James Shoal is {{convert|500|nmi}} from Thitu Island (Pagasa) in the Spratlys that the Philippines has occupied since 1971, and more than {{convert|400|nmi}} from Itu Aba, an island that Republic of China (Taiwan) has occupied since 1956. It is also outside Brunei's extended maritime zone which the 2009 Letter of Exchange that Brunei has with Malaysia attests to. In 1969, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a Treaty on the continental shelf, off Tanjung Datu, Sarawak, which has placed James Shoal on the Malaysian side.

Malaysia has also effectively asserted its jurisdiction over its continental shelf including the areas in and around James Shoal, Parson's Shoal and the Lydie Shoal. The activities of the Malaysian authorities include the construction and maintenance of a light-buoy on nearby Parson's Shoal on a 24/7 basis, daily patrolling and policing of the area by the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and undertaking economic activities like exploration for and production of hydrocarbon resources on a sustained basis.

Under international law, such display of peaceful and continuous activities over a long period is tantamount to establishing a titre de souverain (acts of the sovereign).

File:Schina sea 88.png (above the fourth dash from the left)]]

The reef is claimed to be the southernmost territory{{cite web|url=https://www.drnh.gov.tw/var/file/3/1003/img/10/206122605.pdf|script-title=zh:中華民國政府繪製南海諸島範圍線之決策過程及其意涵 - 國史館|page=99|access-date=2020-07-22|archive-date=2020-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722135352/https://www.drnh.gov.tw/var/file/3/1003/img/10/206122605.pdf|url-status=live}} of China by the People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan). China transliterated the British name as Zengmu Tan in 1935, and renamed it Zengmu Ansha in 1947. The People's Liberation Army Navy visited the reef in May 1981, again in 1994, and on 26{{nbsp}}March 2013.{{cite web |url= http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/03/201332762124185963.html |title= Chinese navy exercises 'surprise' neighbours |publisher= Al Jazeera English |date= 27 March 2013 |access-date= 13 September 2013 |archive-date= 21 August 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130821014521/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/03/201332762124185963.html |url-status= live }}{{cite web |url= http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-beting-serupai-incident-1.256312 |title= The Beting Serupai incident |publisher= New Straits Times |date= 16 April 2013 |access-date= 13 September 2013 |archive-date= 4 October 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131004231946/http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/the-beting-serupai-incident-1.256312 |url-status= live }} China Marine Surveillance ships visited the reef and placed a sovereignty stele in the maritime area of the reef to mark it as Chinese territory on 26 March 1990, again in January 1992, on 15 January 1995, on 20 April 2010 and in 2012.[http://www.oceanol.com/redian/shendu/2015-02-25/41261.html 南沙主权碑的故事 (The Story of sovereignty steles in Nansha Islands)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225091842/http://www.oceanol.com/redian/shendu/2015-02-25/41261.html |date=2017-12-25 }}.2015-02-25. 《中国海洋报》.作者：罗茜.[http://www.csote.org/n12174177/n12334260/12702668.html 我在曾母暗沙投下祖国界碑 (I dropped a boundary tablet in Zeng Mu Ansha)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171224214622/http://www.csote.org/n12174177/n12334260/12702668.html |date=2017-12-24 }}. 赵林如.《今日国土》. 2011年第一期.

On 29 January 2014, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that three Chinese warships (one amphibious landing craft and two destroyers) returned to James Shoal to conduct military drills and perform an oath swearing ceremony.{{cite web |url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/02/05/loss-of-james-shoal-could-wipe-out-states-eez/ |title=Loss of James Shoal could wipe out state's EEZ |publisher=The Borneo Post |date=5 February 2014 |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-date=16 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716101828/http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/02/05/loss-of-james-shoal-could-wipe-out-states-eez/ |url-status=live }} The Royal Malaysian Navy chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar denied the report, saying that the Chinese exercise took place hundreds of miles to the north in international waters.{{cite web |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-malaysia-idUKBREA0P06X20140126 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307100913/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-malaysia-idUKBREA0P06X20140126 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |title=Chinese ships patrol area contested by Malaysia |date=26 January 2014 |website=reuters.com |publisher=Thomson Reuters |access-date=8 February 2014}}

Chinese students are taught and tested in schools that James Shoal is the southernmost point of Chinese territory, and that territory within the nine-dash line has always belonged to China, without any reference to the disputes over the islands and surrounding waters by neighbouring countries.{{cite web |url= http://qz.com/730669/chinas-citizens-are-livid-at-the-south-china-sea-ruling-because-theyve-always-been-taught-it-is-theirs/ |title= China's citizens are livid at the South China Sea ruling because they've always been taught it is theirs |publisher= Quartz |date= 13 July 2016 |author1= Zheping Huang |author2= Echo Huang |access-date= 14 July 2016 |archive-date= 15 July 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160715184630/http://qz.com/730669/chinas-citizens-are-livid-at-the-south-china-sea-ruling-because-theyve-always-been-taught-it-is-theirs/ |url-status= live }}

In July 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo wrote concerning the claim:

{{quote|The PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to (or derived from) James Shoal, an entirely submerged feature only 50 nautical miles from Malaysia and some 1,000 nautical miles from China’s coast. James Shoal is often cited in PRC propaganda as the “southernmost territory of China.” International law is clear: An underwater feature like James Shoal cannot be claimed by any state and is incapable of generating maritime zones. James Shoal (roughly 20 meters below the surface) is not and never was PRC territory, nor can Beijing assert any lawful maritime rights from it.{{cite web|url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202007140013.aspx|script-title=zh:蓬佩奧：中國對南海主權聲索「完全非法」|language=zh-tw|date=14 July 2020|access-date=22 July 2020|website=Central News Agency|editor=Lin Ching-Ping {{lang|zh-tw|林憬屏}}|quote={{lang|zh-tw|美方也在聲明中反對中國對曾母暗沙（James Shoal）聲索主權。聲明指出，北京對外宣稱曾母暗沙為「中國最南端領土」，但曾母暗沙為水下地物，依據國際法任何國家不得提出主權聲索，且其離馬來西亞僅50海里，但距離中國沿岸有1000海里遠。}}|archive-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218030207/https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202007140013.aspx|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/15/pompeo-south-china-sea-nine-dash-line-unclos/|title=Pompeo Draws a Line Against Beijing in the South China Sea|date=15 July 2020|access-date=10 August 2020|website=Foreign Policy|author=Bill Hayton|quote=The United States, quite sensibly, has never taken a position on which country is the rightful owner of these territories. However, Pompeo’s statement breaks new ground by asserting that China has “no lawful territorial or maritime claim to (or derived from) James Shoal.”|archive-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218030252/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/15/pompeo-south-china-sea-nine-dash-line-unclos/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3093057/beijing-accuses-us-stirring-division-over-south-china-sea|title='Heightened risk' of military conflict over South China Sea, observers warn|date=14 July 2020|access-date=11 August 2020|website=South China Morning Post|author=Laura Zhou|quote=The statement also said China’s claims over the submerged feature James Shoal near Malaysia were unlawful.|archive-date=22 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222140537/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3093057/beijing-accuses-us-stirring-division-over-south-china-sea|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://editorials.voa.gov/a/u-s-repudiates-china-s-maritime-claims-in-south-china-sea/5511410.html|title=U.S. Repudiates China's Maritime Claims in South China Sea|date=21 July 2020|access-date=11 August 2020|website=Voice of America|quote=On July 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a written statement that the U.S. position on China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea is aligned with key aspects of the Tribunal’s decision.“Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them.” This means that the United States does not recognize Beijing’s maritime claims to waters within the 370 kilometer [200 nautical mile] Exclusive Economic Zone of another country beyond a lawful territorial sea generated from islands it claims in the Spratlys, nor do we recognize its claims to underwater features like James Shoal or low-tide elevations like Mischief Reef and Second Thomas Shoal, which, under international law, may not be claimed by any state and are incapable of generating maritime zones of their own.|archive-date=18 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210218030306/https://editorials.voa.gov/a/u-s-repudiates-china-s-maritime-claims-in-south-china-sea/5511410.html|url-status=live}}}}

{{as of|September 2020}}, Chinese ships regularly patrolled near James Shoal.{{cite web

|date=September 15, 2020

|last=Tarigan

|first=Edna

|title=Indonesian patrol confronts Chinese ship in economic zone

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101051204/https://apnews.com/article/jakarta-south-china-sea-indonesia-china-archive-c04e58852bdc523b82369a85d26578e7

|archivedate=1 November 2020

|url=https://apnews.com/article/jakarta-south-china-sea-indonesia-china-archive-c04e58852bdc523b82369a85d26578e7

|work=AP News}}

Active exploration and development of oil and gas fields by Malaysia has been taking place around the James Shoal since 2014, with several production facilities erected in the surrounding area. Malaysia has also been undertaking exploration for and production of hydrocarbon resources on a sustained basis in the area, effectively asserting jurisdiction over the area.{{cite web | url= http://www.indopacificreview.com/malaysias-special-role-south-china-sea/#sthash.jJ8HtWX8.dpbs | title= IndoPacificReview | access-date= 15 March 2015 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034517/http://www.indopacificreview.com/malaysias-special-role-south-china-sea/#sthash.jJ8HtWX8.dpbs | archive-date= 24 September 2015 }}

• South China Sea
• Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
• Wave shoaling

{{Reflist}}

• [http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/maps/tpc/txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_l-11d.jpg TPC L-11D Indonesia] (Map), U.S. Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, compiled 1984

{{South China Sea}}

{{Geography of Sarawak}}

Category:Reefs of the South China Sea

Category:Reefs of the Spratly Islands

Category:Disputed reefs