Johnson South Reef or Chigua Reef is a reef

Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....

 in the Spratly Islands

Spratly Islands

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...

 in South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

 controlled by the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. It is contiguous with Vietnam-occupied Collins Reef which lies 4 miles (6 km) away northwest. Naturally above water only at low tide, but some sources say that many rocks are above water at high tide. This is the site of Johnson South Reef Skirmish

Johnson South Reef Skirmish

The Johnson South Reef Skirmish of 1988 was a naval battle that took place between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands on March 14, 1988...

 in 1988, fought by the PRC and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 which resulted to more than 70 Vietnamese deaths. This reef is also claimed by the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 (Taiwan) and Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

.

Structures on the Reef

In order to prevent the island from submersion caused by erosion and maintain the claim to the EEZ, the PRC government built an embankment building, and Johnson South Reef were surrounded by the building in the early 1990s.

See also

• Spratly Islands
  Spratly Islands
  The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
  
  
• Sino-Vietnamese conflicts 1979-1990
  Sino-Vietnamese conflicts 1979-1990
  The Sino-Vietnamese conflicts of 1979–1990 were a series of border clashes between China and Vietnam following the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979....
  
  
• Rockall
  Rockall
  Rockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. It gives its name to one of the sea areas named in the shipping forecast provided by the British Meteorological Office....
  
  
• Okinotorishima
  Okinotorishima
  is an atoll, which in English has multiple designations . Its original name was Parece Vela Spanish for "looks like a sail"...
  
  

External links

• 中国南沙群島赤瓜礁図片 nansha.org.cn (Chinese)
• Google map of Johnson South Reef