In the ethereal Nansha Qundao, large and small invisible islands and reefs are scattered, and standing on it, you can see the Philippine Palawan Mountains with the naked eye alone, which is the captain's reef of the Nansha Islands, which is also the mainland's closest territory to the Philippines in the South China Sea, less than 80 kilometers from the Philippines Palawan mainland.
When the weather is clear, people stand on the captain's reef and look east, and the scene of the Palawan Mountains will be taken into account.
Located north of the Nanhua Waterway, Captain Reef has a special geographical location, and to its southwest, is Half Moon Reef, 42 kilometers apart; To the northwest, Mischief Island, which is 153 kilometers away, and to the west, Chigua Island, which is 270 kilometers away. Together with Half Moon Reef and Xinyi Reef, it is distributed in a triangle, forming a tiger and dragon plate.
Captain's Reef is a separate oval-shaped coral atoll that controls Captain's Reef due to a perennial reef in the northwest of Captain's Reef, and the territorial waters of the nearby 12 nautical miles are ours. There is a lagoon in the middle, no entrance door, is a closed atoll, boats under 20 tons can enter and exit the lagoon.
In the future, if the situation needs to develop, we can dig artificial channels here, and we can build ports and anchorages to accommodate many large ships, in that case, any small action that wants to make wind and rain there will face our strong blow.
What is the history and current situation of Captain Reef?
Captain Reef has been Chinese territory since ancient times, and Chinese have been involved in Captain Reef for a long time, and since the pre-Qin period, Chinese fishermen have been fishing and resting here. And Captain Reef is also affectionately called Shilong by Chinese fishermen because of its shape like a dragon disk.
Therefore, the earliest name of Captain Reef was Shilong, which is an ancient name that has lasted for thousands of years.
In the 16th century, Western powers plundered everywhere, and Shilong Reef was also given the English name Royal Captain Shoal by the colonists, which translates to "royal" Captain Shoal, is it full of colonial flavor?
By 1935, Shilong Reef was named Captain Reef by China according to the literal translation. In 1983, we still used the name of the time, and it was called Captain Reef.
In the first half of 1987, at the request of UNESCO, we organized a scientific expedition to survey the South China Sea, and the members of the team successfully landed on the coiling dragon-shaped Captain Reef aboard the "Xiangyang 5" and set up a symbol of China's sovereignty on it.
So, are there no foreign countries that show covetousness for Captain Reef? Naturally not.
In October 2010, Philippine Shell Oil Company was claimed $567 million by Philippine Customs for huge tax evasion problems.
Philippine Shell Oil Company is a subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch Shell Oil Company, the world's second largest oil company.
Philippine Customs accused Shell of underreporting fuel imports and circumventing import tariffs.
At first glance, it is the problem of tax evasion, and under deep investigation, the bad behavior of the Philippines in secretly exploiting oil in the South China Sea has been exposed. Because the Malapaya oil and gas field exploited by the Shell Oil Company is located near Captain Reef and belongs to China's territorial waters.
Customs charged him with coercing Shell to assist the Philippines in its oil plundering in the South China Sea.
At present, there are two ways to say about the actual control of Captain Reef.
One is that Captain Reef is controlled by the Philippines, but there is no garrison; Another theory is that Captain Reef is actually controlled by China, and there are surveillance facilities installed on a reef called "Shilongyan" in the southwest sea surface of Captain Reef, which helps us to grasp the dynamics of Captain Reef in a timely manner and observe whether there is any foreign invasion.
China's maritime surveillance ships and warships are also constantly patrolling the waters of Captain Reef, and if we find illegal ships, we will certainly enforce the law as soon as possible and declare sovereignty.
Judging from the Philippines' small actions on the issue of Shell Oil Company's tariffs, Captain Reef should be under Chinese control, which is difficult for the Philippines to steal nearby oil.
At present, Shell has officially withdrawn from the development of the Malapaya gas field, the only natural gas field led by the Philippine side. As things stand, the Malapaya gas field will be largely depleted by 2027.
In any case, we will resolutely safeguard the rights and interests of the South China Sea, and the islands and reefs that belong to us are all precious treasures left to us by our ancestors, and we must and will be able to safeguard them.