List of islands of Taiwan

This is a list of islands of Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), classified into various island groups. The island of Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, is the largest island and the main component of whole ROC governing territories. Islands that are claimed by the ROC but not administered, such as the Senkaku Islands and most of South China Sea Islands, are excluded from the list.

After the amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1990s, the islands on this list collectively form the term of "Taiwan Area" (or ROC "free area"), which legally define the area effectively under the ROC government's control.

Archipelagos of Taiwan

There are in total of 166 islands, these islands can be classified into the following geographical units.

NameChineseMandarin
(Pinyin)		Taiwanese
(Pe̍h-ōe-jī)		Hakka
(Pha̍k-fa-sṳ)		Other nameNo. islandsMajor islandsDivision
Taiwan臺灣TáiwānTâi-oânThòi-vànFormosa22 Taiwan, Orchid, Green, Lamay, Guishan Multiple
Penghu澎湖PénghúPhêⁿ-ôPhàng-fùPescadores90 Penghu, Xiyu, Baisha, Qimei, Wang'an Penghu County
Kinmen金門JīnménKim-mn̂gKîm-mùnQuemoy13 Kinmen, Lieyu, Dadan, Erdan Kinmen County
Matsu馬祖MǎzǔMá-chó͘Mâ-chú36 Nangan, Beigan, Dongyin, Xiyin, Dongju, Xiju Lienchiang County
Wuqiu烏坵WūqiūO·-kiuVû-hiu2Daqiu, Xiaoqiu Kinmen County
Dongsha東沙DōngshāTang-soaTûng-sâPratas1All of Dongsha Islands Kaohsiung City
Nansha南沙NánshāLâm-soaNàm-sâSpratly2Taiping Island, Zhongzhou Reef Kaohsiung City

Note: "Taiwan" has multiple meanings, which may refer to: 1. Common name of the state officially named Republic of China, this contains all 166 islands, 2. Taiwan proper region (本島地區), this contains 22 islands in the geographical unit, 3. The island of Taiwan, this indicates the largest island in the geographical unit and the state.

Taiwan and its surrounding islands

Location map of outlying islands governed by Taiwan
Penghu Islands

Penghu

  • Penghu Islands (Pescadores Islands; 澎湖群島) (Penghu County)
    • Penghu (澎湖島)
    • Baisha (白沙島)
    • Siyu (Yuwong; 西嶼, 漁翁島)
    • Qimei (Qimei;七美嶼)
    • Wang-an (望安島)

Kinmen

Kinmen County

Matsu Islands

Lienchiang County (Matsu Islands)

Wuchiu

  • Wuchiu (Wuqiu; 烏坵)
    • Tachiu (Daqiu, Taciou; 大坵)
    • Hsiaochiu (Xiaoqiu; 小坵)

South China Sea Islands

Map of various countries occupying the Spratly Islands

List of Islands by Size

OrderNameChineseGeographical unitAdministrative DivisionArea (km²)
1Taiwan Main Island臺灣本島Taiwanmultiple35807.82
2Kinmen Main Island金門本島Kinmen4 townshipsKinmen134.25
3Penghu Main Island澎湖本島PenghuMagong, HuxiPenghu65.41
4Orchid Island蘭嶼TaiwanLanyuTaitung46.82
5Xiyu Island西嶼PenghuXiyuPenghu17.84
–Waisanding Shoal外傘頂洲TaiwanKouhuYunlin17.22
6Green Island綠島TaiwanLüdaoTaitung15.09
7Lesser Kinmen Island小金門KinmenLieyuKinmen14.85
8Baisha Island白沙島PenghuBaishaPenghu13.88
9Nangan Island南竿島MatsuNanganLienchiang10.43
10Qimei Island七美嶼PenghuQimeiPenghu7.59
11Lamay Island琉球嶼TaiwanLiuqiuPingtung6.80
12Wang'an Island望安島PenghuWang'anPenghu6.74
13Beigan Island北竿島MatsuBeiganLienchiang6.44

Disputed Islands

All ROC-controlled islands are claimed by the People's Republic of China. The PRC claims the islands of Taiwan and Penghu as part of its 23rd Taiwan Province, together with the Japanese-controlled Diaoyu Islands, which are also claimed by the ROC as part of its own Taiwan Province. The PRC claims Kinmen as Jinmen County, a county of the prefecture-level city Quanzhou, in Fujian Province. Matsu is claimed as Mazu, part of Lianjiang County, part of Fuzhou, in Fujian Province. Wuqiu Island is claimed as part of Xiuyu District, a district of the prefecture-level city Putian, in Fujian Province. The Dongsha Islands are claimed as part of Lufeng in Guangdong Province. The Nansha Islands controlled by the Republic of China, i.e. Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Reef, are claimed as part of Sansha, in Hainan Province.

The PRC thus claims the ROC-controlled islands as part of its own Taiwan Province (Taiwan and Penghu), Fujian Province (Kinmen, Matsu and Wuqiu), Guangdong Province (Dongsha) and Hainan Province (Nansha).

The ROC keeps claims to all the South China Sea Islands,[1][2] but only the Pratas and part of the Spratly islands are under its control. They are governed as part of Qijin District, Kaohsiung.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.asianresearch.org/articles/3115.html Taiwan's Spratly Initiative in the South China Sea
  2. ↑ "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) reiterates its position on the South China Sea". 2010-07-29.
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