| Disputed reef | |
|---|---|
 Ladd Reef | |
  Ladd Reef | |
| Other names | Đá Lát(Vietnamese) 日積礁 / 日积礁 Rìjī Jiāo(Chinese) |
| Geography | |
| Location | South China Sea |
| Coordinates | 8°39′57″N111°40′36″E / 8.66583°N 111.67667°E /8.66583; 111.67667 (Ladd Reef) |
| Archipelago | Spratly Islands |
| Administration | |
| District | Trường Sa District |
| Township | Trường Sa Township |
| Claimed by | |
Ladd Reef (Vietnamese:Đá Lát;MandarinChinese:日積礁/日积礁;pinyin:Rìjī Jiāo) is aVietnam-controlledreef in theSpratly group of islands,South China Sea.China (PRC) andTaiwan (ROC) are also claimants of the reef. LikeSpratly Island, Ladd Reef lies to the west of the Philippines-defined "Kalayaan Islands" claim area.[1]
The English nameLadd Reef was coined byRichard Spratly in late March 1843, after Captain Ladd of the shipAusten, who seemed to be the first to have seen the reef.[2] The Chinese nameRìjī Jiāo was coined in 1947 to replace the 1935 nameLādé Jiāo (拉德礁),[3] which was transliterated from the English nameLadd.
Ladd Reef lies west ofDangerous Ground in the western half of theSpratly Islands, to the south ofCoronation Bank, southwest ofWest London Reef (West Reef) and 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) west ofSpratly Island.[4]
This coral reef lies on a northeast-southwest axis, 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) in length, 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) in width, and spans over an area of 9.9 square kilometres (990 ha; 2,400 acres; 3.8 sq mi). It is entirely submerged during high tide, but there are some stones jutting out of the sea during low tide.[5]
The reef is uninhabited but contains a Vietnameselighthouse (built in 1994)[6] with the inscriptionHải đăng đá Lát[7] (literally "Ladd Reef Lighthouse"). The lower portion of the lighthouse consists of quarters for a handful of Vietnamese soldiers and the lighthouse keeper.
In 1945, towards the end of theSecond World War, a Dutch submarine (HNLMS O-19) ran aground on Ladd Reef.[8]
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