Thổ Châu special zone Đặc khu Thổ Châu trực thuộc tỉnh An Giang Quần đảo Thổ Châu | |
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_S2-2024.png) Thổ Châu island was seen from satellites in 2024. | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Interactive map of Thổ Châu special zone | |
| Coordinates:9°18′N103°29′E / 9.300°N 103.483°E /9.300; 103.483 (Thổ Châu islands) | |
| Country |  Vietnam |
| Region | Mekong Delta Gulf of Thailand |
| Province | Ann Giang |
| Establishment | XVI century |
| Central hall | No.1, Bãi Ngự hamlet,Thổ Châu island |
| Government | |
| • Type | Commune-level authority |
| • People Committee's Chairman | Đỗ Văn Dừng |
| • People Council's Chairman | Unknown |
| • Front Committee's Chairman | Unknown |
| • Party Committee's Secretary | Đỗ Văn Dừng |
| Area | |
• Total | 13.98 km2 (5.40 sq mi) |
| Population (December 31, 2023) | |
• Total | 1,829 |
| • Density | 130.8/km2 (338.8/sq mi) |
| • Ethnicities | Kinh Tanka |
| Time zone | UTC+7 (Indochina Time) |
| ZIP code | 91000–92515[note 1] |
| Website | Thochau.Angiang.gov.vn Thochau.Angiang.dcs.vn |
Thổ Châu Islands (Vietnamese:Quần đảo Thổ Châu) is anarchipelago in theGulf of Thailand. It constitutes fully asThổ Châu Special Zone of An Giang Province (Vietnamese:Đặc khu Thổ Châu trực thuộc tỉnh An Giang) belonging to newAn Giang province in theMekong Delta region ofVietnam.
According toĐại Nam nhất thống địa dư chí, its nameThổ Châu[1] was written as "土珠", which implies as apearl in the middle of thesea. This way of calling has been assumed by the linguist Thiều Chửu to be similar toPearl Harbor.[note 2]
In the past, the archipelago was also known asPulau Panjang (means "long island" inMalay language) orPulo Panjang bynavigators.[note 3]
During the existence of theRepublic of Vietnam, Thổ Châu Islands were under the administration ofAn Xuyên Province. However, the islands historically used to constitute a disputed territory betweenCambodia andVietnam, both nations claiming them to be within theirterritorial waters.[2]
On May 10, 1975,Khmer Rouge occupied Thổ Châu Island and abducted about five hundred civilians to Cambodia, all of whom were massacred. From May 24 to May 27, 1975, Vietnamese forces attacked the occupiers and recaptured the island. In 1977, the Khmer Rouge raided Thổ Châu Island once again but were defeated.[3]
On April 27, 1992, under the arrangement of the People's Committee of Kiên Giang Province, six families with about thirty people moved to Thổ Châu Island and settled there. On April 24, 1993, the Vietnamese government decided to establishThổ Châu commune (xã Thổ Châu).[4]
On March 8, 2014,Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 lost contact with ground while flying by Thổ Châu island.
According to theStatement on the basis of the territorial width in the Tonkin Gulf[note 4] and a number of related documents, Thổ Châu is considered by the Vietnamese press as the farthest place to the West to determine the above sovereignty of Vietnam on theocean.
On February 24, 2025, at the 32nd Session of the 10th People's Council ofKiên Giang province, the delegates participated in thevote to officially approve the resolution of the establishment ofThổ Châu island district (huyện đảo Thổ Châu), which was based on the whole natural area and population of the islands or former commune.[5]
Thổ Châu island district is basically the whole area of Thổ Châu archipelago, not divided into commune-leveladministrative units like other localities.[6]
It consist of the following eightislands :Thổ Châu with 13.95 square kilometres (5.39 sq mi), Hòn Cao, Hòn Cao Cát, Hòn Khô, Hòn Mô (or sometimes Hòn Cái Bàn), Hòn Nhạn, Hòn Từ and Hòn Xanh.[note 5]
In particular, Hòn Nhạn is base pointA1 on Vietnam'sbaseline.
| Number | Name | Coordinate | Acreage (hectare) | Population | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thổ Châu | 9°18′29″N103°29′05″E / 9.307953°N 103.484781°E /9.307953; 103.484781 | 1.240,2 | 1.912 | The largest island. |
| 2 | Hòn Từ | 91,10 | |||
| 3 | Hòn Cao Cát | 9°19′33″N103°31′34″E / 9.325820°N 103.526223°E /9.325820; 103.526223 | 41,82 | ||
| 4 | Hòn Xanh | 14,11 | |||
| 5 | Hòn Nhạn | 9°15′03″N103°28′14″E / 9.250793°N 103.470515°E /9.250793; 103.470515 | 3,37 | ||
| 6 | Hòn Cái Bàn (Cao Cát Lớn) | 9°22′59″N103°38′20″E / 9.383051°N 103.638773°E /9.383051; 103.638773 | 3,34 | ||
| 7 | Hòn Đá Bạc (Cao Cát Nhỏ) | 0,74 | |||
| 8 | Hòn Khô | 0,48 |
Thổ Châu Island - the largest entity of the archipelago - was first proposed as amarine protected area in 1995. Subsequently,Asian Development Bank proposed the establishment of a marine protected areas over Thổ Châu Island with an area of 22,400 hectares (86 sq mi), of which land area is 1,190 ha (4.6 sq mi) and sea area is 21,210 ha (81.9 sq mi).[7]
Currently, Thổ Châu has about 500 households with nearly 2,000 inhabitants,[8] most of whom areborder guards and navy personnel who chose to settle on the islands; the rest are immigrants. Local residents' livelihood is providing service to fishing boats, small craft production, farming, animal husbandry and fishing along the coast.[9]
