Coco Islands

History

The islands took their current name from Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, "coco" being the Portuguese word for "coconut". The Andaman Islands were taken over by the English East India Company in the 18th century. In the 19th century, the British government in India established a penal colony in the Andamans, and the Coco Islands were a source of food for it (mainly coconuts). The British government had leased out the islands to Jadwet family of Burma. The Jadwet family was one of the respected business families of Rangoon with their presence in Moulmein and Mergui.

Due to the isolation of the Coco Islands, they were not properly governed, and the British transferred their control to the government of Lower Burma in Rangoon. In 1882 they officially became part of British Burma. When Burma separated from India in 1937 and became a self-governing Crown Colony, they remained a Burmese territory. In 1942, along with the rest of the Andaman and Nicobar chain, they were occupied by Japan. When Burma regained its independence from Britain in 1948, the Coco Islands passed to the new Union of Burma.

In 1959, General Ne Win’s interim military administration established a penal colony on Great Coco Island. After Ne Win’s coup d’etat in 1962, and the installation of a military government, the prison gained the reputation of being a Burmese "Devil’s Island". In 1969, it was enlarged to house an increased number of political prisoners. After a strike, all prisoners on the island were transferred to Rangoon’s Insein Prison in 1971. After the closing of the penal colony, the facilities on Great Coco Island were transferred to the Burmese Navy. Burmese writer Mya Than Tint was among the people incarcerated at the Great Coco Island penal colony.

The Coco Islands were allegedly leased to the People's Republic of China from 1994. The governments of Burma and the People's Republic of China deny this, and many members of the Burmese military categorically deny any agreement at all.

Military

China supposedly established a SIGINT intelligence gathering station on Great Coco Island in 1992 to monitor Indian naval activity in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The station is also said to allow China to monitor the movement of other navies and ships throughout the eastern Indian Ocean, especially in the crucial point in shipping routes between the Bay of Bengal and the Strait of Malacca. It may also be used to monitor activities at the launch site of the Indian Space Research Organisation at Sriharikota and the Defence Research and Development Organisation at Chandipur-on-sea. The Chinese Army has future plans of building a maritime base on Little Coco Island.

Existence of the Chinese base has been questioned. In 1998, the United States stated that it had not detected any significant Chinese activity in Burma. India’s Chief of Naval Staff is quoted as saying in October 2005 that India had "firm information that there is no listening post, radar or surveillance station belonging to the Chinese on Coco Islands". In 2014 Air Marshal P. K. Roy, Commander-in-Chief of India's Andaman and Nicobar Command stated that "China has been developing a runway for civilian purposes. There are no reports of presence of Chinese per se. The situation is not alarming". He added that there was only some civilian infrastructural developments which was not a threat to India.

Geography

The Bay of Bengal lies to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east of the islands. The Burmese mainland is 250 kilometres (155 mi) to the north. The island of Preparis lies 77 km (48 mi) to the NNE of the Coco Islands. The Coco Islands consist of three main islands:Great Coco Island and the smaller Little Coco Island, separated by the Alexandra Channel, as well as Table Island, a third small island located near Great Coco Island. Geographically they are a part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago (India) and are separated from North Andaman Island by the 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide Coco Channel.

Great Coco Island

Great Coco Island (14°07′00″N 93°22′03″E) is 10.4 km (6.5 mi) long and 2 km (1.2 mi) wide. Many green turtles nest on the beaches of Great Coco Island. A series of research programs on marine turtle conservation have been conducted by Myanmar's Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development. Data collection on tissue samples of green turtles for population genetic and tagging studies was conducted at Great Coco Island from March 2006 to April 2006. Previously, Great Coco Island had never been surveyed for marine turtle conservation due to its remote location. The survey found an estimated 150 sea turtles nesting and 95,000 hatchlings and juveniles.

Jerry Island

Jerry Island is a 1.1 km (0.7 mi) long and 0.2 km (0.12 mi) wide islet located off the southern point of Great Coco Island.

Little Coco Island

Little Coco Island lies 16 km (9.9 mi) to the southwest of Great Coco Island. It is 5 km (3.1 mi) long and 1.2 km (0.75 mi) wide.

Table Island

Table Island is located 2.5 km (1.6 mi) to the north of Great Coco Island. The island is a 1.6 km (1.0 mi) long and 1.2 km (0.7 mi) wide. The island previously housed a lighthouse in its SW area but is now uninhabited. The lighthouse was built is 1867, with a focal plane of 59 m. It has a lantern and gallery, painted with red and white horizontal bands. Two 1-story brick keeper's houses and other light station buildings. The island is accessible by boat. one of the former island's keeper was brutally murdered by his boss.

Slipper Island

Slipper Island is a 0.4 km (0.2 mi) long islet located off the NW point of Table Island, separated from it by a 0.2 km (0.1 mi) wide sound.

Demography

The island has a large water catchment reservoir, able to support the 1,000 villagers. the Navy Base of the 28th unit has some 200 soldiers, as well as their families. There are more than 200 houses on the island and the total population is around 1000 people.

Climate

The Coco Islands have a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year. There is a winter dry season (December–March) and a summer wet season (April–November). The heaviest rain falls in September, with an average of 761 millimetres (30.0 in) of rain.

Administration

The island belongs to the township of Cocokyun. The township had one of the corruption scandals of the 2015 elections. Ballots were filled in Yangon without being shipped, causing a high turnout and police investigation

Transportation

The island has the 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) Coco Island Airport (ICAO code:VYCI) that follows the north-south axis near the village. The airport was recently renovated. There are sources claiming that the airport is used as a Chinese air-force base.

Flora and Fauna

The islands offer the opportunity to see rare reptiles, birds and mammals that are unique to the Coco Islands.