Location South China Sea | Archipelago Spratly Islands | |
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Hughes Reef (Chinese: 东门礁; pinyin: Dōngmén jiāo, Vietnamese: đá Tư Nghĩa) is a reef in Union banks in the Spratly group of islands, South China Sea. It is only above water at low tide. China has reclaimed land on the reef, bringing its area to 7.6 hectares.
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Map of Hugh Reef
It lies in the center of Spratlys, is occupied by the People's Republic of China, and has a lighthouse on top of a two storied Chinese defence outpost on it.
Geographical features
On 12 July 2016, the tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration concluded that Hughes Reef is, or in their natural condition was, exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide and are, accordingly low-tide elevations that do not generate entitlement to a territorial sea, exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.
Military development
In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that Hughes Reef has been armed with anti-aircraft weapons and a CIWS missile-defence system.