West Philippine Sea is the official designation by the government of the Philippines of eastern parts of the South China Sea which are included in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. The term is also sometimes incorrectly used to refer to the South China Sea as a whole.

For those who are not aware, there are several islands in the West Philippine Sea that can be found, containing a lot of natural resources and with their natural beauty.

Here are the 9 different Islands that can be found in the West Philippine Sea:

Patag Island

Coordinates: 10°49′00″N 115°49′20″E / 10.81667°N 115.82222°E

Literally means “Flat“and internationally known as “Flat Island” It has an area of 0.57 hectares (5,700 sq. m), and is about 10 km (6 nautical miles) north of Philippine-occupied Lawak Island. It is an example of a cay. It changes its shape seasonally. The sand build up will depend largely on the direction of prevailing wind and waves. Presently, it takes the shape of an elongated one, three years ago it had a shape like that of a crescent moon, a nd years back it formed the shape of a letter "S". It is barren of any vegetation.

Kota Island

Coordinates: 10°40′N 114°25′E / 10.667°N 114.417°E

Kota is a Philippine word for a “Fort” and is internationally known as “Loaita Island”. Its size is approximately 6.45 hectares. It is located 22 miles southeast of Pag-asa. It fringes the Laoita bank and reef. Its calcarenite outcrop is visible along its western side at low tide. The present shape of the island indicates sand build-up along its eastern side. The anchor-shaped side is expected to eventually connect with the northern portion as the sand buildup continues, thereby creating another mini-lagoon in the process.

The presence of migrating sea birds adds to the high phosphorus contents of the sand found in the island. Occasionally, giant sea turtles are reported to be laying their eggs on the island. It is also considered to be very good fishing destinations.

Parola Island

Coordinates: 11°27′09″N 114°21′16″E / 11.45250°N 114.35444°E

Literally means “Lighthouse” and Internationally known as “Northeast Cay”. It is the third largest of the Philippine-occupied islands, about 12.7 hectares. It is 1.75 miles (2.82 km) north of Vietnamese-occupied Southwest Cay, and they are visible from each other. It is located 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Pag-asa Island.

Some of the cay's outcrops are visible on its western side. It has high salinity groundwater and vegetation is limited to beach type of plants. The island is surrounded by corals. It is covered with grass and thick trees. Much of the fringing reef is above water at high tide.

Pag-asa Island

Coordinates: 11°03′N 114°17′E / 11.050°N 114.283°E

Literally means “Hope” and internationally known as “Thitu Island”. With an area of 37.2 hectares, it is the largest of the Philippine-administered islands. It lies about 480 kilometers (300 mi) west of Puerto Princesa City. The Philippine government formally established the Municipality of Kalayaan on Pag-asa Island on 11 June 1978, by virtue of Presidential Decree 1596 series of 1978. Pag-asa Island is low-lying, with trees, shrubs and sand bars. It is surrounded by coral reefs, populated with rusting wrecks visible above water. The island has a 1,300 meters (1,400 yd) airstrip called Rancudo Airfield, which serves both military and civilian air transportation needs. PAF regularly sends aircraft to Palawan for reconnaissance and reprovisioning missions in the Philippine-controlled regions in the Spratly chain. The airstrip on the island makes such important missions easier.

The island serves as a town proper to the municipality of Kalayaan. The civilian population which in 2018, numbered about 184, was introduced in 2001. They live in a few dozen houses, scattered throughout the island.

Lawak Island

Coordinates: 10°44′N 115°48′E / 10.733°N 115.800°E

Near the fringes of the breakwaters (approx. 2 miles (3 km) from the island), intact hard coral reefs were observed to retain their natural environment and beautiful tropical fishes were seen colonizing these coral beds of varying colors.It is also covered with coconut trees, bushes and grass. It is 580 m long, on the edge of a submerged reef.

 

Likas Island

 

Coordinates: 11°05′N 115°0′E / 11.083°N 115.000°

 

Literally means “Natural” and internationally known as “West York Island”. The second largest Phil Island in KIG has a total area of 18.6 hectares is located 47 miles northeast of Pag-asa. Its outcrops are visible on the southern and eastern portion of the island during low tides. This island is a sanctuary for giant sea turtles (pawikan) that lay their eggs on the island all year round. The high salinity of the ground water on the island retards the growth of introduced trees like coconuts, ipil-ipil, and other types. Only those native to the area (mostly beach type of plants) thrive and survive the hot and humid conditions especially during the dry season.

 

Ayungin Shoal

 

Coordinates: 9°44′N 115°52′E / 9.733°N 115.867°E

 

Internationally known as “Second Thomas Reef”. It is a shoal/atoll in the Spratly Islands 105 nautical miles (194 km; 121 mi) west of Palawan. It is a tear-drop shaped atoll, 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) long North-South and fringed with coral reefs. The coral rim surrounds a lagoon which has depths of up to 27 metres (89 ft) and is accessible to small boats from the East. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintains a presence in the shoal through the Philippine Navy vessel BRP Sierre Madre (LS57), that was aground at the shoal in 1999.

 

Rizal Reef

 

Internationally known as “Commodore Reef”. It appears as two atolls joined by a reef. It is located west of Balabac, about 110 nautical miles and near the Malaysian border. It is a typical reef lying underwater and the existing structures and facilities in this area are manned by the AFP.

 

Panata Island

 

Coordinates: 10°43′N 114°32′E / 10.717°N 114.533°E