Grierson Reef

Grierson Reef/Sin Cowe East Island
Disputed island;
	Grierson Reef
	Grierson Reef/Sin Cowe East Island
Other names	; Sinh Tồn Đông (Vietnamese); Julian Felipe Reef(Philippine English); Pulo ng Julian Felipe (Filipino); 染青沙洲 Rǎnqīng shāzhōu (Chinese)
Geography
Location	South China Sea
Coordinates	9°54′9″N 114°33′51″E / 9.90250°N 114.56417°E
Archipelago	Spratly Islands
Area	2.8 ha (6.9 acres)
Administration
	Vietnam
District	Trường Sa District
Commune	Sinh Tồn Commune
Claimed by
	China
	Philippines
	Taiwan

Grierson Reef (Filipino: Pulo ng Julian Felipe); Sin Cowe East Island (Vietnamese: Đảo Sinh Tồn Đông); Mandarin Chinese: 染青沙洲; pinyin: Rǎnqīng shāzhōu, is a cay on the eastern part of the Union Banks of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The island has been occupied by Vietnam since 1978. It is also claimed by China (PRC), the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan (ROC).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Geography

The original island (before additional land reclamation) was approximately 160 meters long, 60 meters wide, and surrounded by a sandy shore ranging from 5 to 10 meters in width. The natural land area of the island was approximately 1.6 hectares. Both ends of the island feature sandbars that shift seasonally with wind and wave patterns.^[4]

In 2014, Vietnam constructed a seawall around the island and expanded it (210 meters long and 100 meters wide), adding approximately 1.2 hectares of land, bringing the total area of the island to approximately 2.8 hectares.

On June 7, 2022, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha inaugurated the Sinh Tồn Đông Pagoda on the island. ^[5]

Starting in March 2025, Vietnam began land reclamation activities to expand Sinh Tồn Đông Island while dredging a harbor on the southern part of the island.

Chigua Jiao (Johnson South Reef)

Đá Cô Lin
(Collins Reef,
Johnson North Reef)

Loveless Reef

Gent Reef

Sinh Tồn (Sin Cowe Island)

Edmund Reef

McKennan Reef

Dōngmén Jiāo (Hughes Reef)

Sinh Tồn Đông (Grierson Reef/ Sin Cowe East Island)

Đá Len Đao (Landsdowne Reef)

References

^ (in Vietnamese)Mai Thanh Hai (May 19, 2018). "Sinh Tồn Đông, đảo tuyến đầu của quần đảo Trường Sa". Thanh Niên. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
^ D. J. Hancox; John Robert Victor Prescott (1995). A Geographical Description of the Spratly Islands and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands. IBRU. pp. 11–. ISBN 978-1-897643-18-1.
^ "Grierson Reef". cil.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
^ Những điều cần biết về hai quần đảo Hoàng Sa, Trường Sa và khu vực thềm lục địa phía nam (DK1). Cục Chính trị, Bộ Tư lệnh Hải quân (Việt Nam). 2011
^ Phong, Báo điện tử Tiền (2022-07-10). "Hình ảnh 3 ngôi chùa vừa khánh thành việc tôn tạo, khôi phục ở Trường Sa". Báo điện tử Tiền Phong (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2025-08-06.