Swallow Reef

Swallow Reef, also known as Malay: Pulau Layang-Layang; Vietnamese: Đá Hoa Lau; Mandarin Chinese: 燕子島; pinyin: Yànzi Dǎo; Celerio Reef, is an oceanic atoll of the Spratly Islands administered by Malaysia, which is situated approximately 300 kilometres northwest of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The atoll is about 7 km long and 2 km wide with a central lagoon. The part of the atoll above sea level is a reef on the south-east rim which had an original land area of approximately 6.2 hectares, but with reclaimed land now covers 35 hectares, measuring over 1.5 kilometres long and 200 m wide.The Royal Malaysian Navy has maintained a presence on the reef since 1983, but as with all of the Spratly Islands, the ownership is…