Spratly Islands dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Philippines and the Spratly Islands Dangerous Ground (South China Sea) Great Wall of Sand History of the Spratly Islands List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands List of airports in the Spratly Islands Vietnamese DK1 rigs Royal Malaysian Navy Offshore Bases Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads Free Territory of Freedomland Southwest Cay incident (1975) East Sea Campaign (1975) Johnson South Reef skirmish (1988) Dangerous Ground is a large area in the southeast part of the South China Sea characterized by many low islands and cays, sunken reefs, and atolls awash, with reefs often rising abruptly from ocean depths greater than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

There are few precise definitions, but Dangerous Ground corresponds roughly to the seas around the eastern half of the Spratly Islands.

The Admiralty Sailing Directions[5] give the following warning regarding navigation in this area: Due to the conflicting dates and accuracy of the various partial surveys of Dangerous Ground, certain shoals and reefs may appear on one chart, but not on another regardless of the scales involved.Charted depths and their locations may present considerable error in the lesser known regions of this area.

[1] The boundary of Dangerous Ground is shown on NGA charts 93044 (NW),[2] 93045 (NE),[3] 93046 (most of the SE),[6] and 93047 (SW).

Both publications divide the area into four quadrants - NW, NE, SE and SW: Chart 93044 – approx.