Despite an offer by a British businessman in Xiamen (Amoy) to build it, it was decided that the cost was too great and the matter lapsed.

It is clear from the correspondence that no one supposed the atoll to be a part of any known jurisdiction, so negotiations might have been required to ensure that any construction would be legal.

[47] On the resulting chart three positions are proposed for a lighthouse: on Pratas Island, on the north-east corner, or on the southern edge near where HMS Reynard had stranded.

In the north-east corner of the lagoon the chart notes "Anchorage for junks", indicating regular use by fishing and other small vessels taking shelter.

He destroyed the Dawang Joss House (大王庙), dug up graves and poured the bone ashes of Chinese fishermen into the sea, and renamed the atoll "Nishizawa Island".

[51] In December 1930, the schooner Hedwig (Sweden) ran aground on a coral reef off Pratas Island and was wrecked.

The landing party destroyed a radio tower, weather station, fuel and ammunition dumps, and several buildings.

[1]: 10, 13, 15, 23 [24] On 6 June 1949, the ROC established the Hainan Special Administrative District (海南特別行政區), which included Pratas Island.

[24] On 9 June 1960, during Typhoon Mary, the Hong Kong cargo ship Shun Lee was driven against Pratas Reef and wrecked.

[59][60] While underway in the South China Sea on 18 July 1965, the USS Frank Knox ran aground on Pratas Reef, and was only freed on 24 August after a very difficult salvage effort.

[63] On 21 December 2000, ROC President Chen Shui-bian visited the island with Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh.

[64][20] On 28 July 2005, President Chen Shui-bian again visited the island and inaugurated the Fifth Maritime Patrol Squad of the Coast Guard Administration.

The transcript of the conversation between the pilot and air traffic control was released by the ROC Civil Aeronautics Administration.

[2][10][67][68][69][70] The next day, the ROC Minister of National Defense Yen Teh-fa called on PRC not to "disrupt the order of international aviation".

[71][72] On 20 October, Deputy Chief of the ROC General Staff, Lieutenant-General Li Ting-sheng (李廷盛), visited Pratas Island.

[76] On 28 October, Zhu Fenglian of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the PRC was asked whether, in light of PLA military exercises in Fujian and Guangdong, there was or was not a plan to take Pratas Island from the ROC.

[77][78] On 2 November, eight Chinese PLAAF aircraft breached the ROC ADIZ above an area of sea near Pratas Island.

[80] On 4 November, the ROC Minister of National Defense, Yen Teh-fa, stated in a legislative hearing that since January 2020, 276 PRC military planes had entered the airspace between the main island of Taiwan and Pratas Island, activity that Yen associated with plans by the PRC for a creating its own ADIZ in the South China Sea.

[82] Pratas Island is located 444 km (276 mi) from the rest of Kaoshiung,[63] 850 kilometres (530 miles) southwest of Taipei, 320 kilometres (200 miles) southeast of Hong Kong[8] and 260 km (160 mi) south of Shantou, Guangdong[31] in the northern part of the South China Sea (20°43′N 116°42′E / 20.717°N 116.700°E / 20.717; 116.700).

An international team of researchers conducted a comprehensive population genetic analysis of 11 marine species sampled from the island.

[83] The protection of the island and surrounding reefs by the Taiwanese government as Dongsha Atoll National Park may therefore benefit the entire region.

A well head, in a depth of over 100 metres (330 ft), lies 28 mi (45 km) north of the Vereker Banks at 21°38′N 116°03′E / 21.633°N 116.050°E / 21.633; 116.050.

Although there are no long-term inhabitants on the island, Pratas is administered by the Kaohsiung City Government under Cijin District (Qijin).

[88] The People's Republic of China claims the Pratas Islands (东沙群岛) as part of Chengqu, Shanwei (Swabue), Guangdong Province.

Amateur radio operators participating in the DXCC and Islands on the Air awards programs also visit occasionally.

[citation needed] In 1954 the ROC Government personnel stationed on Pratas erected a stone tablet on the southern side of the island, facing the ocean.

The words 'Defend the South China Sea', written by the commander, Lo Ben Li, were also engraved on the stone tablet.

The inscription 'South China Sea Defense' from the national stone tablet on Pratas Island was printed on the five-dollar stamp, and the 'Defend the South China Sea' inscription from the national stone tablet on Taiping Island was printed on the seventeen-dollar stamp.

A circle with a radius of 10 nmi (19 km) centered on Pratas Island, referred to as VHR7, is a prohibited area for aeronautical purposes.