Sangihe plate has recently (1990s) been postulated to be a microplate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone of eastern Indonesia.
The tectonic setting of the Molucca Sea region is unique.
It is the only global example of an active arc-arc collision consuming an oceanic basin via subduction in two directions.
[1] Seismicity shows the west-dipping Sangihe reaches a depth of about 650 kilometres (400 mi).
[2] Both Sangihe and Halmahera are exposed to the surface while the Molucca Sea plate is completely subsumed below these two microplates.