In 2016, in the ruling by an arbitral tribunal in the intergovernmental Permanent Court of Arbitration, in the case brought by the Philippines against China, the tribunal classified Itu Aba as a "rock" under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (and therefore not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf).

[8][9][10] According to an article from ASPI, a significant portion of international opinions views Itu Aba as an "island," despite the Tribunal's ruling, and that very few experts expected it to be classified as a "rock".

[12][13] In 1946, the Republic of China named it Taiping Island (Mandarin Chinese: 太平島; pinyin: Tàipíng Dǎo; lit.

[17] The island was also called by Hainanese fishermen in their dialect as "Widuabe" (黃山馬) and in Mandarin Chinese: 黃山馬礁; pinyin: Huángshānmǎ Jiāo; lit.

[18] Outside of China and Taiwan, a common name for the island is Itu Aba,[citation needed] which was in use prior to 1946.

[18] Some Western sources including U.S. government publications continue to use "Itu Aba" as the primary designator of the land feature, often with "Taiping" in parentheses.

On 6 April 1933,[23] France seized the Spratlys, formally included them in French Indochina, and built a couple of weather stations on them, but did not disturb the numerous Chinese fishermen it found there.

In 1945, in accordance with the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations and with American help, the armed forces of the Republic of China government at Nanjing accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrisons in Taiwan, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

[14] On 3 October 1946, China's leader Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the Navy to send a force to take control of the South China Sea islands: this force left Shanghai on 29 October, arriving at Itu Aba on one and a half months later, after stopping at the Paracel Islands.

[27] Japan officially renounced its control and transferred the island to the trusteeship of the Allied Powers within the San Francisco Peace Treaty on September 8, 1951.

[28] A different interpretation is that Japan officially renounced its sovereignty and transferred the island to the Republic of China under the provisions of the Taipei Peace Treaty.[when?

On 2 February 2008, ROC president Chen Shui-bian personally visited the island accompanied by a significant naval force including two fleets with Kidd class destroyer flagships and two submarines.

[34] In February 2012, the ROC began construction of an antenna tower and associated facilities with the purpose of providing navigation assistance for aircraft landing.

The tower had a planned height of approximately 7 to 8 metres (25'), and was scheduled to be completed in April 2012, and fully functional after proper testing in September 2012.

[35] In July 2012, ROC authorities revealed a project which intended to extend the runway by 500 metres (660 yards), which would allow the island to accommodate various kinds of military aircraft.

The sand accumulated on the beach is rosy coloured, mainly formed from red coral fragments and shell debris.

There is potentially a large amount of undiscovered reserves of oil and natural gas beneath surrounding waters within the South China Sea Basin, however, there has yet to be formal exploration and mining conducted.

The island, along with the rest of the Spratlys, is disputed by four countries on historical, geographic, legal and/or technical grounds, in pursuit of fishing rights, shipping lanes, and the potential of petroleum and natural gas beneath the South China Sea.

Although it is anticipated that the South China Sea basin is abundant in oil and natural gas, the waters surrounding Taiping Island have yet to be formally surveyed or extracted.

Kuomintang legislator Lin Yu-fang has stated that the Chinese Petroleum Corporation has not excluded the option of prospecting territorial waters in the near future, with the military providing naval escort assistance upon directive from the National Security Council of the Republic of China.

[46] Taiping Island is administered under the Municipality of Kaohsiung City, Cijin District, by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

[49] The Taiping Island Airport features an airstrip which caters for C-130 transport planes of the ROC Air Force, with one sortie arriving every two months.

In 2013, Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom established a satellite-based cellular base station on the island to provide the coast guard with communication services.

[citation needed] Guanyin Temple, built in 1959, and nearby tombstones dating back to the Qing dynasty (which lasted until 1911) can show traces of Chinese activity on the island.