Woody Island

On June 21, 2012 the State Council promoted Sansha City on Woody (Yongxing) Island from a county to a prefectural level administrative entity, the second highest administrative division. Sansha continued its responsibility for managing the Paracels, the Spratlys (claimed by China as the Nansha Islands), the Zhongsha Islands (a collection of features that includes the Macclesfield Bank) and their surrounding waters.