Definition of "Pratas"
Pratas
proper noun
An island and an atoll in the South China Sea administered as part of Cijin (Qijin), Kaohsiung, Republic of China (Taiwan).
Quotations
Captain King began now to entertain apprehenſions, leſt, in the proſecution of our ſearch for thoſe iſlands, we ſhould get ſo far to the ſouth as to be under the neceſſity of paſſing to leeward of the Pratas ; in which caſe, it might have proved extremely difficult for ſuch bad ſailing veſſels as our to fetch Macao, eſpecially if the wind ſhould continue to blow (as it now did) from the north-north-eaſt and north.. .On the approach of day-light, we had ſight of the iſland of Prata ; and, between the hours of ſix and ſeven, we ſtood towards the ſhoal, but finding ourſelves unable to weather it, we bore away, and ran to leeward.. .The iſland of Prata was now three or four leagues diſtant, bearing north three quarters eaſt. Near the southern extremity of the iſland, and on the ſouth-weſtern ſide of the reef, we imagined that we ſaw, from the maſt-head, ſeveral openings in the reef, which ſeemed to promiſe ſecure anchorage.The extent of the Prata ſhoal is conſiderable ; for it is about ſix leagues from north to ſouth, and extends three or four leagues to the eaſt of the iſland : its limits to the weſtward we had not an opportunity of aſcertaining.
1784, James Cook, James King, Cook's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean, volume IV, London: John Stockdale, pages 211–213
In the 'Zoologist' for 1860 (Zool. 7236) I contributed a list of animals observed on Pratas Island, situated at one side of the Pratas Reef, a coral formation in the China Sea. Since then I have come across a short account of my visit to the Pratas Shoal, which possibly may interest some of your readers, as conveying some notion of what these isolated coral islands are like.
1862, Arthur Adams, “A Visit to Pratas Island”, in The Zoologist, volume 20, pages 8183-8184
CHINA SEA.—Proceeding from north to south, we first meet the Pratas Shoal (lat. 20° N.), which, according to Horsburgh (vol. ii. p. 335), is composed of coral, is of a circular form, and has a low islet on it. The reef is on a level with the water's edge, and when the sea runs high, there are breakers nearly all round; 'the water within seems pretty deep in some places; although steep in the most parts outside, there appear to be several parts where a ship might find anchorage outside the breaks;' coloured blue.
1874, Charles Darwin, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, 2nd edition, London: Smith, Elder & Co., page 238
Later in the same typhoon season the members of a similar fowling expedition had their vessel smashed up during a cyclone, and being marooned upon the Pratas, were, I think, upon news of their fate becoming known, brought off, the island by an Osaka Shosen Kaisha steamer, officially sent to effect their rescue.
1909 August 21, “THE TRUTH ABOUT PRATAS ISLAND”, in The Japan Weekly Mail, volume LII, number 8, Yokohama, page 241
It is emphatically with Japan that the most serious trouble has taken place. Early in the year it was discovered by the Chinese authorities that the Pratas Islands had been occupied by Japanese and that their supplies of nitrates were being carried off to Japan without so much as a "By your leave.". .The question of the jurisdiction over Chientao has been before the two Governments for the last two and a half years and it was causing a good deal of friction between them, so Japan gave way in the matter of Pratas Island, more or less, and this was after all a most insignificant affair, with the hope of getting her own way about Chientao.
1910, The Provinces of China, Shanghai, page 172
DESCRIPTION OF THE GUANO ISLANDSPRATAS ISLAND OR TUNG-SHA-TAOLATITUDE 20° 42' N., LONGITUDE 116° 43' E.Situated on the western side of Pratas Reef, a large circular reef with a circumference of about 64 kilometers, a width of up to 3 kilometers, and a large interior lagoon. According to the "Sailing directions for the western shores of the China Sea" (United States Hydrographic Office, 1937a) the island is horseshoe shaped, about 1.6 kilometers long, is sandy and bears trees.
1950, George Evelyn Hutchinson, “Guano Islands in the South China Sea, in the Seas of the East Indian Archipelago, and in the Adjacent Parts of the Indian Ocean”, in The Biogeochemistry of Vertebrate Excretion (Survey of Existing Knowledge of Biochemistry), volume 96, New York: American Museum of Natural History, page 278
Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).
1992, Richard Louis Edmonds, edited by Graham P. Chapman and Kathleen M. Baker, The Changing Geography of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (The Changing Geography of Asia), Routledge, page 160
Taiwan says Chinese warplanes entered its airspace in the South China Sea on Wednesday and Thursday during large-scale war games that it called a “serious provocation to the self-governing island and a grave threat to regional peace and stability.”Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Thursday that its military was fully aware of China’s actions and “responds effectively,” without giving details. The war games reportedly took place in airspace between Taiwan’s main island and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas island group to the south.
2020 September 14, “South China Sea Watch: More talks and more tensions”, in Washington Post
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has conducted almost daily flights over the waters between the southern part of Taiwan and the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea in recent months.. .A map provided by Taiwan’s defence ministry showed that the Chinese aircraft, including a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, flew over the same waters where the most recent Chinese missions have been taking place near the Pratas Islands, though still well away from mainland Taiwan.
2021 January 23, Ben Blanchard, “Taiwan reports large incursion by Chinese air force”, in Reuters