The islands are located in the South China Sea consisting of over 30 islets, sandbanks and reefs with about of the ocean surface. The archipelago is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of Vietnam and China, southeast of Hainan Island, and about one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines. Turtles live on the islands, and seabirds have left nests and guano deposits, but there are no permanent human residents except military personnel and fishermen. 