The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, none of which have indigenous people, few of which have any natural water supply, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, and many of which are permanently submerged. The features are grouped into three archipelagos, plus the Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal. Collectively they have a total land surface area of less than 15 km² at low tide:

• The Spratly Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, with Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines claiming parts of the archipelago
• The Paracel Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam, occupied by the PRC
• The Pratas Islands, disputed between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, occupied by the ROC
• The Macclesfield Bank, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, with no land above sea-level
• The Scarborough Shoal, disputed between the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and the Republic of China, with only rocks above sea-level.