The Coco Islands (Burmese: ကိုကိုးကျွန်း) are a small group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal. They are part of the Yangon Region of Myanmar since 1937. The islands are located 414 km (257 mi) south of the city of Yangon. Coco Island group consists of five islands: four on the Great Coco Reef and one on the Little Coco Reef. To the north of this island group lies Preparis Island, belonging to Myanmar. To the south lies the Landfall Island, belonging to India.

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Coco Islands

Native name: ကိုကိုးကျွန်း (Burmese)
Coco Islands Location of Coco Islands in Myanmar and in the Bay of Bengal Show map of Myanmar Coco Islands Coco Islands (Bay of Bengal) Show map of Bay of Bengal
Geography
Location	Bay of Bengal
Coordinates	14.05°N 93.35°E / 14.05; 93.35
Archipelago	Coco Islands
Adjacent to	Andaman Sea
Total islands	7
Major islands	Great Coco Little Coco
Area	7.93 sq mi (20.5 km2)
Length	6.2 mi (10 km)
Highest elevation	366 ft (111.6 m)
Administration
Myanmar
Region	Yangon
District	South Yangon
Township	Cocokyun
Ward	Coco Islands
Largest settlement	Great Coco Island (pop. 1,000+)
Demographics
Population	Less than 1,109 (2019)[1]
Pop. density	54/sq mi (20.8/km2)
Ethnic groups	Bamar people, non-Burmese minorities[1]
Additional information
Time zone	MMT (UTC+6:30)
ISO code	MM-06

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The islands were once Indian possessions. They were on the ancient trade route between India, Burma, and Southeast Asia and were regularly visited by ships.^[2] In the 16th century, Portuguese sailors named the islands after the Portuguese word for coconut, coco.^{[citation needed]} The East India Company took over the islands in the 18th century, later becoming part of the British Raj. The Coco Islands provided food, mainly coconuts, to a penal colony at Port Blair on South Andaman Island; the colony was established in 1858 to hold prisoners from the Indian Rebellion of 1857.^[3]

The islands were leased to the Jadwet family in the 1860s, who built a lighthouse on Table Island.^[4] The islands were deemed too remote to administer from India after it took many weeks for the Chief Commissioner at Port Blair to learn of a murder at the lighthouse in 1877. Control was transferred to British Burma by 1882. The islands were commercially leased starting in 1878, but attempts to develop it over the next 60 years failed.^[5]

Burma retained the islands when it became a crown colony in 1937.^[6] Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945 during the Second World War.^[7]

In 1992, a Japanese news service reported that China was helping upgrade the base on Great Coco Island. Through the 1990s and 2000s, journalists and academics expanded the claims to China having a major signals intelligence base, seemingly part of the so-called "string of pearls", that monitored Indian activity. In 1998, George Fernandes also claimed China intended to build a major naval base on the islands; India was the only country to publicly "confirm" that the Chinese base existed. No supporting evidence appears through 2008. China and Burma denied the base's existence. In 1998, the United States reported that there was no significant Chinese activity. In 2005, India retracted its position; this followed an Indian inspection of the islands at Burma's invitation.^[9]

In 2014, Air Marshal P. K. Roy, commander-in-chief of India's Andaman and Nicobar Command, stated that "China has been developing a runway for civilian purposes.^[10][11] There are no reports of the presence of Chinese per se. The situation is not alarming". He added that there were only some civilian infrastructural developments, which were not a threat to India.^[12]

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies, taken in January 2023, revealed upgrades to Coco Island Airport. These included a longer 2,300-metre runway, a radar tower, and two new hangars. It appears that the installation is run by the Tatmadaw or Myanmar military with no visible Chinese military presence.^[13]

The Bay of Bengal lies to the west of the islands. The Andaman Sea lies to the east. The Burmese mainland is 250 kilometres (155 mi) to the north. The island of Preparis lies 77 km (48 mi) to the north-northeast of the Coco Islands.^[14] The Coco Islands consist of three main islands, namely Great Coco Island and the smaller Little Coco Island, separated by the Alexandra Channel, as well as Table Island, a third small island located near Great Coco Island.^[15]

Geographically, they are a part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago, most of which belongs to India. They are separated from Landfall Island, the northernmost island in the Indian part of the archipelago, by the 20 kilometres (12 mi) wide Coco Channel.^[4]

There are more than 200 houses on Great Coco Island, and its total population is around a thousand people. A large water catchment reservoir can support the island's population.^[17]

There is a naval base on the islands, which belongs to the 28th unit of the Myanmar Navy. It is home to some 200 soldiers and their families.

This article is missing information about origin of the population of the island. (November 2018)

The Coco Islands have a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). Temperatures are very warm throughout the year. There is a winter dry season from December to March. There is a summer wet season from April to November. Heavy rain has been known in September, such as 761 millimetres (30.0 in) of rain.

The island belongs to the township of Cocokyun. The township had a corruption scandal in the Myanmar general election of 2015.^[20] Ballots were filled in Yangon without being shipped, resulting in a high turnout and police investigation.^[21][22]

The 1,800-metre (5,900 ft) Coco Island Airport (ICAO code: VYCI) is at the north of Great Coco Island. It follows the north–south axis near the island's village. The airport was recently renovated.^[23]

The islands offer the opportunity to see rare reptiles, birds, and mammals that are unique to the Coco Islands.^[24]

• Map of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with the Coco Islands in the extreme north
• Map of the Coco Islands group, Great Coco Island in north and Little Coco Island in southwest
• Map of Table Island in the middle and Slipper Island to the northwest
• Map of Great Coco Island with tiny Jerry Island at the bottom
• Map of Little Coco Island, it is the southernmost island of Myanmar

Exclusive economic zones

• Exclusive economic zone of India
• Exclusive economic zone of Indonesia
• Exclusive economic zone of Malaysia
• Exclusive economic zone of Thailand
• India's Look-East Connectivity projects
• Sabang strategic port development, India-Indonesia project
• Sittwe Port, India-Myanmar project
• Dawei Port Project in Myanmar

Extreme points

• Rondo Island, Indonesia's northernmost island is closest to Indira Point
• Narcondam Island, India's easternmost point of Andaman Nicobar Islands group
• Landfall Island, India's northernmost island of Andaman Nicobar Islands group
• Extreme points of India
• Extreme points of Indonesia
• Extreme points of Myanmar
• Extreme points of Bangladesh
• Extreme points of Thailand
• List of islands of Burma

Borders of Myanmar

• Bangladesh–Myanmar border
• China–Myanmar border
• India–Myanmar border
• Laos–Myanmar border
• Thailand–Myanmar border