Taiping Island (Tagalog: Ligaw/Ligao; Vietnamese: Đảo Ba Bình), also referred to as Itu Aba Island, is located in the north-central part of the Spratly Islands (Chinese: Nansha Islands) in the South China Sea. It occupies the northwestern corner of Tizard Bank and is the largest naturally occurring island in the Spratly archipelago, with an area of 0.49 square kilometers. Situated on the eastern side of a major maritime route in the western South China Sea, Taiping Island lies approximately 3.1 nautical miles (about 6 kilometers) east of Zhongzhou Reef, 7.1 nautical miles (about 13 kilometers) east of Sand Cay, and 16 nautical miles (about 30 kilometers) southwest of the Gaven Reefs.
The Spratly Islands consist of over 650 coral reefs, islands, atolls, and rocks. Due to their strategic location at the crossroads between the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, they serve as a critical gateway for international maritime traffic connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa. Furthermore, these islands are believed to contain abundant resources, including petroleum, natural gas, minerals, and fisheries. This has made them a focal point for territorial disputes and military conflicts among surrounding nations, earning them the moniker "Powder Keg of Southeast Asia." Taiping Island is claimed by multiple countries—namely the Republic of China (Taiwan), the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam—but is currently under Taiwan's administrative control. The island was originally part of Hainan Special Administrative Region but now falls under Kaohsiung City's Cijin District jurisdiction.
In recent years, Taiwan has undertaken initiatives to assert sovereignty over Taiping Island and enhance its marine scientific research capabilities. These efforts align with former President Ma Ying-jeou's proposal to designate the Spratly Islands as an "International Marine Peace Park," potentially incorporating national parks, fishing bans, or wildlife habitats into marine conservation zones. To support these goals, comprehensive qualitative and quantitative surveys have been conducted on Taiping Island and Zhongzhou Reef to document existing flora and fauna species, their spatial-temporal distributions, and ecological behaviors. These studies aim to establish an ecological database for long-term monitoring while providing essential background data to assess environmental impacts during construction projects—such as the new port currently under development—and guide restoration efforts.
Additionally, Taiwan plans to publish a bilingual catalog titled Biodiversity of Taiping Island in the Spratlys and produce a high-definition documentary titled Exploring Taiping Island Ecology for international outreach. These initiatives not only highlight Taiwan's sovereignty over Taiping Island but also demonstrate its commitment to marine ecological conservation and scientific research. The findings will serve as valuable references for future resource development, management, conservation efforts, research activities, and educational campaigns concerning Taiping Island and its surrounding waters.

太平島(英語：Itu Aba Island / Taiping Island，他加祿語：Ligaw / Ligao，越南語：Đảo Ba Bình)，又稱黃山馬礁或黃山馬峙，是位於南海南沙群島 (Spratly Islands)北部中央鄭和群礁西北角的一個島嶼，也是南沙群島中最大的島嶼，位居南海西側航道的東邊，面積0.49平方公里。東距中洲礁約3.1海浬(約6公里)、敦謙沙洲約7.1海浬(約13公里)，西南距南薰礁16海浬(約30公里）。
南沙群島由超過六百五十個珊瑚礁形成之大小島嶼、環礁、岩礁所組成，由於南沙群島地處南海要衝，為太平洋溝通印度洋之門戶，是亞、歐、非洲之間交通之國際要道；又可能藏有豐富的石油、天然氣重要能源和其他礦產、漁業資源等，因此成為週遭國家兵家必爭之地，國際糾紛與軍事衝突不斷，素有「東南亞的火藥庫」之稱。中華民國、中華人民共和國、菲律賓、越南等國均宣稱擁有其主權；太平島及中洲礁目前由我國政府實際控制，行政上原隸屬海南特別行政區，現由高雄市旗津區管轄。
為彰顯我國在南沙群島、太平島所擁有的主權及實質的管理，以及提昇我國在海洋科學研究上的能力及水準，並呼應馬總統劃設南沙群島海域為「國際海洋和平公園」的倡議，乃至於未來有可能規劃設置國家公園、禁漁區或野生動物重要棲息地等海洋保護區，實有必要先將太平島及中洲礁之陸域及周遭海域的現有動物、植物相，包括其物種名錄、時空分布、及生態習性等作定性及定量之調查研究紀錄、整理分析，除撰寫調查研究報告外，並建立一包含過去調查研究原始資料生態分布資料庫，供未來長期監測研究之比較。特別是目前即將動工興建的新碼頭，在施工前及施工中對生態之影響可即時地蒐集背景資料，供未來監測了解其影響及恢復之參考。此外並將彙編出版中英文對照之《南沙太平島生物多樣性》之圖集，製作約20分鐘介紹《探索南沙太平島生態》之高畫質影像，供國內外宣導使用。這些成果除可彰顯我國在南沙之主權，以及在海洋生態方面科研之水準，及我國對海洋保育方面所作之努力外，亦能提供未來政府在南沙太平島及其周遭海域之資源進行開發、管理、保育、利用，以及研究與教育宣傳等各方面的重要參考資料。

GBIF url: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/eacc24b2-3315-4289-85dd-7192e59035b7
Homepage: http://nansa.biodiv.tw/home.php
Citation: Shao K, Song Y, Lin H, Severinghaus L, Chang H, Fan T, Hsieh C, Cheng I, Tew K, Lo W, Soong K, Chiu Y, Chan T, Peng C, Hsu Y (2025). 南沙太平島生物多樣性之調查計畫 Investigation Project on the Biodiversity in Taiping Island. Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF). Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/d9zmyg accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-08-18.