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Spratly Islands
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Spratly Islands dispute Territorial disputes in the South China Sea Philippines and the Spratly Islands Dangerous Ground (South China Sea) Great Wall of Sand History of the Spratly Islands List of maritime features in the Spratly Islands List of airports in the Spratly Islands Vietnamese DK1 rigs Royal Malaysian Navy Offshore Bases Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads Free Territory of Freedomland
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Southwest Cay incident (1975) East Sea Campaign (1975) Johnson South Reef skirmish (1988)
Military occupations
Occupied by Brunei Louisa Reef-Semarang Barat Kecil Reef Occupied by China (PRC) Cuarteron Reef, Huayang Reef Fiery Cross Reef, Yongshu Reef Gaven Reefs, Nanxun Reef and Xinan Reef Hughes Reef, Dongmen Reef Johnson South Reef, Chigua Reef Mischief Reef, Meiji Reef Subi Reef, Zhubi Reef Occupied by Malaysia Ardasier Reef, Ubi Reef Dallas Reef, Laya Reef Erica Reef, Siput Reef Investigator Shoal, Peninjau Shoal Mariveles Reef, Mantanani Reef Swallow Reef, Layang-Layang Island Occupied by the Philippines Commodore Reef, Rizal Reef Flat Island, Patag Island Irving Reef, Balagtas Reef Lankiam Cay, Panata Island Loaita Cay, Melchora Aquino Island Loaita Island, Kota Island Nanshan Island, Lawak Island Northeast Cay, Parola Island Second Thomas Shoal, Ayungin Shoal Thitu Island, Pagasa Island West York Island, Likas Island Occupied by Taiwan (ROC) Centre Cay, Zhongzhou Reef Itu Aba Island, Taiping Island Occupied by Vietnam Amboyna Cay, An Bang Island Bombay Castle, Ba Ke Collins Reef, Co Lin Reef Cornwallis South Reef, Nui Le Reef Ladd Reef, Lat Reef Namyit Island, Nam Yet Island Sand Cay, Son Ca Island Sin Cowe Island, Sinh Ton Island Southwest Cay, Song Tu Tay Island Spratly Island, Truong Sa Island Unoccupied Half Moon Shoal Luconia Shoals Northeast Investigator Shoal Royal Captain Shoal Sabina Shoal Western Reef Whitsun Reef
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The Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads is the fictional micronation in the Spratly Islands established by British naval captain James George Meads in 1877, according to the quixotic claims of a confidence man, Morton F. Meads.

Morton Meads was a U.S. Army Soldier, discharged in Manila in 1946, for illegally engaging in various personal business ventures, mainly in the re-sale of army surplus.^[1]

Meads' tall tales of his so-called birthright "Kingdom of Humanity" were captured in the local Philippine newspapers, which then caught the attention of the local Philippine military authorities. Meads was later arrested on criminal and civil charges for his business ventures, although these charges were later dropped. Regardless, Meads' fanciful storytelling sparked the motivation of powerful Filipino businessmen, such as Tomas Coloma, to race towards claiming the South China Sea Islands for the Philippines, such as the Spratlys.^[2]

The republic's history begins with Morton Meads' supposed British forebear, Captain James George Meads, who laid claim to the Spratly Islands in 1877. Captain Meads was exploring the South China Sea on the Modeste and laid claim to the islands and took the name King James I.^[3] Descendants of Meads have continued to posit legitimacy over the islands, and ownership of the islands' resources.^[4][5]

A rival entity called the "Kingdom of Humanity" formed in 1914^{[citation needed]} under the leadership of Franklin M. Meads, the son of James George. The two rival factions continued their claim on the islands during World War II, when they were occupied by Japanese troops^{[citation needed]}. Franklin died in 1945, and his son Josiah took over leadership ^{[citation needed]}; Josiah himself died soon after. His son, Morton F. Meads, was to succeed but was deemed too young.^[6]

The Kingdom faded into obscurity over the next decade until 1972^{[citation needed]}, when the then-ruling Morton Meads unsuccessfully petitioned the United Nations, Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China, and the Philippines to recognise the Kingdom and its claims.^[6] Later that year, the remainder of the Kingdom's governing body drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Philippines during Typhoon Ora, except for Meads.^[3]

The Kingdom reappeared in 1985 ^{[citation needed]} when Meads sued the United States and others for $25 billion, claiming "unfair competition, harassment, [and] sabotage." The case was not heard.^[7]

• Spratly Islands

• Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Republics of the Reefs: Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans", California Western International Law Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, Fall, 1994, pp. 83–85.