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The Coco Islands ((ビルマ語:ကိုကိုးကျွန်း)) are a small group of islands in the northeastern Indian Ocean. They are part of the Yangon Region of Burma. The Bay of Bengal lies to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east of the islands. The Burmese mainland is to the north. The island of Preparis lies to the NNE of the Coco Islands.〔 The Coco Islands were allegedly leased to the People's Republic of China from 1994.〔John Pike, ("Coco Island - Chinese Intelligence Agencies" ), Federation of American Scientists.〕 The governments of Burma and the People's Republic of China deny this, and many members of the Burmese military categorically deny any agreement at all.〔Selth, Andrew, ("Chinese Whispers: The Great Coco Island Mystery" ), ''Irrawaddy BurmaNet News'', 9 January 2007.〕 ==History== The Andaman Islands were taken over by the English East India Company in the 18th century. In the 19th century, the British government in India established a penal colony in the Andamans, and the Coco Islands were a source of food for it (mainly coconuts). Due to the isolation of the Cocos, they were not properly governed, and the British transferred their control to the government of Lower Burma in Rangoon. In 1882 they officially became part of British Burma. When Burma separated from India in 1937 and became a self-governing Crown Colony, they remained Burmese territory. In 1942, along with the rest of the Andaman and Nicobar chain, they were occupied by Japan. When Burma regained its independence from Britain in 1948, the Coco Islands passed to the new Union of Burma. In 2003, Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes told the BBC that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had ‘donated’ the Coco Islands to Burma in the 1950s, and thus surrendered a vital strategic asset. In 1959, General Ne Win’s interim military administration established a penal colony on Great Coco Island. After Ne Win’s coup d’etat in 1962, and the installation of a military government, the prison gained the reputation of being a Burmese "Devil’s Island". In 1969, it was enlarged to house an increased number of political prisoners. After a strike, all prisoners on the island were transferred to Rangoon’s Insein Prison in 1971. After the closing of the penal colony, the facilities on Great Coco Island were transferred to the Burmese Navy. Burmese writer Mya Than Tint was among the people incarcerated at the Coco Islands penal colony. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coco Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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