Hello Everyone,
Welcome to Day 5 - the final day of our 2021 new MTP locations reveal. Yesterday, we added 11 islands and island groups in Europe and Africa, as well as a set of exclaves in the UAE.
On Day 3, we added the 6 regions of Sudan and the 4 regions of Libya, while on Day 2, we added the 9 regions of Saudi Arabia, and on Day 1, we added the 10 regions of DRC. For those of you new to MTP, we adjust our list of locations every year, and try to spread out our annual unveilings over several days - kind of like a travel Hannukah, where one beautiful gift after another is revealed :)
Our last set of new locations for 2021 consists of 10 islands and island groups in Asia and the Pacific:
- Labuan
- Palau Southwest Islands
- Sumatran Islands (Simeulue, Nias, and Mentawai groups)
- North Maluku Islands
- South Maluku Islands
- Phú Quốc (and Thổ Chu Islands)
- Yap Outer Islands
- Chuuk - Northwest Outer Islands
- Chuuk - Mortlock Islands
- Nukuoro & Kapingamarangi
Let's start with Labuan, which is a Malaysian Federal Territory off the coast of Brunei, purchased by the British in 1846 from the Sultan of Brunei. The British converted it to a British Navy base with the notion of developing it into the next Singapore. While that didn't quite work out, Labuan remains quite distinct from Sabah and Sarawak - the other Malaysian states on Borneo.
Most people know Palau as the main islands of Babeldaob, Peleliu and the Rock Islands. Few know that there is a remote group of islands, over 400 mi to the southwest, whose inhaitants speak a separate language more akin to Outer Yapese. This MTP location Palau Southwest Islands consists of the Palau states of Sonsoral and Hatohobei.
Off the western coast of Sumatra lies the island chain of the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, and Enggano archipelagoes. These islands belong to different Indonesian states, and are populated by different peoples, but share a profile of cultural and linguistic isolation from the mainland of Sumatra, so we are grouping them into a single MTP location called Sumatran Islands.
Until now, we've represented the Maluku Islands as a single MTP location, but it is really more diverse and dispersed than that. So we are dividing the Malukus into 3 states, Northern Malukus, Central Mulukus, and Southern Mulukus.
Off the southwestern tip of Vietnam lies the island of Phú Quốc, much closer to the Cambodian coast than anywhere else in Vietnam. Phú Quốc and its associated remote archipelago Thổ Chu have been disputed through the years between Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Cochinese and French before them. In 2014, Phú Quốc was set up as a visa-free destination for foreign tourists.
Yap State consists of the Yap Main Islands in the west, and sprawls across 14 other atolls for about 600 km to the east and northeast. We are specifying these 14 atolls as a separate MTP location called Yap Outer Islands. As expected, the farther east one goes, the more differential is found in language and culture. Historically a tributary system existed between the two sets of islands.
Chuuk State consists of several distinct island groups, each with its own dialects and customs. Besides the Chuuk Main Islands, we've grouped the Hall, Makur, Namonuito, and Pattiw Islands into a single MTP location called Chuuk - Northwest Outer Islands, Likewise, to the Southeast, we've identified the Mortlock Islands as a separate MTP location. Chuuk Lagoon, where the main airport TKK is located, now becomes Chuuk Main Islands on MTP.
Pohnpei State is a bit more condensed than Yap or Chuuk States, but still has 2 notable outliers: Nukuoro & Kapingamarangi are Polynesian islands administered in Melanesia. Their people and language are fully Polynesian. Kapingamarangi is the most southerly point in all of Melanesia.
If you are an iPhone/iPad app user, you must be on the latest version of the app to see these changes (You can check your version by going to My Profile > Gear Icon > About The App). If you are on the latest version, and can't see the new locations, you can reinstall the app, or simply view all the latest changes on your browser.
If you are an Android app user, and don't see these changes, simply reboot your phone to clear the cache.
Thanks as always for your support. That's it for our 2021 MTP list changes, barring any major tectonic shifts (either geologic or political) which may arise and compel us to create more. I'll give this time to digest, and be back next week with some updates on the new features we've been building.
Charles Veley | Founder & CEO