Binh Ba Island

Geography

Binh Ba sits at the entrance of Cam Ranh Bay; the French Wikipedia article states that the island shelters the bay and divides its mouth into two entrances^[4]. Vietnamese Wikipedia gives an area of over 3 km²^[1], Wikidata 3 km²^[3] and Nhan Dan over 300 ha^[7]. Nhan Dan describes three hills, Ma Du, Hòn Cò and Mũi Nam, and beaches at Bãi Chướng, Bãi Nồm and Hòn Rùa^[7]; the Vietnamese and English Wikipedia articles name Bãi Chướng (rocky, with clear water), Bãi Nồm (white sand) and Bãi Nhà Cũ (noted for sea urchins)^[1][2].

The island is about 60 km south of Nha Trang and 15 km east of Ba Ngòi port^[1]; Dân Trí gives the distance from the mainland as about 20 km^[8], and Nhan Dan describes the crossing from the Ba Ngòi pier as over an hour by boat^[7]. Wikidata gives the coordinates 11.837678, 109.240193 and lists the South China Sea as the adjacent body of water^[3].

Settlement and population

Vietnamese Wikipedia gives a population of nearly 5,000 in four villages, Bình Hưng, Bình An, Bình Ba Đông and Bình Ba Tây^[1]; the English article states that residents are concentrated around the pier towards Bãi Nồm while the rest of the island is sparsely inhabited^[2]. The same Vietnamese article opens by counting Bình Hưng as one of the four Bình in its own right, an island beside Bình Ba rather than a village on it, which is how Bình Hưng is treated here and in its own article; the source does not reconcile the two^[1]. Local fishermen quoted in the Vietnamese article trace their ancestors to migrants from Bình Định in about the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and read the ‘Bình’ of the name either as ‘peace’ or as a memory of Bình Định^[1].

The French article dates the settlement to 1820 and names three founders from Bình Định, Nguyễn Phụng, Phan Bạc and Nguyễn Hơn^[4], while Nhan Dan gives the legendary founders as Nguyễn Phụng, Nguyễn Hơn and Nguyễn Tùng^[7]; the sources disagree on the date and on the third name. The English article lists war relics from before 1975, the Lăng Ngũ Hành shrine and the Bình Ba village communal house^[2].

Economy

Nhan Dan describes the island's economy as fishing and aquaculture of scallops, mussels, sweet snails, crabs and fish, and above all lobster^[7]. Dân Trí lists four kinds of farmed lobster, red, green, 'bông' and 'sao'^[8]. Vietnamese media call Binh Ba the 'lobster island' and, with Bình Hưng, Bình Lập and Bình Tiên, part of a 'Tứ Bình' group of coastal places^[1][2]. No published figure for the number of lobster rafts or the annual output was found.

Administration

Until 30 June 2025 Binh Ba, with the neighbouring island of Bình Hưng, formed Cam Bình commune of Cam Ranh city^[4][8]. Resolution 1667/NQ-UBTVQH15 of 16 June 2025, in force from the day it was passed, merged Cam Lập, Cam Bình, Cam Thịnh Đông and Cam Thịnh Tây into a new commune named Nam Cam Ranh, which began operating on 1 July 2025^[6]. Vietnamese Wikipedia gives the new commune an area of 92.59 km², a population of 23,525 in 2025 and 14 villages, among them Bình Ba Đông, Bình Ba Tây, Bình Hưng and Bình Lập^[5].

The military zone and the tourism prohibition

Decision 44/2015/QĐ-TTg, signed by Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on 22 September 2015 and effective from 6 November 2015, promulgated the Regulation on ensuring security and safety of the Cam Ranh Military Base^[9]. Sài Gòn Giải Phóng quotes Article 37 clause 4 of that regulation: the Mũi Hời area, Bình Ba island and Hòn Chút (Bình Hưng island) may not conduct tourism activities^[10].

Decision 04/2025/QĐ-TTg of 30 September 2025 issued a new regulation on protection of the base under Law No. 25/2023/QH15. Its Article 21 clause 1 reads, in the wording quoted by Bảo vệ Pháp luật: 'Ngoài hoạt động quy định tại điểm a khoản 4 Điều 18 Luật số 25/2023/QH15 thì khu vực Mũi Hời, đảo Bình Ba, Hòn Chút không được tiến hành, phát triển các loại hình du lịch'^[11]. Znews reported the same clause and stated that the restriction applies to all tourists, domestic and foreign^[12].

In December 2024 Sài Gòn Giải Phóng reported tours to Binh Ba and Binh Hung being advertised on Google, Facebook and TikTok despite the prohibition; the director of the provincial tourism department confirmed that firms may not organise such tours, the Cam Ranh city authorities reported people using claimed family visits to reach the islands, and a Ho Chi Minh City travel firm contacted by the paper falsely claimed that only foreigners were restricted^[10].

The June 2026 order

On 4 June 2026 the Khánh Hòa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism instructed travel companies to stop organising and promoting tours to Mũi Hời, Bình Ba island and Hòn Chút, to review and terminate all tourism operations in the prohibited area, to refrain from sightseeing programmes there and to remove advertisements and promotional products for them^[12][13]. The People's Committee of Nam Cam Ranh commune was made responsible for inspecting and handling violations^[13]. The order cited the prime ministerial decision of 22 September 2015 and Decision 04/2025/QĐ-TTg of 30 September 2025 as its legal basis^[13].