ThỠChâu Island () is the largest island of ThỠChâu Islands in the Gulf of Thailand. It constitutes ThỠChâu special zone () of An Giang province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam.
The island contains the administrative center of Thá» Châu special zone as Thá» Châu township (thá» trấn Thá» Châu), Kiên Giang Province, Vietnam. In the West, the island is also known as Pulau Panjang or Pulo Panjang.
During the Republic of Vietnam regime, ThỠChâu Island was under the administration of An Xuyên Province.
On May 10, 1975, the Khmer Rouge occupied the island and, as reported by the Government of Vietnam, "destroyed villages, killed many people, and abducted 515 inhabitants of the island". From May 24 to May 27, 1975, Vietnamese militia forces attacked the occupiers and recaptured the island. In 1977, the Khmer Rouge raided ThỠChâu Island once again but were defeated.
On April 27, 1992, under the arrangement of the People's Committee of Kiên Giang Province, six families with about thirty people moved to ThỠChâu Island and settled there. On April 24, 1993, the Vietnamese government decided to establish ThỠChâu Commune which has been in charge of administrating the whole archipelago.
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 lost contact with ground while flying by ThỠChâu island.
Thá» Châu Island is located to the southwest of Phú Quá»Âc Island and Rạch Giá and to the northwest of Cape CàMau, specifically , and away. There are four beaches on the island (Bai Ngu, Bai Dong, Bai Mun and Bai Nhat) of which the largest are Bai Ngu (literally "Royal Beach") and Bai Dong.
ThỠChâu Island has a diverse natural environment with high-density coral reefs, white sand beaches and pristine forests. A majority of 99 species of coral present here belong to the two genera Montipora and Acropora of Acroporidae. The flora consists of about two hundreds of species, mostly Clusiaceae, Fabaceae vàSapotaceae. The island is also home to endemic gecko species Cyrtodactylus thochuensis. However, ThỠChâu is being threatened by environmental pollution since domestic waste is dumped into the sea.
The majority of inhabitants are navy personnel and border guards who chose to settle on the island. As of early 2023, there are 549 households with about 1,900 people who mainly reside at Bai Ngu and Bai Dong. The residents' lives are not easy as they have to move around the island twice a year to avoid storms. In the southwest monsoon from April to August, people move from Bai Ngu to Bai Dong and in the northeast monsoon from September to March, they reverse their migration.
ThỠChâu Island has only one electric generator for Bãi Ngự. The island does not have a water supply network so military personnel and civilians have to dig wells to get water. Mobile information services of Viettel, MobiFone and Vinaphone have reached the island. ThỠChâu Island Lighthouse was set up on January 25, 2000. Its range is during daytime and in the nighttime.
In addition, the island has a primary-high school (trðá»Âng liên cấp Thá» Châu), a post office and a temple commemorating the victims of the Khmer Rouge.
In general, the economy of ThỠChâu Island is still difficult. Local residents live mainly by fishing, including seafood trading and fisheries logistics. The efficiency in the exploitation of marine resources is only at low level.
According to Decision No. 18/2009/QÃÂ-TTg by Prime Minister Nguyá» n Tấn Dà ©ng, Thá» Châu Island is planned to become a large fisheries service center of the region.