West Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands

West Island

Native name: Malay: Pulau Panjang Cocos Malay: Pulu Panjang
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, showing West Island
West Island West Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Geography
Location	Indian Ocean
Coordinates	12°11′13″S 96°49′42″E / 12.18694°S 96.82833°E / -12.18694; 96.82833
Archipelago	Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Area	6.23 km2 (2.41 sq mi)
Administration
Australia
External territory of Australia	Australian Indian Ocean Territories
Territory	Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Capital city	Canberra
Demographics
Population	120
Languages	English Malay Cocos Malay
Additional information
Time zone	UTC+06:30

West Island (Malay: Pulau Panjang, Cocos Islands Malay: Pulu Panjang), part of the South Keeling Islands, is the capital of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean. The population is roughly 120, making it the third smallest capital in the world, and consists mainly of Europeans. It is less populous than Home Island, the only other inhabited island.

West Island was part of the Clunies-Ross plantation and an airstrip was built here during World War II. As well as all the government buildings, it contains the airport, a general store and tourist accommodation. In November 2013 it was revealed that the Australian Signals Directorate operates a listening station on West Island.^[1]