shares_border_with arakan
The Visayas or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan : " Kabisay - an ", ), is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines , along with Luzon and Mindanao . It consists of several islands , primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea , although the Visayas are considered the northeast extremity of the entire ___MASK95___ . Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan people . ___MASK54___ is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast ___MASK20___ . It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of separated by the South China Sea into two similarly sized regions , Peninsular ___MASK54___ and East ___MASK54___ ( Malaysian Borneo ). Peninsular ___MASK54___ shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore , Vietnam , and Indonesia . East ___MASK54___ shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur , while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government . With a population of over 30 million , ___MASK54___ is the 44th most populous country . The southernmost point of continental Eurasia , Tanjung Piai , is in ___MASK54___ . Located in the tropics , ___MASK54___ is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth , with large numbers of endemic species . An ___MASK24___ country is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands . ___MASK17___ of 2011 , 46 ( approximately 24 %) of the 193 UN member states are ___MASK24___ countries . Luzon is the largest and ___MASK58___ populous island in the Philippines and the 15th largest in the world . Located in the northern region of the archipelago , it is the economic and political center of the nation , being home to the country ' s capital city , ___MASK2___ , as well as ___MASK73___ City , the country ' s ___MASK58___ populous . With a population of 52 . 99 million , it is the fourth ___MASK58___ populous island in the world ( after Java , Honshu , and Great Britain ), containing about 53 % of the country ' s total population . Cotabato , formerly but colloquially known ___MASK17___ North Cotabato ( Maguindanaoan : " Kuta Wato Nort "), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao . Its capital is Kidapawan City . Arakan is a second class municipality in the province of Cotabato , Philippines . According to the 2010 census , it has a population of 43 , 554 people . ___MASK73___ City ( also known as QC ) is the most populous city in the Philippines . It is one of the cities that make up Metro Manila , the National Capital Region of the Philippines . ___MASK73___ City was named after Manuel L . ___MASK73___ , second President of the Philippines , who founded the city and developed it to replace Manila as the national capital for 28 years from 1948 to 1976 . ___MASK73___ City is not located in and should not be confused with ___MASK73___ Province , which was also named after the president . It is the largest city in Metro Manila in terms of land area and most populated local government unit in the country . Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost ___MASK46___ island in the Philippines . It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country ( the other two being Luzon and the Visayas ), consisting of the island of Mindanao and smaller outlying islands . Davao City is the largest city in Mindanao . As of the 2010 census , the island ' s population itself is 20 , 281 , 545 people , while the Mindanao island group has 21 , 968 , 174 inhabitants . Davao City is the most populous in Mindanao as 1 , 632 , 991 population , and the 2nd is Zamboanga City as 861 , 799 population , the 3rd is ___MASK65___ City as 675 , 950 population , and followed by General Santos City as 594 , 446 population as of 2015 census . ___MASK35___ , officially the Republic of China ( ROC ), is a state in ___MASK27___ ___MASK20___ . Neighbors include China ( officially the People ' s Republic of China , abbreviated as PRC ) to the west , Japan to the northeast , and the Philippines to the south . ___MASK35___ is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations , and the one with the largest economy . The ___MASK90___ of the western ___MASK74___ is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and ___MASK95___ and Mindanao ___MASK24___ of the Philippines , on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain , on the south by Sulawesi ' s Minahassa Peninsula , and on the west by Kalimantan in Indonesia . It extends 420 miles ( 675 km ) north - south by 520 miles ( 837 km ) east - west and has a total surface area of , to a maximum depth of . The sea opens ___MASK81___ through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea . China , officially the People ' s Republic of China ( PRC ), is a unitary sovereign state in ___MASK27___ ___MASK20___ . With a population of over 1 . 381 billion , it is the world ' s most populous country . The state is governed by the Communist Party of China , and its capital is Beijing . It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct - controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai , and ___MASK71___ ), and two mostly self - governing special administrative regions ( Hong Kong and Macau ), and claims sovereignty over Taiwan . The country ' s major urban areas include Shanghai , Guangzhou , Beijing , ___MASK71___ , Shenzhen , Tianjin and Hong Kong . China is a great power and a major regional power within ___MASK20___ , and has been characterized as a potential superpower . ___MASK43___ ( or ; Indonesian : ), officially the Republic of ___MASK43___ , is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast ___MASK20___ with some territories in Oceania . Situated between the Indian and Pacific oceans , it is the world ' s largest island country , with more than seventeen thousand islands . At , ___MASK43___ is the world ' s 14th - largest country in terms of land area and world ' s 7th - largest country in terms of combined sea and land area . It has an estimated population of over 260 million people and is the world ' s fourth most populous country , the most populous Austronesian nation , ___MASK17___ well ___MASK17___ the most populous Muslim - majority country . The world ' s most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country ' s population . The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea ___MASK27___ and northeast of the Philippines occupying an estimated surface area of 5 million km² ( 2 million mi² ). of the western part of the North Pacific Ocean . It is bordered by the Philippine archipelago ( Luzon , Catanduanes , Samar , Leyte and Mindanao ) on the ___MASK81___ ; Halmahera , Morotai , Palau , Yap , and Ulithi ( of the Carolines ) on the southeast ; the Marianas , including Guam , Saipan , and Tinian , on the ___MASK27___ ; the Bonin and Iwo Jima on the northeast ; the Japanese islands of Honshu , Shikoku , and Kysh on the north ; the Ryukyu Islands on the northwest ; and Taiwan in the west . ___MASK97___ ( historically Belau or Pelew ), officially the Republic of ___MASK97___ , is an ___MASK24___ country located in the western Pacific Ocean . The country contains approximately 250 islands , forming the western chain of the Caroline Islands in Micronesia , and has an area of . The ___MASK58___ populous ___MASK24___ is Koror . The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby ___MASK24___ of Babeldaob , in Melekeok State . ___MASK97___ shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia , the Philippines , and the Federated States of Micronesia . Metropolitan ___MASK2___ , commonly known as ___MASK80___ or simply ___MASK2___ , is the capital region of the Philippines , is the seat of government , the 2nd most populous and the most densely populated region of the country . The National Capital Region ( NCR ) is composed of ___MASK2___ , the capital city of the country , ___MASK73___ City , the country ' s most populous city , and the cities of Caloocan , Las Piñas , Makati , Malabon , Mandaluyong , Marikina , Muntinlupa , Navotas , Parañaque , Pasay , Pasig , San Juan , Taguig , and Valenzuela , including the only remaining municipality of Pateros . Maguindanao ( Maguindanaoan : " Dalapa sa Maguindanao " ; Chavacano : " Provincia de Maguindanao ") is a province in the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( ARMM ). Since 2014 the provincial capital is Buluan but the legislative branch of the provincial government , the Sangguniang Panlalawigan , convenes in the ___MASK61___ provincial capitol in the town of ___MASK72___ . It borders Lanao del Sur to the north , Cotabato to the east , ___MASK72___ to the south , and the Illana Bay to the west . ___MASK92___ , officially the Socialist Republic of ___MASK92___ ( SRV ), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast ___MASK20___ . With an estimated 90 . 5 million inhabitants , it is the world ' s 14th - most - populous country , and the eighth - most - populous Asian country . ___MASK92___ is bordered by China to the north , Laos to the northwest , Cambodia to the southwest , Thailand across the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest , and the Philippines , Malaysia and Indonesia across the South China Sea to the east and southeast . Its capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South ___MASK92___ in 1976 . Southeast ___MASK20___ or Southeastern ___MASK20___ is a subregion of ___MASK20___ , consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China , east of India , west of New Guinea and north of Australia . The region lies near the intersection of geological plates , with heavy seismic and volcanic activity . Southeast ___MASK20___ consists of two geographic regions : ___MASK22___ , officially the City of ___MASK22___ or often referred to ___MASK17___ simply ___MASK22___ City , is the capital city of Cotabato Province . According to the , it has a population of people . ___MASK2___ ( or ), officially City of ___MASK2___ , is the capital of the Philippines . ___MASK20___ is Earth ' s largest and most populous continent , located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres and sharing the continental landmass of Eurasia with the continent of Europe . ___MASK20___ covers an area of , about 30 % of Earth ' s total land area and 8 . 7 % of the Earth ' s total surface area . The continent , which has long been home to the majority of the human population , was the site of many of the first civilizations . ___MASK20___ is notable for not only its overall large size and population , but also dense and large settlements as well as vast barely populated regions within the continent of 4 . 4 billion people . Soccsksargen ( officially styled ___MASK17___ SOCCSKSARGEN ) ( pronounced ) is an administrative region of the Philippines , located in south - central Mindanao . It is numerically designated ___MASK17___ Region XII . The name is an acronym that stands for the region ' s four provinces ( South Cotabato , Cotabato , ___MASK72___ and ___MASK88___ ) and one of its cities ( General Santos ). The region used to be called " Central Mindanao ". The regional center is Koronadal located in the province of South Cotabato , and the center of commerce , industry and the most populous city is General Santos . The Philippines , officially the Republic of the Philippines , is a sovereign ___MASK24___ country in Southeast ___MASK20___ situated in the western Pacific Ocean . It consists of about 7 , 641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south : Luzon , Visayas , and Mindanao . The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is ___MASK73___ City , both part of Metro Manila . Bounded by the South China Sea on the west , the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest , the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north , Vietnam to the west , Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south . The ___MASK29___ is a marginal sea that is part of the ___MASK74___ , encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around . The area ' s importance largely results from one - third of the world ' s shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed .