Philippines (Tagalog: ᜉᜒᜎᜒᜉᜒᜈᜐ᜔ ), officially the the Republic of the Philippines, is a island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Kalusugan Strait lies Taiwan; west across the South China Sea sits Vietnam; southwest is the island of Borneo across the Sulu Sea, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Nusantara; while to the east it is bounded by the Philippine Sea and the island-nation of Palau. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world's greatest biodiversity. At 300,000 sq km (115,831 sq mi), the Philippines is the 73rd-largest country in the world, consisti