Belitung (redirected from Belitung Island)

Belitung (bĕlē`tŏng), island (1990 pop. 192,972), 1,866 sq mi (4,833 sq km), Indonesia, in the Java Sea midway between Sumatra and Borneo. It has valuable tin mines (government-owned), worked chiefly by Chinese labor. Belitung is also known for its pepper. Ceded to the British by the sultan of Palembang in 1812, it later became a Dutch possession. The chief town and port is Tandjungpandan. It was formerly called Billiton.

---

Billiton

 or Belitung

Island, Bangka-Belitung province, west-central Indonesia. Lying on the Karimata Strait between the islands of Bangka (west) and Borneo (northeast), it is situated between the South China Sea (north) and Java Sea (south). It is some 55 mi (90 km) long and 45 mi (70 km) wide, with an area of about 1,850 sq mi (4,800 sq km). The main town and port is Tanjungpandan. Billiton was ceded to the British in 1812 by the sultan of Palembang, Sumatra, but Britain recognized the Dutch claim in 1824. The island became part of Indonesia after World War II. It is important for its tin mines, discovered in 1851.