query: shares_border_with leyte 
supports: Samar is an island in the Visayas, within central Philippines and the third largest island in the country. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar province (the western two-fifths of the island of Samar), Northern Samar province, and Eastern Samar province. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran are part of the Eastern Visayas region. Mactan or Maktan is a densely populated island located a few kilometres (~1 mile) from Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu Province and it is divided into Lapu-Lapu City and the municipality of Cordova. The island is separated from Cebu by the Mactan Channel which is crossed by two bridges: the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge. The island covers some and is home to some 430,000 people, making it the nation's most densely populated island. Along with Olango Island Group, the isles are administered as 1 city and a municipality covering . Maasin, officially the City of Maasin or simply Maasin City, is a and capital of the province of , . According to the , it has a population of people. It has 70 barangays and located on the western part of the province with land area of .  The Bohol Sea, also called the Mindanao Sea, is located between Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. It lies south of Bohol and Leyte and north of Mindanao. Siquijor and Camiguin are its two major islands. An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm. A grouping of geographically or geologically related islands is called an archipelago, e.g. the Philippines. This is a list of current and former national capital cities in the Philippines, which includes during the time of the Spanish colonization, the First Philippine Republic, the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the Second Republic of the Philippines (Japanese-Sponsored Republic), the Third Republic of the Philippines, the Fourth Republic of the Philippines and the current Fifth Republic of the Philippines. Asia 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. Asia 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. Asia 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. The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea east 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 southwest; Halmahera, Morotai, Palau, Yap, and Ulithi (of the Carolines) on the southeast; the Marianas, including Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, on the east; 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. Southern Leyte is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Maasin. Southern Leyte was a sub-province of Leyte until it was made into an independent province. Southern Leyte includes Limasawa, an island to the south where the first Roman Catholic Mass was held and considered to be the birthplace of Roman Catholicism in the Philippines. Cebu Strait (Tagalog:"Kipot ng Cebú"; also Bohol Strait) is a strait in the Central Visayas region in the Philippines. An island country is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. As of 2011, 46 (approximately 24%) of the 193 UN member states are island countries. Leyte is an island in the Visayas group of the Philippines. The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia 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 Quezon 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. Manila (or ), officially City of Manila, is the capital of the Philippines. Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.5 million inhabitants , it is the world's 14th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. Vietnam 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 Vietnam in 1976. Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is the capital city of the province of Cebu and is the "second city" of the Philippines being the center of Metro Cebu, the second most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines after Metro Manila. Cebu is a where political governance is independent and separate from the province of Cebu, and according to the , it has a population of , making it the fifth most populated city in the country. Cebu City is a significant center of commerce, trade and education in the Visayas region. Leyte ( also Northern Leyte ; Filipino : Hilagang Leyte ; Cebuano : Amihanang Leyte ; Waray - Waray : Norte san Leyte ) is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region , occupying the northern three - quarters of Leyte Island . Its capital is the city of Tacloban . Leyte is situated west of Samar Island , north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran . To the west of Leyte across the Camotes Sea is Cebu Province . The historical name of the Philippines , `` Las Islas Felipenas '' , named by Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in honor of Prince Philip of Spain , used to refer to the islands of Leyte and Samar , until it was adopted to refer to the entire archipelago . Leyte is also known as the site of the largest naval battle in modern history , the Battle of Leyte Gulf , which took place during the Second World War . On 8 November 2013 , the province was largely destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda ( Haiyan ) , killing a reported 10,000 people , having previously suffered similar destruction and loss of life in 1991 during Tropical Storm Thelma . 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 Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan people. The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines, surrounded by the islands of the Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas located to the east and west, while the Central Visayas is located to the south. It is bounded by the islands Masbate to the north, Leyte to the east, Cebu and Negros to the south and Panay to the west. The Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island 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 southwest through the Makassar Strait into the Java Sea. Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. 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 Malaysia and East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo). Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. East Malaysia 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, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia. Located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia. 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 Chongqing), 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, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia, and has been characterized as a potential superpower. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia. 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.
  Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. Palau (historically Belau or Pelew), officially the Republic of Palau, is an island 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 most populous island is Koror. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia, the Philippines, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Metropolitan Manila, commonly known as Metro Manila or simply Manila, 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 Manila, the capital city of the country, Quezon 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. Indonesia (or ; Indonesian: ), officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a unitary sovereign state and transcontinental country located mainly in Southeast Asia 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 , Indonesia 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, as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. The world's most populous island of Java contains more than half of the country's population. Bohol is a of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao. Mandaue, officially the City of Mandaue and often referred to as Mandaue City, is a in the region of Central Visayas (Region VII), Philippines. It is one of three highly urbanized cities on Cebu island and forms a part of the Cebu Metropolitan area. Mandaue City is located on the central-eastern coastal region of Cebu; its southwest coast borders the northeast of Mactan Island, where Lapu-Lapu City is located. Mandaue is connected to Mactan Island via two bridges: the Mactan-Mandaue Bridge and Marcelo Fernan Bridge, and is bounded south and the west by the provincial capital, Cebu City, and north by Consolacion, to which it is linked by the Cansaga Bay Bridge. The city has an area of . According to the , it has a population of .  Quezon 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. Quezon City was named after Manuel L. Quezon, 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. Quezon City is not located in and should not be confused with Quezon 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. Tacloban (; Waray: "Syudad han Tacloban"; Filipino: "Lungsod ng Tacloban") is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the provincial capital of Leyte where it is geographically situated but governed administratively independent from it. It is southeast from Manila. According to the , it has a population of and is the most populous city in the Eastern Visayas region.  The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, 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. Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, 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 Asia consists of two geographic regions: Biliran (Waray-Waray: "Probinsya han Biliran") is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is one of the country's smallest and newest provinces. Formerly a sub-province of Leyte, it became an independent province in 1992. Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost major 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 Cagayan de Oro City as 675,950 population, and followed by General Santos City as 594,446 population as of 2015 census. Luzon is the largest and most 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, Manila, as well as Quezon City, the country's most populous. With a population of 52.99 million , it is the fourth most populous island in the world (after Java, Honshu, and Great Britain), containing about 53% of the country's total population. Cebu (or  ) is a of the Philippines located in the region, and consisting of the main island itself and 167 surrounding islands and islets. Its capital is Cebu City, the oldest city and first capital of the Philippines, which is politically independent from the provincial government. Cebu City forms part of the Cebu Metropolitan Area together with four neighboring cities (Danao City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City and Talisay City) and eight other local government units. Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Mactan Island, is the second busiest airport in the Philippines. The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Eastern Visayan and the Central Visayan regions. It is bordered by the islands of Leyte to the north and east, Bohol to the south, and Cebu to the west. The sea is connected to the Visayan Sea to the northwest, and to the Bohol Sea to the south by the Canigao Channel and Cebu Strait. It contains the Camotes Islands and Mactan Island. Camotes Islands is a group of islands in the Camotes Sea, Philippines. The island group is located east of Cebu Island, southwest of Leyte Island, and north of Bohol Island. It is from Cebu City and is part of . According to the , it has a population of . Population has grown % since 1990, equivalent to an annual growth rate of .
candidates: as asia australia bohol cagayan de oro cambodia camotes sea cebu celebes sea chongqing east europe gas guangzhou hong kong india indonesia island isle laos leyte maasin macau major makassar strait makati malaysia manila manuel masbate metro manila most muntinlupa northern region northwest pacific ocean palau pasig quezon city shanghai south southern leyte southwest sulu sea taiwan thailand this valenzuela vietnam
answer: masbate