Another new DXCC entity: Swains Island
This just came in from the ARRL. Swains Island (a small island, north of American Samoa – activated by JA1BK in February/March 2005 as KH8SI) now counts as a DXCC entity.
Finally this long and in my opinion ridiculous fight about the DXCC status of Swains Island is over. If you don’t know or remember what was going on at that time, check out the dx-list archive (including copies of personal letters between JA1BK and K1ZZ) and the homepage of JA1BK. In my opinion this fight was a shame for amateur radio. 
No DXpedition has so far been announced but I am sure something will follow. Definitely it will be difficult to work a new one in the pacific from Europe with these conditions 
. Anyway: If you just have enough time, the DX comes to you 
New DXCC Entity — Swain’s IslandNewington, Connecticut
July 22, 2006For Immediate Release
With the addition of Section II, Criteria Rule 1c) to the Political Entity criteria, certain former separation entities may now qualify as Political Entities. One such entity has been determined to be American Samoa. American Samoa is now a Political Entity for DXCC purposes.
As a result of the reclassification of American Samoa, and upon the filing of a request and substantiating evidence, and with the concurrence of the DXAC and the Awards Committee, Swain’s Island has been added to the DXCC List.
Swain’s Island, entity number 337, qualifies as the first separation entity from American Samoa, now a Political Entity. The distance between American Samoa and Swain’s Island has been determined to be in excess of 350 km as required by DXCC Rules Section II, Paragraph 2, Section b). QSOs made with Swain’s Island on or after 0001Z, July 22, 2006 will count for DXCC credit.
For additional information, including the DXCC Reference Number for Swain’s Island, contact Bill Moore at the DXCC Desk, dxcc@arrl.org.
Wayne Mills, N7NG/1, Manager
Membership Services Department
[tags]ham radio, amateur radio, dx[/tags]
July 23rd, 2006 11:52
I think that the DX Big Dogs are just getting bored at the bottom of this solar cycle and want a new one to give them something to do …
Montenegro makes sense – it is a political change. But there are thousands of rocks in the Pacific so I suppose whenever someone takes a vacation on one of them it stands a chance of becoming an "entity"?
July 23rd, 2006 12:18
Ack… And I am sure that due to the rule change many more entities will pop up on the horizon. A friend of mine once commented that a potential new entity lies in the street between Alaska and Russia. I have never felt like checking it myself … But we will see what happens in the future and if somebody comes up with this island, he was right
With respect to the rocks in the pacific: I remember a heavy discussion about the DXCC status of Scarborough Reef … This reef is more or less a cluster of rocks which remain about 1m above water during average high water and it still counts as entity
. But if I remember correctly the "community" agreed that Scarborough Reef is the first and last one of those clusters – which makes IMHO sense.