Morotai

The fighter plane rests upside down on the seafloor, its propeller bent, its cockpit open to the current. Anemones have colonised the engine cowling. Brain coral covers the fuselage. In 1944, Morotai was General MacArthur's staging base for the recapture of the Philippines — 60,000 Allied troops lived and fought on this small island. When they left, they left everything. Sunken landing craft, tanks, and aircraft now serve as artificial reefs in warm, clear water, their war-metal surfaces transformed into gardens of marine life.

Morotai is an island in North Maluku that served as a major Allied military base during WW2's Pacific campaign. General Douglas MacArthur established his headquarters here in September 1944, and the island hosted airfields, harbours, and tens of thousands of troops. The surrounding waters contain numerous WW2 wrecks — aircraft (including P-47 Thunderbolts and Japanese fighters), landing craft, and transport vessels — now encrusted with coral and frequented by reef fish, making them both historical artefacts and dive sites. Nakamura Teruo, a Japanese soldier, famously hid in Morotai's jungle until 1974, unaware the war had ended. Above water, the island offers white-sand beaches, clear lagoons, and coconut palm forests with almost no tourism infrastructure. Access is via flights from Ternate to Leo Wattimena Airport on Morotai. Accommodation is limited to basic guesthouses and a government-built eco-resort.