The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word UIST
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
U
I
S
T
More clues leading to the result UIST
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Two islands /Two islands" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case two islands /two islands = uist.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.