Brunei
China
Malaysia
Philippines
Vietnam, and aqua blue.
What is wrong with this picture? Right,.. China wants to own everything. Although it is given that other South East Asian nations do have territorial disputes of their own, what is going on here?
Why is China claiming this region? And why the hell is everybody fighting, and ready for war for these little islands when it looks like nobody actually owns it.
So why does everybody including USA is entwined with this small part of the world?
1. Spratly Islands is "rich in oil and natural gas" although it's "not yet proven". That's why everybody is all pumped up about these islands.
2. The South China sea is a highway for vessels, imagine if you can control it. One country can impose taxes, get natural resources like fish, corals, minerals maybe some oil.
That's why China wants it so much, it is vital trading route specially for an emerging superpower, that needs to transport it's goods to other countries. China claims that their "ancestors" fished there. Other countries like the Philippines wants to impose their sovereign rights where they are free to do anything within 200 notical miles from land, called the Exclusive Economic Zone or EEO set by UN, China is beyond that........ They want the whole area just for themselves.
And what about the US, if you think about it, they have no business here,.. this is far away from home.