If one were to combine all 750 atolls, reefs, rocks, and islets that constitute the Spratly Islands into one landmass, it would barely make up two square miles.
Scattered across over 150,000 square miles of ocean, these islands might seem insignificant. By a twist of geography and international politics, however, they have managed to be a matter of dispute between no less than six countries.
For various reasons, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia (and to a lesser extent, Brunei) have all deemed these scattered islands important enough to lay claim to them. Some have gone as far as to establish a military presence on them, and even attempt colonization of them. All for a set widely flung sandy strips in the middle of the ocean. But why?
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