The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute among Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" (reefs, banks, and cays etc.) located in the South China Sea. The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of military pressure techniques (such as military occupation of disputed territory) in the advancement of national territorial claims. All except Brunei occupy some of the maritime features.
Most of the "maritime features" in this area have at least six names: The "international name", usually in English; the "Chinese name", sometimes different for PRC and ROC (and also in different character-sets); the Philippine, Vietnamese and Malaysian names, and also, there are alternate names (e.g. Spratly Island is also known as Storm Island), and sometimes names with European origins (French, Portuguese, Spanish, British, etc.).[1]
Although not large, reserves of oil and natural gas have been found in the area. It is a commercial fishing ground and close to global shipping routes. Its strategic position allows countries to monitor maritime activities in the area and project military power.[2] The Philippines claims part of the area as its territory under UNCLOS, an agreement parts of which[3] have been ratified by the countries involved in the Spratly islands dispute. However, UNCLOS does not decide on the sovereignty of disputed territories, as that requires separate legal and diplomatic efforts beyond the scope of UNCLOS.[4] Additionally, China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam are the only ones to have made claims based on historical sovereignty of the islands.[5]