In Defense of the Spratly Islands

The South China Sea is a region which appears determined to shape the 21st century. Nearly half of the world's merchant fleet tonnage and a third of all crude oil will pass through this body of water. The 1.4 million square mile seascape is dotted with key geographic features, the Spratly Islands. Control of these small footholds could mean control of the South China Sea and for the past century nearly every Southeast Asian nation has staked a claim to the Islands. "In Defense of the Spratly" Islands examines how China's encroachment of the Spratly Islands has forced the Philippines to strengthen their bilateral defense agreements with the United States. This lucid account of the complex web of Chinese-U.S.-Philippine relations makes a strong case that the South China Sea will continue to be the definitive body of water in the 21st century.