The Spratly Islands are 100 tiny formerly uninhabited
islets and reefs making up 5 km of actual land spread over 410,000 sq
km of sea. They are believed to have oil and gas reserves in addition
to good fish stocks.

The problem is that both China and Taiwan lay claim to
all of them and Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines to part
of them.

South East Asian states have just reached a draft agreement
aimed at avoiding conflicts over the disputed Spratly Islands. All 10
member-states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) approved
a code of conduct for the islands in the South China Sea, which will in
turn be presented to China, which is not a member.

Friction over the islands, in the South China Sea, most
recently erupted in August when Vietnamese troops based on one islet fired
warning shots at Philippine military planes.