Spratlys, dangerous grounds

Synopsis

“Whoever owns the Spratlys holds a geostrategic key to the region. Somewhere off the coasts of Vietnam and Malaysia, next to the Philippines, in what is known as the South China Sea, a scattering of protean rocks form a ragged archipelago The vying countries have decided to occupy the terrain by sending civilian and military personnel to survive on these remote fragments of rock, willing hostages of a diplomatic tug of war They are playing out a tragicomic fable. Their only companions are sun, typhoons, thirst and solitude, but they are always cooking up new schemes.And they are the region’s only inhabitants. The Spratlys are a lawless zone, a paradise for traffickers and smugglers of all kinds. There are Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipinos, who maintain excellent relations in their common efforts to plunder the regions resources…”