Paracel Islands - With a population of just eight humans, all of which are Chinese temporary military personnel, this bunch of 30 reefs, islets and sandbanks are surrounded by oil deposits. China (People's Republic of China), Taiwan (Republic of China), and Vietnam have all claimed sovereignty for hundreds of years, but this has only become bloody when the French colonial powers left the area in 1956, and the dispute culminated in China defeating Vietnam in the 1974 Battle of Paracel Islands. The dispute over these islands is interlinked with the dispute over the nearby Spratly Islands.
South China Sea Islands disputes:
Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands)
Paracel Islands
Pratas Islands (part of Taiwan)
Scarborough Shoal
Spratly Islands |