It's a little more than one square mile in size and it's

home to a Chinese military base.

There's a 10,000 foot airstrip, an

advanced radar station, a missile defense

system, and about 200 troops.

But the strangest thing about Fiery Cross Island

is that two years ago,

it didn't exist.

And neither did the six other Chinese

military bases that have been built on

man-made islands in the South China Sea.

If you look at this satellite image from

2014, you can see huge Chinese ships

collecting around remote reefs in the Spratly

Islands. An archipelago in the South China Sea.

In this image, these ships are

rapidly pumping sand and rock up onto the

reef.

They're building islands.

And less than a year later, the Chinese had seaports

air bases and buildings on their new

islands and the world had taken notice.

We continue our look this morning on what

China does not want you to see the

superpower is reclaiming land in seven

spots in the South China Sea adding on

average more than three-and-a-half acres

everyday. With these islands times trying

to lay claim to one of the most

important areas of ocean in the world

the South China Sea.

The South China Sea

is incredibly rich in natural resources

11 billion barrels of oil, 190

trillion cubic feet of natural gas and

ten percent of the world's fisheries.

Most importantly though, 30%

of the world's shipping trade flows through

here to the booming population centers

and economic markets of Southeast Asia.

It's an extremely important body of

water and right now five countries lay

claim to some part of it.

Now, most countries base their claim off the UN

Law of the Seas, which says a country's

territorial waters extend 200 miles

off their shore. An area called the exclusive

economic zone, or EEZ.

Countries have exclusive rights to all the resources

and trade in there EEZ. It's their

sovereign territory.

So for example, any oil that's found within

200 miles off the coast of Vietnam

belongs exclusively to Vietnam.

But any area that isn't in an EEZ is regarded as

international waters and it falls under

UN maritime law which means everybody

shares it.

Now, every country in the South

China Sea region uses this 200-mile EEZ

threshold to determine its claims.

All except China. China argued they have a

historical claim to the South China Sea

dating back to naval expeditions in the

15th century. And they mark it using a really

confusing border called the nine-dash line.

Following World War II, Japan who

had dominated the entire region, lost all

control of its surrounding seas. China

used the moment to claim the South

China Sea by drawing this imprecise

line on the map that encompassed ninety

percent of the South China Sea. It became

known as the nine-dash line.

When the UN established the 200-mile EEZ in 1973

China stuck to its own line, refusing to

clarify its boundaries and ignoring claims

by other countries. Now that brings us to

the Spratly Islands. It's a remote barely

inhabited cluster of islands currently

claimed by China, Vietnam, the Philippines,

and Malaysia. The Spratlys are both

geographically and symbolically at the

heart of South China Sea.

That's because any country that can

claim the Spratly islands can extend

their EEZs to include them and gain

exclusive rights to the surrounding

territory.

But it's really hard to legitimately claim uninhabited piles of

sand so a few nations have built small

buildings and ports on their claimed

islands and even stuck a few people

there. But China believes all the Spratly

Islands belong to them which brings us

back to why they're building islands there.

Installing military bases on

these new artificial islands took the

dispute to a whole new level

showing how China's potentially willing

to defend its claims with force.

Now this is about when the United States

took notice. While the US has no claim in

the South China Sea, it is the world's

lone superpower and uses its massive

Navy to defend international waters.

China sees the US presence in the area

as an encroachment in their backyard.

When a US destroyer ship sailed just 12

miles off the shore of one of China's

man-made islands and the Spratlys

China sent out their own destroyer and a

patrol boat as a warning.

China is building these islands in order

to increase control around the

surrounding waters. Using a strategy that

they've deemed "The Cabbage Strategy".

Where they surround a contested island with as many

ships as possible. In May of 2013

China sent several ships to Ayungin

shoal, which is just 105

nautical miles off the coast of the

Philippines, well within that 200 mile

EEZ. The Philippines has eight soldiers

stationed there. Like wrapping leaves

around a cabbage the Chinese sealed off

the Philippines access to Ayungin

Shoal with fishing boats, surveillance

ships, and navy destroyers creating

blockade so that the Filipinos can't

receive shipments of food and supplies.

By building their own man-made Islands

China's essentially building naval bases.

The more Islands they have the more ships

they can support and more territory they

can slowly take control of. And the

Chinese cautiously use the cabbage

strategy in the Spratly islands, taking

over contested territory but in small

steps avoiding the possibility of

igniting a bigger conflict. But the

disputes are intensifying. Countries are

now actively arresting trespassers in

waters that they claim and China could

go a step further. Since 2015 they've

threatened to declare an air

identification zone above the South

China Sea, declaring that all aircraft

that fly through it would need Chinese

permission. Now, publicly China insists

that their intentions are not

militaristic but their actions say

otherwise and it's heightening tensions

in the region

Steve Bannon who sits on the US National

Security Council and who is one of

President Trump's closest advisors is

almost certain that the US will go to

war in the South China Sea. "We're going

to war in the South China Sea, I was a sailor

there, a naval officer, we're going to war

the South China Sea in five to ten

years aren't we?"

"there's no doubt about it"

But for now the disputes remain only in

the legal and diplomatic realms that only

occasionally break into minor clashes. In

July 2016 the international court at the

Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines

who charged China with invading their

rightful territory in the South China Sea.

China dismissed the ruling and enforcement

of the law doesn't seem likely. Even from

the US who released a vague statement urging

the two countries to "clarify their

claims" and "work together to resolve their

disputes" which is another way of saying

"we don't really want to deal with this".

In fact, as the conflict escalates and

international courts get involved, the

US is stuck in a tricky position. On

one hand, they do not want to risk

provoking a conflict with China. But on

the other they want China to stop

bullying their allies in the region.

Up until now the US has managed the

situation by continuing to patrol through the

South China Sea.

It's also likely that the US would fly fighter

jets above the sea if China actually does

declare an air identification zone.

These are symbolic but effective ways of

keeping Chine in check while not

getting too involved in the details of

the conflict. So far the disputes in the

South China Sea have not become violent

but countries are starting to defend

their claims by increasing troop numbers,

weaponizing their territory and

provoking each other. It's a complex

situation that will continue to gain

international attention for better or

for worse.