[Sesay:] Hello, everyone. A would-be suicide bomber in Cameroon is claiming to be one of the kidnapped Nigerian school girls. She was stopped by locals Friday. One escaped. Boko Haram militants kidnapped more than 200 girls back in May 2014. The Nigerian government will send a delegation to find out if the women are from that group. The delegation will include community members and parents of the missing girls. Now, a power struggle is brewing in the South China Sea. Several governments have long claimed different parts of that body of water. And now, a group of islands, rocks really, are at the center of the disputed claims. CNN's Ivan Watson was invited to one of the contested islands, which is guarded by Taiwan, but also claimed by China.
[Ivan Watson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] The contested waters of South China Sea, seen from a Taiwanese military plane. This is what greets you when you land at Taiping, an island controlled by Taiwan. [on camera]: Taiping is a tiny island. It basically runs the length of this runway. The Taiwanese government first laid claim to this place more than half a century ago, but this is the very first time the government says that journalists have been invited to see it firsthand. It's at a time when tensions are ratcheting up here in the South China Sea. [voice-over]: At least six different countries have competing claims for this body of water but China claims almost all of it. And to cement China's claim, Beijing has been building a series of man made islands atop reeves and atolls in the hotly disputed Spratly Archipelago. It's making the neighbors nervous.
[Unidentified Male:] We are opposed to militarization, military expansionism in the area.
[Watson:] Enter the U.S. Navy. We caught up with the aircraft carrier "John C. Stennis" shortly after it sailed through the South China Sea, performing an unmistakable show of U.S. force.
[Unidentified Male:] Just being there in the South China Sea shows we believe we have the right to operate in international waters all ships, not just military vessels, but civilian vessels.
[Watson:] Washington calls these visits "freedom of navigation operations." They clearly irritate the Chinese.
[Unidentified Chinese Military Personnel:] This is the Chinese Navy. This is the Chinese Navy. Please go away quickly.
[Watson:] Last year, CNN accompanied a U.S. Navy spy plane that flew over China's manmade islands.
[Unidentified Chinese Military Personnel:] You go!
[Watson:] Beijing expressed outrage, issuing formal protests and calling these operations a very serious provocation. So where do smaller claimants like Taiwan fit in? On Taiping, officials showed off the island's chickens and goats as well as supplies of fresh water. If Taiwan proves Taiping can sustain human life, then the Taiwanese can make the case for a potentially lucrative 200 nautical mile economic exclusion zone around the island. [on camera]: Amid the contest for control of the South China Sea, Taiwan is trying to demonstrate that it, too, is a player and should not be overlooked. Meanwhile, other small countries like Vietnam and the Philippines are reaching out to the U.S. for help at counterbalancing China as it continues to flex its naval muscle in this contested body of water. [voice-over]: A place that feels like a tropical paradise is instead becoming part of a much bigger regional power struggle. Ivan Watson, CNN, Taiping Island, in the South China Sea.
[Sesay:] Coming up, "Batman Versus Superman" is the newest superhero mega hit at the box office, but the reviews oh, dear, the reviews are anything but super. Why critics are slamming the tale of two comic book legends. We will explain, next.