evidence: To the claimants vying for the Spratlys, the implications of territorial sovereignty over the islands under the LOS are all too clear. In addition to its potential resources, the Spratlys archipelago occupies a strategic location. Lying between the coast of Vietnam on the west and the Philippines to the east, the Spratlys occupy a potential blocking position for ships transiting the South China Sea. Aircraft based in the Spratlys would be within range of the Malacca and Sunda Straits, bottlenecks through which shipping in the South China Sea must pass in order to enter the Indian Ocean. A military presence, such as an airfield located in the Spratlys, could effectively halt all shipping in the South China Sea in the event of a conflict. This is a fact of no small consequence to nations in the region, who are currently restructuring military relationships in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Today, six Asian nations-the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China-vigorously assert claims of sovereignty over all or parts of the Spratlys.