evidence: Following a Japanese news report on May 12 that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will be conducting large-scale beach-landing exercises around Hainan Island in August, reportedly including a simulated invasion of the Taiwan-controlled Dongsha Islands (Pratas Islands, 東沙群島), Taiwan’s government deployed an undisclosed number of Taiwanese marines to the islands to strengthen their defensive capabilities. The move highlighted Taiwan’s oft-forgotten claims in the South China Sea. For Taipei, the dispute with Beijing over the Dongsha Islands is only one of several bilateral and multilateral territorial disputes with other claimants in the South China Sea. Yet, Taiwan’s claims in the South China Sea have often been overshadowed by those of China and other regional countries, and have been further weakened by Taipei’s exclusion from regional and international organizations. [...] The dispute over the Dongsha Islands is unique in the sense that it is limited to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. No other countries have made claims to them; thus the Pratas Archipelago is often not considered part of the broader South China Sea dispute. Nonetheless, a Chinese military invasion of the Dongsha Islands may be a harbinger to a potential war in the Taiwan Strait, and Taipei may be forced to defend its outer islands.