evidence: As part of the larger South China Sea dispute, the long-standing Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute regarding ocean areas and the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands to the north – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries. The Spratly Islands consist of hundreds of islands and reefs. The 750 spits of lands that make up the Spratly Islands are small and largely uninhabited. However it is their strategic location in the middle of several major trade routes, being the home to fishing grounds which supply people across the region, as well as the possibility of their containing natural resources which have made the islands an extremely valuable commodity. It is worth noting that there has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighbouring areas. [...] China’s claims on the Spratlys and the Paracel islands are based more on historic settlement rather than geographical proximity. Recently China has raised the stakes by seeking to change the geography with significant man-made islands and infrastructure. It is claimed that by May 2015 the Chinese had added 2,000 acres to their outposts in the previous 18 months. The rate of increase of these new islands is causing anxiety for neighbouring nations.