evidence: According to researchers, claims to any of the features were not seriously made until the 19th or the early 20th century.[4][5] The Paracel Islands, currently occupied by China, are contested by Taiwan and Vietnam. The Spratly Islands are claimed by all three, where Vietnam occupies the greatest number of features and Taiwan occupies the largest, Taiping Island. Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines also claim some of the features in the island chain.[6] By the 1970s, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam had militarily occupied one or more of the Spratly Islands.[7] By 2015, Vietnam had established 48 outposts, the Philippines eight, China eight, Malaysia five, and Taiwan one.[8] [...] While the PRC, ROC and Vietnam claim the entire Spratly archipelago because of what they perceive to be their "historical right" to the area, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines base their respective claims on the stipulations regarding continental shelves outlined in UNCLOS. [...] While some would argue that the historical claims of the PRC, ROC, and Vietnam should be discarded because they do not conform to the stipulations of UNCLOS, this is unrealistic. The notion of historical entitlement sits at the foundation of their claims to the Spratly archipelago and are unlikely to dissipate simply because analysts choose to ignore them. As a result, any proposed framework must address such concerns.