evidence: Assuming that PRC would control Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines would have the largest areas of conflicting claims with the PRC in the SCS. Vietnam claims an ocean EEZ of 538,650 sq mi. The PRC claims 70 percent of Vietnam’s EEZ (~377,389 sq mi) with their Dash Line claim. The Philippines claims an ocean exclusive economic zone that covers 874,064 sq mi. The PRC claims about 50 percent of the Philippines’s EEZ (~437,000 sq mi). The small country of Brunei would lose 90 percent of their EEZ. Malaysia would lose about 40 percent of its EEZ. Finally, Indonesia would also lose some of its EEZ to China, northeast of Natuna Island. [...] If the PRC decides to take some or all of Vietnam’s or the Filipino islands in the SCS, how would they conduct the operation? The main PLA Navy and Air Forces needed can be forward deployed from Hainan Island military bases to the currently PRC occupied Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, and possibly other locations, such as Scarborough Shoal, that will likely be militarized in the future.