South China Sea has lots of fish and probably oil

Strategically important: The Spratly Islands are a motley collection of 100 small islands and reefs smack in the waters of South China Sea.

PETALING JAYA: The South China Sea is ranked as one of the world’s most strategically important maritime locations, and also one of the most hotly contested.

A whopping US$5tril in trade flows through the waterways each year, representing a third of global maritime trade commerce.