Illustration of southeastern Spratly Islands

　　 After the Second World War, because of the unconditional surrender of Japan, the South China Sea Islands which had been seized by the Japanese during the war were taken over by the ROC Navy. But because of the antagonism between the PRC and the ROC, the status of the South China Sea turned out to be a very complicated issue. No single country can control or govern the region on its own. The Pratas Islands have always been garrisoned and administered by Taiwan, so there is no dispute over them. And since 1974, the Paracel Islands have been occupied by the PRC. The dispute over sovereignty is most intense in the Spratly islands. Taiwan has occupied Itu Aba Island for longer than half a century and in fact has been in the Spratly Islands longer than any other country. Since 1988, the PRC has seized seven reefs in the Spratly Islands, and PRC troops in the Islands remain on a war footing. Vietnam has seized the most islands. The Philippines seized eight of them, Malaysia seized five of them, and although Brunei didn't occupy any of the islands, they declared that have sovereignty over one of the islands. The situation is explained in detail below.