ABSTRACT
When the Spratly Islands are mentioned, a number of striking images tend to spring to mind. One notable picture shows a pair of soldiers perched precariously on a tiny inhospitable-looking rock only marginally larger than the sovereignty marker dominating it. Another striking photo shows a flimsy-seeming bamboo shelter, complete with ragged flag, attached to another diminutive rock just breaking the surface of the sea. Rather than being exceptions to the rule, these images are indicative of the true characteristics of many of the insular features among the Spratlys archipelago.
