There Be Dragons - Part 1 - Thitu It

United States vs. China Date/Time: 23rd April 2024 / 02:00:00 Zulu Location: South Pacific Playable Sides: United States Introduction China has long claimed all of the South China Sea as part of their territory. This includes the Paracel Island group in the Northwest, the Scarborough Shoal area near the Philippines, and the Spratley Islands in the South central part of the South China Sea. Every one of these areas is also claimed by at least one other country. The area consists mostly of reefs, shoals, and rocks that just barely protrude above the water, and many only during low tide. There are very few actual islands. The Paracel group of islands is also claimed by Vietnam, but has been in the possession of China since Vietnam and China fought a small naval battle over it in the 1970s. The largest island in the Paracel group, Woody Island, is now home to a well equipped and active Chinese military base. The Scarborough Shoals are claimed by the Philippines and are only 150 miles from Manilla. There are no actual islands there, but it is a rich fishing area. Chinese and Philippine fishing and coast guard ships have come in frequent contact with each other in this area. The Chinese have built a small concrete outpost on one of the rocky shoals, which is occasionally manned by Chinese military personnel. Without an actual island in the South, China went about building their own around Subi Reef. Dozens of dredging barges worked for years to pull sand from the ocean and form it into an island. This includs a deep water dock and a runway long enough to land most fighters. With the success (and lack of intervention) of Subi Reef, China built several other militarized islands around the Spratleys and declared the area around each of them to be their own soverign territory. They have essentially conducted an invasion of the South China Sea. Among the Spratley group of islands is one Philippine holdout, Thitu island. The Philippines has a small airfield there, and enough in