Disputes - international:
all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and
Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines;
in 1984, Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone that
encompasses Louisa Reef in the southern Spratly Islands but has not
publicly claimed the island; claimants in November 2002 signed the
"Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a
mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding
"code of conduct"