A Game of Shark and Minnow. In a remote corner of the South China Sea, 1. Philippines, lies a submerged reef the Filipinos call Ayungin. Satellite imagery NASAIn most ways it resembles the hundreds of other reefs, islands, rock clusters and cays that collectively are called the Spratly Islands. But Ayungin is different. In the reefs shallows there sits a forsaken ship, manned by eight Filipino troops whose job is to keep China in check. A Game of Shark. And Minnow. Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' title='Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' />Download the full version of Mystery of Shark Island FREE Play the full version with more features, more levels and better graphics Download Free Trial or Buy. Find listings of daytime and primetime ABC TV shows, movies and specials. Get links to your favorite show pages. Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' title='Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' />The Curse of Palmyra Island story has been updated and published as a standalone book by the author. The latest version includes speculation as to the ultimate fate. A mystery in six parts Framed She was the PTA mom everyone knew. Who would want to harm her By Christopher Goffard Sept. Phantom Room to reopen this weekend after fire gutted the bar in. By Jeff Himmelman. Photographs and video by Ashley Gilbertson. Produced by Mike Bostock, Clinton Cargill, Shan Carter, Nancy Donaldson, Tom Giratikanon, Xaqun G. V., Steve Maing and Derek Watkins. Ayungin Shoal lies 1. Philippines. Theres little to commend the spot, apart from its plentiful fish and safe harbor except that Ayungin sits at the southwestern edge of an area called Reed Bank, which is rumored to contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas. And also that it is home to a World War II era ship called the Sierra Madre, which the Philippine government ran aground on the reef in 1. Filipino troops stationed there struggling to survive extreme mental and physical desolation. Of all places, the scorched shell of the Sierra Madre has become an unlikely battleground in a geopolitical struggle that will shape the future of the South China Sea and, to some extent, the rest of the world. Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' title='Mystery Of Shark Island Full Version' />In early August, after an overnight journey in a fishing boat that had seen better days, we approached Ayungin from the south and came upon two Chinese Coast Guard cutters stationed at either side of the reef. We were a small group two Westerners and a few Filipinos, led by Mayor Eugenio Bito onon Jr., whose territory includes most of the Philippine land claims in the South China Sea. The Chinese presence at Ayungin had spooked the Philippine Navy out of undertaking its regular run to resupply the troops there, but the Chinese were still letting some fishing boats through. We were to behave as any regular fishing vessel with engine trouble or a need for shelter in the shoal would, which meant no radio contact. As we throttled down a few miles out and waited to see what the Chinese Coast Guard might do, there was only an eerie quiet. Bito onon stood at the prow, nervously eyeing the cutters. Visits to his constituents on the island of Pag asa, farther northwest, take him past Ayungin fairly frequently, and the mayor has had his share of run ins. Last October, he said, a Chinese warship crossed through his convoy twice, at very high speed, nearly severing a towline connecting two boats. His World Techno Remix Mp3. This past May, as the mayors boat neared Ayungin in the middle of the night, a Chinese patrol trained its spotlight on the boat and tailed it for an hour, until it became clear that it wasnt headed to Ayungin. They are becoming more aggressive, the mayor said. We didnt know if they would ram us. We didnt know if they would ram us, either. As we approached, we watched through binoculars and a camera viewfinder to see if the Chinese boats would try to head us off. After a few tense moments, it became clear that they were going to stay put and let us pass. Soon we were inside the reef, the Sierra Madre directly in front of us. As we chugged around to the starboard side, two marines peered down uncertainly from the top of the long boarding ladder. The ships ancient communications and radar equipment loomed above them, looking as if it could topple over at any time. After a series of rapid exchanges with the mayor, the marines motioned for us to throw up our boats ropes. Within a minute or two the fishing boat was moored and we were handing up our bags, along with cases of Coca Cola and Dunkin Donuts that naval command had sent along as pasalubong, gifts for the hungry men on board. From afar, the boat hadnt looked much different from the Chinese boats that surrounded it. But at close range, water flowed freely through holes in the hull. With the tropical sun blasting down on it, the ship was ravaged by rust. Whole sections of the deck were riddled with holes. Old doors and metal sheets dotted paths where the men walked, to prevent them from plunging into the cavernous tank space below. It was hard to imagine how such a forsaken place could become a flash point in a geopolitical power struggle. But before we had much time to think about that, someone pointed out that the Chinese boats had started to move. They left their positions to the east and west of the reef and began to converge just off the starboard side, where the reef came closest to the ship. Chinese Coast Guard cutters patrol within sight of the Sierra Madre. The mayor and several others stood quietly on deck, watching them as they came. The message from the Chinese was unmistakable We see you, weve got our eye on you, we are here. As the Chinese boats made their half circle in front of the Sierra Madre, the mayor mimed the act of them filming us. Wave, he said. Were going to be big on You. Tube. Dangerous Ground. To understand how Ayungin known to the Western world as Second Thomas Shoal could become contested ground is to confront, in miniature, both the rise of China and the potential future of U. S. foreign policy. It is also to enter into a morass of competing historical, territorial and even moral claims in an area where defining what is true or fair may be no easier than it has proved to be in the Middle East. The Spratly Islands sprawl over roughly 1. Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and China all of whom claim part of the islands. Since the 1. 8th century, navigators have referred to the Spratlys as Dangerous Ground a term that captures not only the treacherous nature of the area but also the mess that is the current political situation in the South China Sea. Sources C. I. A. Mayor Bito onon. In addition to the Philippines, the governments of China, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the Spratlys for themselves, and have occupied some of them as a way to stake that claim. Malaysia and Brunei make more modest partial claims. Source C. I. A. The Chinese and Taiwanese base their claims on Xia and Han dynasty records and a 1. Kuomintang. The nine dash line derived from that map pushes up against the coastlines of all the other countries in the area. The current Philippine claim is based mostly on the U. N. Convention on the Law of the Sea from 1. Exclusive Economic Zone of 2. Source National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Why the fuss over Dangerous Ground Natural resources are a big piece of it. According to current U. S. estimates, the seabed beneath the Spratlys may hold up to 5. On top of which, about half of the worlds merchant fleet tonnage and nearly one third of its crude oil pass through these waters each year. They also contain some of the richest fisheries in the world. In 2. 01. 2, China and the Philippines engaged in a standoff at Scarborough Shoal, after a Philippine warship attempted to expel Chinese fishing boats from the area, which they claimed had been harvesting endangered species within the Philippine EEZ. Although the shoal lies well to the north of the Spratlys, it is in many ways Ayungins direct precedent. The Cabbage Strategy. China is currently in disputes with several of its neighbors, and the Chinese have become decidedly more willing to wield a heavy stick. There is a growing sense that they have been waiting a long time to flex their muscles and that that time has finally arrived.