This is a dispute about: some fish. Homo Sapien, in effect, means War Maker. Periodically, the total Earth population of war makers drops down to about 10,000. Call it the Great Reset.
It’s about -
Claiming international waters, including the main East Asian shipping lanes, as sovereign waters.
It’s about claiming all natural resources in the region, including oil and gas as well as fish, as Chinese property, in spite of international law and treaties.
It’s about building military bases on islands claimed by other countries, also as per international law and treaties.
When fish is your main source of protein, they get to be pretty important...