Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation covers a range of controversial issues rife with potential for provoking military confrontation in the world's salt water areas. Understanding the factual setting for flashpoints in the oceans requires an appreciation of the geographic circumstances of the disputants. This work starts with a global overview of island disputes provided by two leading geographers. They examine the pivotal relationship between sovereignty claims to islands and delimitation of ocean boundaries throughout the world.