Section 187

"That's right..."

"I am a [South China Sea Islander]!"

...

At this moment, everyone had a sudden realization!

So this elderly farmer... truly wasn't an ordinary farmer, but an [Islander] living on a small island in the Nansha Islands.

Recalling the "bizarre" words the old man had just spoken... all the clues finally connected!

The entire livestream chat instantly erupted—

"So that's it! That's it! I was wondering why I couldn't understand what this old man was saying... It turns out he really is different from the farmers in our impressions... He's an islander living on a small island in the South China Sea! In that case... those incomprehensible words instantly become clear—[The small island where the old man lives has been getting smaller and smaller over the years due to rising water levels or soil erosion! So not only has farming become a problem... even his living space is under threat!]"

"I went to carefully watch the TikToks the old man posted a while ago... and I instantly understood what he said! Netizens who still don't get it can go check out the old man's second TikTok... He filmed the entire view of his island; it's truly much smaller than we imagined! It's only about the size of two football fields! It's hard to imagine... that the old man has been surviving in such an environment all this time!"

"Me too... I just watched the old man's videos and even scrolled back to videos from a few years ago... Without a comparison, you really wouldn't notice! The area of this island this year... has shrunk way too much compared to a few years ago! In the videos from a few years back, this island was still quite large, and there was even a small pier and a beach outside! But now... it seems like the sea level has risen, and the waves have carried away a lot of silt and stones... causing the island's area to shrink rapidly!"

"I found it! The island where this old man is located... is situated right on the edge of our country's Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea! Everyone, don't underestimate the importance of this island—[According to international conventions, the sea area within 12 nautical miles of an island is considered that country's territorial waters! Sacred and inviolable!] So... what this old man is guarding isn't just this small island! What he is guarding... is Dragon Kingdom's [territorial waters within a 12-nautical-mile radius]!"

"Island Defender! This old gentleman... turns out to be one of Dragon Kingdom's first generation of [Island Defenders]! Many netizens who aren't familiar with history might not know... internationally, the struggle for territorial waters is far more intense than for land! An inch of land is just an inch, with no radiation range. 0 But territorial waters are different... [As long as you occupy this island, everything within 12 nautical miles of it is your national territory]! If this island is truly submerged... not only will the old man have no land to farm, but our country will lose a massive area of territorial waters!"

...

With the explanations from helpful netizens, the audience finally gained a complete understanding of the unique group known as the [Dragon Kingdom Island Defenders]... as well as the origin of the Nine-Dash Line... and the difficulty of contesting and guarding territorial waters...

According to the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

A country's territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the land into the ocean.

It's even easier to understand if it's an island.

That is, drawing a circle with the island as the center and 12 nautical miles as the radius...

The area within this huge circle belongs to the country's territorial waters; it is [sacred and inviolable national territory]!

And the area beyond 12 nautical miles... that belongs to the high seas.

The high seas, as the name suggests, are sea areas where ships, warships, probes, and merchant vessels of any country can sail freely.

This 12-nautical-mile range is extremely important!

Entering this range means you have invaded our territorial waters! Our side can unconditionally expel or even strike!

But in the high seas beyond 12 nautical miles...

That is a place where no one can control anyone else, a place of chaos where no country has law enforcement power over the high seas.

This is also why many early Hong Kong films... had scenes of gambling ships operating on the high seas.

After all, the high seas don't belong to any country, so nothing you do there is illegal. Even if—

[An enemy aircraft carrier shows off its might and fires its cannons at 12.1 nautical miles... that is also completely in line with international conventions.]

The importance of national territory goes without saying!

Not even an inch can be divided!

Territorial waters are likewise incredibly precious and part of the national territory!

Naturally, not an inch can be yielded!

Therefore... this is the importance of the [Island Defender] group!

The International Convention stipulates the criteria for determining the ownership of small islands in the ocean—

There must be people living on them long-term for them to be considered the territory of a certain country.

So...

This is a war without smoke on the high seas!

Back then, to guard our precious South China Sea Nine-Dash Line... which is our territorial sea line.

Our soldiers even used their lives to guard islands in storms!

Even if! That island was only the size of [a single table]!

You didn't read that wrong!

Even if it was just the size of a table! They had to persist in guarding it!

Otherwise, if you fled during a storm... soldiers from other countries would stand on it!

With that one stand...

It would be equivalent to the country losing a 12-nautical-mile radius of national territory!

There is a movie called "Island Keeper" that tells the story of such a lonely and sacred group... telling that period of arduous and solemn history!

...

At this very moment.

On a plane over the Pacific Ocean.

Director Chu Yun looked through the videos of this [First Generation Island Defender of Dragon Kingdom]... and gave a respectful and solemn salute!

Without their many years of arduous dedication...

How could there be Dragon Kingdom's [absolutely domineering] Nine-Dash Line territorial waters!?

No other country's territorial sea line is as domineering as Dragon Kingdom's!

It's practically drawn right up to other countries' faces!

And all of this...

Is precisely thanks to the efforts of these [First Generation Island Defenders of Dragon Kingdom], like this old gentleman!

"Old gentleman... we all want to help you."

Director Chu Yun's voice was a bit choked up as he sighed:

"But... something like [reclaiming land from the sea]..."

"Even Lin Xian can't do anything about it!"

Chapter 117: I Stand Here! This is Dragon Kingdom's Territory! What God Cannot Do, I Will Do!

After the old man's identity as a [First Generation Island Defender of Dragon Kingdom] was exposed... netizens across the country were instantly filled with awe!

This was a piece of history that took place seventy or eighty years ago...

Back then, if Dragon Kingdom wanted to protect our territorial sovereignty... we had to secure the [ownership] of those "palm-sized" islands and even reefs!

Therefore...

In those years, many people were dispatched to various small islands to live there and guard them...

As for those tiny reefs, some were only the size of a table, and the smallest was even just a chair-sized protrusion above the water...

In such extremely harsh environments, military soldiers were sent to guard the islands!

Always standing at the forefront for the people!

As for those islands where living conditions were arduous... but at least the area was large enough for normal life and farming...

A group of peasant masses was mobilized to go and live there.

Although the living conditions for these farming Island Defenders were much better than those of the soldiers... compared to life on the mainland, it was naturally exceptionally difficult!

So...

[Every single Island Defender is glorious, sacred, and worthy of all our respect!]

In an instant, the truth was out!

Netizens' eyes filled with tears! They were filled with awe in the livestream, posting comments to express their gratitude and admiration for the old gentleman:

"Waaaah! No regrets in this life being born in Huaxia... in the next life, I still want to be in the Flower Garden... Today... I've already lost count of how many times sand has gotten into my eyes! Although we've been in an era of peace for a long time... we should not forget the hardships and pain of those years! This seemingly ordinary farmer old man... was actually a great hero guarding the motherland's territory seventy or eighty years ago! If it weren't for him and his family living a hard life on that island... these 12 nautical miles of territorial waters might have become another country's!"

"Old gentleman, please accept our respect and thanks! That we can have such a happy life now... is completely inseparable from your selfless dedication and sacrifice back then! Although it looks like the old man's life is okay now, with electricity, water, and a signal to scroll through TikTok and watch livestreams... but decades ago, when technology wasn't advanced and national strength wasn't strong... it must have been many years of hard living!"

"If you calculate it carefully... when the old man and his family decided to come and [guard the island, guard the territory]... the old man was only seven or eight years old! I just heard the old man say... he had been farming with his family since he was a child, farming, farming, farming for a lifetime... and I thought, aren't all farming families like that? What's so special? But now... I really want to slap myself twice! Farming for a lifetime on this tiny island... I really want to cry!"

"I saw a special report before... actually, the state is very caring toward these Island Defenders. Plus, now that the territorial waters have been established and there's no longer a need to guard the islands... the state has gone to discuss with these people, hoping to bring them back to the mainland to live, and even resolving their housing and pension issues. It's just... they've been used to living here all their lives. In their words, going back to the mainland is like going to another world... they just can't adapt."

"Yes, yes, yes! I watched that documentary too! For people like the old man, this small island is the home where he has lived his whole life... the first half of his life was spent here. He really can't leave here and can't adapt to life outside; instead, he's happier staying here. The state also respects these people's wishes... so they spent huge sums to install electricity, water supply, signals, internet, and such on these islands so they can live happily."

...

Everyone was expressing their respect and gratitude to the old man.

This instead made the simple and honest farmer feel a bit embarrassed. He hurriedly waved his hands and smiled:

"Oh, oh... if you want to thank someone, thank the country! There's really no need to thank me... I just farmed on this small island for a lifetime... I haven't done anything remarkable, I'm not worth your thanks!"

"Besides, life here was only hard in the early years when I was a child... it got better very quickly after that! The country brought electricity here early on, and they regularly deliver water, supplies, and such... a few years ago, they even brought in internet and satellite phones. My life here... isn't any worse than you city folks' villas, hahahaha!"

...

The old man's simple and cheerful words moved the netizens to tears!

Indeed...

How many people's dream is to be able to buy a small island in the ocean and live leisurely on it?