Ruben langs de Zuid-Chinese Zee - Season 1

Ruben begins his tour in the Philippines to discover what the growing Chinese influence in the region means for the people who depend on the sea. With the Filipino fishermen Dodong and Floro, Ruben sails towards Scarborough Shoal, a large uninhabited reef. Officially Philippine territory, but now occupied by China with a coast guard and fishing militias.

It is exciting to see whether Ruben and the Filipino fishermen will not be chased away. Back on shore, we meet American veterans who are still hanging around here decades after the Vietnam War.

Ruben embarks on a horrific boat journey to Pagasa, a small but strategic island in the Spratly Archipelago. Although only a few hundred Filipinos live there, Pagasa plays a prominent role in the power struggles along the world's busiest shipping lane. While the Chinese Coast Guard is constantly nearby, the Philippine government tries to convince the boatload of journalists that Pagasa is, in fact, Filipino. Back in Manila, Ruben investigates Pagasa's role in Philippine maritime history and meets young students Anthony and Christian at a nautical school. While Anthony has dreamed of a life as a captain from a young age, the choice for Christian seems to have been primarily out of necessity.

In the southern Philippines, Ruben meets the Sultan of Sulu, heir to a once-powerful kingdom that stretched to Malaysia and the Spratly Islands. His power has vanished, but his historic claims to maritime areas rich in oil and gas keep tensions alive in the region. In the predominantly Muslim Sulu archipelago, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fought for decades for an independent state. The arrival of ISIS fighters brought the resistance to a standstill years ago, but the call for autonomy seems never to have entirely disappeared. On Tawi-Tawi, an island where many different religions and peoples converge, Ruben discovers how Sulu history profoundly influences daily life.

The armed attack by the followers of the Sultan of Sulu on the Malaysian state of Sabah in 2013 led to a violent confrontation with the Malaysian army. Many of those involved were subsequently labeled terrorists in Malaysia. Ruben speaks with perpetrators, ex-detainees, refugees, and families who are still dealing with the consequences. On Tawi-Tawi, Ruben sees how this border conflict has completely disrupted the lives of the Bajau, a traditional sea-faring people. The pacifist Bajau were expelled from Malaysia and are at the bottom of the social ladder on the Philippine island of Tawi-Tawi.

In this episode, Ruben travels through Vietnam. Fishermen he speaks with are afraid to say out loud that they are being chased away from their traditional fishing grounds near the Paracel Islands by the Chinese. It seems the Vietnamese are doing everything they can to avoid an open confrontation with China. Even at an international conference intended to discuss the South China Sea openly, caution seems to be the norm. Along with a group of American war veterans, we see the deep scars of the Vietnam War.

In China, Ruben tries to understand why the Chinese consider the entire South China Sea their backyard and are surprised that we don't. China actively seeks historical evidence for its claim to the sea. From old ship logs to archaeological finds, new museums are full of them. They supposedly also prove that Taiwan belongs to China. Ruben sees how young schoolchildren are instilled with this nationalistic ideology from an early age.

In Taiwan, Ruben sees the growing threat of Chinese invasion. The coast guard is on high alert as Chinese ships increasingly appear in their waters. Most Taiwanese are worried; some are even taking civil defense courses or arming themselves against fake news. To his surprise, Ruben discovers that there are also Taiwanese who are open to reunification with China.

How long will Taiwan remain a self-governing country?

On the Japanese island of Okinawa, once the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, centuries-old Chinese influences clash with Japanese and American presence. While boatloads of Chinese day-trippers rekindle old ties on the island, Japanese and American soldiers prepare for a potential confrontation with China. On Ishigaki Island, near Taiwan, Japan is building up its military presence. Ruben meets Setsuko, an 88-year-old peace activist who is protesting this, fearing history will repeat itself. She recounts how she lost her mother and sister during World War II and now experiences nightmares about a new nuclear war.