A cabbage crop being grown on a tropical islet will help China solidify its claims in a wider, disputed Asian sea by allowing more people to live there and proving that the tiny feature can sustain itself. The farming breakthrough on Woody Island goes against a court statement in 2016 that islands in the sea could not support “communities of their own”, the Chinese government-run Global Times said.  “You can factor this in as part of a holistic strategy to demonstrate habitation capability,” said Associate Professor Alan Chong from the RSIS in Singapore.