system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do countries dispute uninhabited, useless territory?

Coral Banks, those random Aegan isles, mountain summits, etc.
gpt
Islands are great to own, because they give you ownership of all the water around them for many kilometers, including all the fish, oil, or whatever else might be down there.

Mountains are great to own, because they provide military defenses, and because they often contain minerals you can mine.

I don't know what cural banks are.