What are the locals doing?

Unfortunately, the locals can't really do anything, so it's natural to forget them! In the front of China's massive naval power, all that the local fishermen can do is fish where China doesn't care.  To get to places where fishermen can actually make a living, they have to use a boat with a motor.

The question is, how do motors work? To the right, in an oversimplified circuit, the function of motors is shown. A voltage source creates a current through the motor, thus powering it and looping back to the voltage source. This only works when the switch is closed, completing the circuit. The voltage drops across the motor, and the current stays constant. This is the Law of the Conservation of Energy in action! The current into the motor, is equal into the current out. Also, the sum of the voltages around a loop is equal to zero.

​The motor rotates and allows the fishermen to move about the ocean comfortably away from Chinese naval eyes.