China uses "dark fleet" to buy oil from Iran and evade U.S. sanctions in international waters

"As long as there's a supply, there will be a demand for this discounted oil," said Charlie Brown, a former U.S. Navy officer who's now a senior adviser with United Against Nuclear Iran, who is advising the U.S. government.

The supply is Iran, the demand is China, and this mutually beneficial relationship, which has long angered the United States, plays out off the coast of Malaysia in the Riau archipelago, an area the size of New York City.