What countries want the South China Sea?

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam contest China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea. The countries have wrangled over territory for decades but tension has steadily increased in recent years.

What are the major challenges that the South China Sea is currently facing?

The main factors boosting the strategic value of this maritime area have been, (1) access to oceanic energy resources, (2) territorial conflicts in the South China Sea and Each China Sea, and (3) buildup of naval military power by countries in the region.

Which country has the strongest claim to their part of the South China Sea?

The Paracel Islands are the subject of overlapping claims by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. China makes the largest claim in the South China Sea, within a ‘dash-line’ map published by the Kuomintang Government in 1947.

Why is the South China Sea valuable?

South China Sea accounts for at least a third of the global maritime trade. While huge oil and natural gas reserves are said to lie beneath its seabed, it is also a fishing ground crucial for food security.

Why is China interested in South China Sea?

“First, South China Sea is important for the strategic patrol of Chinese SSBN [nuclear ballistic missile submarine], which needs to enter west Pacific Ocean for its nuclear deterrence against the US,” he explained. South China Sea accounts for at least a third of the global maritime trade.

Does Philippines own South China Sea?

The Philippine claims to sovereignty over the features known as Scarborough Shoal and the KIG are independent of its archipelagic status both legally and historically. Because Scarborough Shoal is a feature which exists above high tide, it is capable of [sovereign] appropriation under international law.

What’s happening in the South China Sea?

The apparent militia made headlines last month when more than 200 Chinese fishing boats crowded around Whitsun Reef, a Philippine possession in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea. Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore say they’ve never seen a Chinese operation of this size before.

What is China’s Sea Power?

It is through sea power that China will psychologically erase two centuries of foreign transgressions on its territory — forcing every country around it to react. Military engagements on land and at sea are vastly different, with major implications for the grand strategies needed to win — or avoid — them.

What can we learn from China-ASEAN joint naval exercise?

In October 2018, the first China-ASEAN Joint Naval Exercise was held in the South China Sea, which not only marks a new phase of China-ASEAN maritime security cooperation but has additionally provided valuable experiences and insights that are relevant to the development of a new regional security architecture.

Where are China’s Maritime Militia boats?

A 2020 US Defense Department report on the Chinese military mentions only 84 actual maritime militia boats, all assigned to a unit operating out of Sansha City on Hainan island, in the northern reaches of the South China Sea. The unit, established in 2016, gets frequent subsidies to operate in the Spratly Islands, the report said.