NEWS//South China Sea conflict

China has laid claim to almost all of the South China Sea.  China's sovereignty over the Sea severely limits access by neighboring countries (The Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam ).

To bolster its claim on the territory, China has been building artificial islands in the Sea. It has also beefed up its patrols in the area. The gain for China is access to natural resources under the Sea, fishing in the Sea, and control of the shipping lanes through the Sea.

Western opposition

The United States and other Western democracies are standing with the countries that border the South China Sea and against China's claims to it.

In the last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called out China for its "campaign of bullying to control" the South China Sea. He said Beijing had “no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region…. The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.”

In addition, the U.S. regularly flies reconnaissance missions over the South China Sea.

Chinese pique

For its part, China maintains it "is committed to resolving territorial and jurisdictional disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations with sovereign states directly concerned and to jointly maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea with ASEAN countries."

It characterizes the U.S. "as a country outside the region, [that] wishes nothing but chaos in the South China Sea so that it can gain from the muddied waters. To this end, it goes to great lengths to stoke troubles and sow discord between China and other regional countries."

China has bristled at the United States’ surveillance efforts. "The U.S. military aims to strengthen the battlefield construction in the South China Sea. Also, with the close-in reconnaissance, the country is increasing the collection of electronic signals from the Chinese mainland. In all, it is clear that the U.S.'s intensified military operations in the South China Sea have become the biggest risk of conflict in the region."

Sources: People’s Daily (Facebook), People’s Daily, NPR, International Business Times,  Daily U.S. Times,