It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, and the Java Sea via the Karimata and Bangka Straits. The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are part of the South China Sea.

Jan 25, 2025 · South China Sea, arm of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland. It is bounded on the northeast by the Taiwan Strait (by which it is connected to the East China Sea); on the east by Taiwan and the Philippines; on the southeast and south by Borneo, the southern limit of

1 day ago · Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered to remove a U.S. missile system from the Philippines if China halts what he called 'aggressive and coercive behavior' in the South China Sea.

Sep 17, 2024 · Explore how China’s claims over the South China Sea have antagonized competing countries and track the latest developments with CFR's Global Conflict Tracker.

Jul 7, 2023 · Overlapping claims in the South China Sea threaten to turn the region into a flashpoint of global concern.

Dec 25, 2024 · territorial disputes in the South China Sea, series of conflicts arising from the overlapping territorial claims of several countries that border the South China Sea. In recent decades China has been widely seen as the conflicts’ primary driver.

5 days ago · Major developments in the South China Sea in 2024 do not augur well for 2025.

Jun 17, 2024 · In the latest incident, a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on Monday. China’s coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that’s part of territory claimed by several nations.

Oct 24, 2023 · Beijing claims Second Thomas Shoal and almost the entire sea on the basis of its so-called “nine-dash line”, which it again featured in a new version of its national map earlier this year.

Aug 21, 2023 · Multiple Asian governments assert sovereignty over rocks, reefs, and other geographic features in the heavily trafficked South China Sea (SCS), with the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) arguably making the most assertive claims.