US President Barack Obama yesterday described the South China Sea issue as one of the current crises tearing the world apart. In his final address to the United Nations General Assembly as US president, Obama appealed for global integration in the face of religious fundamentalism, the politics of ethnicity, aggressive nationalism and crude populism, even as he called for a course correction. Obama said the South China Sea is where “a peaceful resolution of disputes offered by law will mean far greater stability than the militarization of a few rocks and reefs.”

Lee-Brago, P. (2016, September 22). South China Sea row tearing world apart - Obama. Philippine Star, p. 12.