The contested claims have for decades made the sea one of Asia’s flashpoints, and tensions have risen in recent years as China has moved to assert its authority over the areas. Following a tense standoff between Chinese maritime patrol vessels and the Philippine Navy in 2012, China took control of a rich fishing ground called Scarborough Shoal that is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. Satellite images have also shown China recently embarking on major construction activities to expand Chinese-controlled reefs and islets in the Spratly Islands, one of the sea’s biggest archipelagos.

Aquino: World should fear China’s actions in South China Sea. (2015, April 15). Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 19.