Chinese Military Move Raises Heat in South China Sea Dispute

July 27, 2012 from VOA News

China's move to base troops on a disputed island in the South China Sea has raised concerns about a possible military confrontation in an area where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei and the Philippines all have competing claims. VOA State Department Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story.

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South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. The area's importance largely results from one-third of the world's shipping tran... Explore this topic

Sansha

Sansha is a prefecture of the People's Republic of China's Hainan province which administers several island groups and undersea atolls in the South China Sea, comprising the Spratly and Paracel Islands as well as the Macclesfield Bank. The entire territory is disputed, and Chi... Explore this topic

South China Sea Islands

The South China Sea Islands consist of over 250 around 1-km² islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars in the South China Sea, most of which have no indigenous people, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, some of which are permanently submerged. The f... Explore this topic

Spratly Islands dispute

The Spratly Islands dispute is a territorial dispute over the ownership of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands located in the South China Sea. States staking claims to various islands are: Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. All except Brunei occ... Explore this topic

Cambodia

Cambodia, officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and once known as the Khmer Empire, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. Its total landmass is 181,035 square kilometres, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to ... Explore this topic

Vietnam

Vietnam officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. With an estimated 90.3 million inhabitants as of 2012, it is the world's 13th-most-populous country, and the eighth-most-populous Asian country. The n... Explore this topic

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has expanded to include... Explore this topic

Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between... Explore this topic

Taiwan

Тайва́нь — остров в Тихом океане, в 150 км от восточных берегов материковой части Китая, от которой он отделён Тайваньским проливом. Географические координаты центра — 23°30′ с. ш., 121°00′ в. д. Остров пересекает тропик Рака. В международно-политическом и экономическом контек... Explore this topic

Brunei

Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, and it is ... Explore this topic

Also See

South China Sea

Sansha

South China Sea Islands

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