Rising tension in the South China Sea has recently come to constitute the most critical risk of conflict in Asia. Seeing that this contested maritime region is of both political and economic importance, it is not only China and the littoral states of the region that are now vested in the fate of the South China Sea, so is the US. While China claims “historical” sovereignty over nearly the entirety of the South China Sea, other countries oppose China’s territorial assertions in the context of international law. Due to their limited capacities when compared with those of China, littoral states such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia have found themselves drawn closer to the US in order to balance China. Pursuing an active policy towards the region, the US has frequently acted in opposition to China. As a result of the sovereignty race, growing nationalism and increasing mistrust have added to the rising tension in the region. Although a physical conflict has not yet been experienced, as the relevant actors size one another up, it can be definitively said that the waters are warming in the South China Sea.
The disagreement between China and the US

China, seeing its supremacy in the South China Sea as one of its most vital interests, is unyielding in its conservative foreign policy in the region. Besides claiming sovereignty rights in the region, Beijing does not hesitate to take unconventional policy measures to enforce its position. In this sense, China increases its military presence in the region on the one hand while strengthening its naval power on the other. Moreover, China’s position as a global power continues to rise in parallel with its assumption of an aggressive attitude in the South China Sea, thus stoking the concerns of both the region’s littoral states and the US. Furthered by the limited capacity of the region’s littoral states to stand up to China, all these developments have paved the way for the US to play a more critical role in the shaping of the region’s balances.

The US’s position in the region rests on five primary principles: peaceful resolution of disputes, continuation of peace and stability in the region, ensuring the freedom of navigation in international waters, adoption of the principle of neutrality in sovereignty disputes, and respecting international norms and principles. A major characteristic of the region disputes, the US and the region’s littoral states call for China to behave in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). According to UNCLOS, littoral states enjoy full sovereignty over the seas and continental shelves expanding 12 nautical miles from their national shores, furthermore, they also enjoy certain economic rights to Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), which can be expanded to 200 nautical miles off their shores. However, the area claimed by China spans far beyond these borders. Indeed, China recently even tried to expand its territorial claims, and its corresponding nautical borders, by building artificial islands. This practice creates an unconventional picture in the implementation of international law of sea. Thus, within the framework of current legal norms, China’s claims have no legal provision.
Read more: http://www.turkishweekly.net/2016/01/06/op-ed/conflicting-interests-and-rising-tension-in-the-south-china-sea/