In ancient times, China had all the four cardinal directions boarded by a sea although two were actually lakes: Lake Baikal or North Sea, East China Sea or East Sea, Qinghai Lake or West Sea, and South China Sea or South Sea. These bodies of water played significant roles in Chinese history; however, only one continues to make headlines throughout the world today—the South China Sea.
The South China Sea is largely part of the Pacific Ocean. Located along its shores are several nations now in dispute regarding maritime territorial rights taunted by China in the last decade or so. According to China, the South China Sea belonged to Beijing since ancient times.
Neighboring nations—Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Borneo, Taiwan, and Singapore—however, are not keen on granting ownership of the seas to China. On the contrary, disputes are getting more heated over the last few years. But why is the South China Sea so important?
One, the South China Sea is an important trade route in the Pacific. In 2018, over $5 trillion worth of commerce passed through the South China Sea or almost one-third of the total maritime trade around the world. China itself uses the seas to import over 80 percent of energy and 40 percent of China’s trade passes through the South China Sea.
Two, its seabed is rich in oil and natural gas:
While U.S. estimates have put the amount at 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the South China Sea, one Chinese government-owned oil major actually put the figure closer to 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in undiscovered areas. (Cnbc.com)
If these figures are correct, then China would have found a partial way out of its dependence on the Middle East for oil.
Three, the United States believes that China will destabilize Asia and, ultimately, the world should it be allowed to win over its Asian neighbors that are allies of the U.S. Aside from that, the U.S. is bent on protecting the freedom of navigation as stipulated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Many believe China is acting like a bully, and the U. S. is the peacemaker holding back the next world war. Many are still waiting for peaceful resolutions to happen.
