South china sea covers almost 3,500,000 square km in the pacific ocean. There are several states having both inland and maritime claims to the South China Sea. The major states in these disputes include China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. Such disputes have made the area as Asia’s most dangerous point of conflict. Both China and Taiwan’s claim is most expensive since they claim almost the entire body as their own.

The region has gained importance because about one-third of world’s trade ships use this route for transportation. It is also believed that it holds a large amount of gas and oil reserves and fishing grounds. All of the countries bordering the South China Sea have made claims for the region. There are two archipelagos that are the main cause of the conflict one is the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by the China, but are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. However, Spratly Islands are partly controlled China,

There are two archipelagos that are the main cause of the conflict one is the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by the China, but are also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. However, the Spratly Islands are partly controlled China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and so are by Brunei.

The majority of these islands are really small and some are even naturally under water when there is a high tide. That is why most of these islands are not inhabited by civilians. One profitable natural resource available here is fish. Fishing is a traditional business in the region. It has been gaining importance since the fish stocks around the world has decreased and there is still a lot of fish in the South China Sea. Today about 1/10 of the world’s global fisheries catch is being caught in the South China Sea.

Initially, one of the reasons of armed conflict was that Fishermen were arrested or killed when they would cross into another nation’s territory. In the 2000, Chinese Fishermen were killed by Philippine troops for allegedly crossing into a Philippine area of strategic military importance.

This route is a famous trade route of crude oil and global LNG as about one-third of the overall trade cargo passes through this Sea. It is the shortest trade route between Asian customers and exporters from the middle east and African states which makes it the busiest trade route.

The US also has an interest in forming a direct or indirect hegemony over this route as it uses this route to access the Asian market. However, they do not claim any territory.

The ASEAN tried to peacefully solve the conflict. Except China and Taiwan, all claiming nations are a part of the association and in 2002 they agreed on a Code of Conduct of States in the Sea to resolve the conflict through peaceful means without the use of any force. China also signed on this agreement.

For a permanent solution, ASEAN can play a key role as China is a trading partner of the ASEAN. Multilateral cooperation and confidence building measure should be adopted to resolve this dispute as if the conflict accelerated it would have an impact on the economy of all international community.