1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated February 2, 2021South China Sea Disputes: Background and U.S. PolicyOverview Multiple Asian governments assert sovereignty over rocks, reefs, and other geographic features in the heavily trafficked South China Sea (SCS), with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC
2、 or China) arguably making the most assertive claims. The United States makes no territorial claim in the SCS and takes no position on sovereignty over any of the geographic features in the SCS, but has urged that disputes be settled without coercion and on the basis of international law. Separate f
3、rom the sovereignty disputes, the United States and China disagree over what rights international law grants foreign militaries to fly, sail, and operate in a countrys territorial sea or Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Since 2013, the sovereignty disputes and the U.S.-China dispute over freedom of th
4、e seas for military ships and aircraft have converged in the controversy over military outposts China has built on disputed features in the SCS. U.S. officials saw the outposts as part of a possible Chinese effort to dominate the SCS, with the goal of making China a regional hegemon that can set the