South china sea: Overview • The South China Sea is

Overview • The South China Sea is a critical world trade route. In 2023, 10 billion barrels of petroleum and petroleum product and 6.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the South China Sea .1 The sea stretches from Singapore and the Strait of Malacca in the southwest to the Strait of Taiwan in the northeast (Map 1). The sea is rich in resources, holds high potential to be a source for hydrocarbons, and has significant strategic and political importance. Overlapping claims in the South China Sea threaten to turn the region into a flashpoint of global concern. Explore how China ’s claims over the South China Sea have antagonized competing countries and track the latest developments with CFR's Global Conflict Tracker. The South China Sea [Type] The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the West Pacific Ocean. [Bordering Countries] The South China Sea is bordered by China , Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Vietnam. [Location] The sea is bounded by the shores of South China in the north, the Indo-Chinese Peninsula in the west, islands of Taiwan and Philippines in the east, and Borneo, Sumatra, and Bangka Belitung Islands in the south . It is connected to: The East China Sea in the ...