AMADO S. TOLENTINO, JR.
“THE South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometers.” Thousands of commercial vessels pass through the SCS carrying some $5 trillion worth of goods a year. The center of dispute is the Spratly Islands area. China’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash-line” ownership of the SCS overlaps with the competing claims of some Asian countries.