A recent thought-provoking article in The Diplomat by Liang Tuang Nah titled “Joining Forces in South China Sea Defense Procurement” made some salient observa

Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HYSY 981) is a state-of-the-art, semi-submersible oil platform – the first of its kind for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Zheng Wang and Andrew Ludwig explore the HYSY 981 and discuss whether it will enhance political cooperation or fuel greater tensions in the South China Sea.

Only by getting to know China in an entirely new light, can the US formulate a sensible China policy and produce a win-win situation for both China and the US in the South China Sea, writes Wu Zurong.

China’s rising power and capabilities make PRC actions in the South China Sea more consequential and unsettling than those of others, so they deserve particular attention but need to be evaluated in the broader context of the motives and actions of others as well.

While the United States continues to try and resolve disputes in the South China Sea to protect the security of established sea routes and ports, China finds the situation to be stable. Dismissing any alleged tensions, China claims that it and ASEAN do not need U.S. interference to help rectify the so-called dispute.

On the chessboard of the South China Sea, spectators have turned into players and the game is expanding, writes Zhai Kun.

Can a market-based plan for energy infrastructure provide peace and prosperity in the South China Sea? Stewart Taggart, a former financial journalist, examines recent tensions and describes how creating Joint Development Areas could boost cooperation and mutual trust.

Regional tensions in Asia have precipitously increased as disputes in the South China Sea continue to grow. While Zhai Kun notes that the current escalation is controllable, future conflicts cannot be ruled out.

The Vietnamese government has gone back on its word by making territorial claims for China’s Xisha Islands. Lu Yang believes that it is a violation of the principles of international law.

While borrowing Chinese President Xi's hope that the United States would take into consideration the Chinese perspective when it comes to territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, Wang Dong criticizes widely spread US misperception and misunderstanding of China's foreign policy behavior, and argues that the absence of the Chinese perspective may have led to much of the misreading of China’s behavior.