South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea within the Western Pacific Ocean. It covers roughly 3,500,000 square kilometers (1,400,000 square miles) and is bordered to the north by South China, to the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, to the east by Taiwan and the northwestern Philippines (primarily Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan), and to the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra, and the Bangka Belitung Islands. This sea connects to several other bodies of water: the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea through the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via straits around Palawan, the Java Sea through the Karimata and Bangka Straits, and directly to the Gulf of Thailand. The Gulf of Tonkin is also considered part of the South China Sea.

In 2016, approximately $3.4 trillion of the world’s $16 trillion in maritime shipping passed through these waters. The area contains discovered oil and natural gas reserves. In 2010, the Western Central Pacific region, which includes this sea, accounted for 14% of global commercial fishing. The South China Sea Islands consist of several archipelago clusters made up of hundreds of mostly small, uninhabited islands, islets (including cays and shoals), reefs, atolls, and seamounts. These features are subject to competing sovereignty claims from multiple countries, a situation reflected in the various names used for both the islands and the sea itself.

The English name "South China Sea" is the standard term in most European languages. It originated from early European interest in the sea as a trade route from Europe and South Asia to China. In the 16th century, Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (Mare da China); later, to distinguish it from nearby waters, it was renamed the South China Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization officially refers to it as "South China Sea (Nan Hai)."

The earliest Chinese name, Nanfang Hai (Southern Sea), appears in the Yi Zhou Shu, a chronicle of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE), which mentions tributes of hawksbill sea turtles from that sea. During the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BCE), texts like the Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu called it Nan Hai (South Sea), referencing expeditions by the State of Chu. Nan Hai was one of the Four Seas in Chinese literature, each corresponding to a cardinal direction. Under the Eastern Han dynasty (23–220 CE), it was known as Zhang Hai (distended sea), and during the Southern and Northern dynasties, Fei Hai (boiling sea) was common. The modern Chinese name, Nan Hai (South Sea), gradually became standard during the Qing dynasty.

In Southeast Asia, the sea was once called the Champa Sea or Sea of Cham, after the maritime kingdom of Champa (in present-day central Vietnam), which thrived there before the 16th century. During World War II, following Japan’s military acquisitions in Southeast Asia in 1941, most of the sea came under Japanese naval control. Japan calls it Minami Shina Kai (South China Sea), written as 南支那海 until 2004, when the spelling was officially changed to 南シナ海, now standard in Japan.

China refers to it as the South Sea (南海; Nánhǎi), while Vietnam calls it the East Sea (Biển Đông). In Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, it was long known as the South China Sea (Tagalog: Dagat Timog Tsina, Malay: Laut China Selatan). The Philippines historically called the part within its territorial waters the Luzon Sea (Dagat Luzon). After an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, Philippine government agencies began using the name West Philippine Sea. A spokesperson for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) stated that the sea east of the Philippines would continue to be called the Philippine Sea. In September 2012, President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No. 29, requiring all government agencies to use West Philippine Sea for parts of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, including the Luzon Sea and waters around the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc. The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority was tasked with using this name on official maps.

In July 2017, Indonesia renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea, located north of the Natuna Islands and bordering southern Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone. This corresponds to the southern end of the South China Sea. The Natuna Sea, south of Natuna Island within Indonesian territorial waters, is a separate portion. Thus, Indonesia has named two seas within the South China Sea: the Natuna Sea, between the Natuna Islands and the Lingga and Tambelan Archipelagos, and the North Natuna Sea, between the Natuna Islands and Cape Cà Mau on the southern tip of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. No agreement exists between China and Indonesia regarding the Natuna waters dispute, and China has remained ambiguous about the southern limit of its area of interest.

States and territories bordering the sea, listed clockwise from the north, include the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Major rivers flowing into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Menam, Rajang, Baram, Kapuas, Batang Hari, Musi, and Kampa.