South China Sea provocations

Note Chinas claim — black dashed — cuts across all other countries
And has been found illegal by the International Marine Tribunal.
Which China ignores

Simple summary: since WW2, the United States has kept the South China Sea as an open passage for international shipping. China, especially since Xi, is unilaterally grabbing islands and reefs. And making a maximalist claim,  so-called “nine-dash line”. And then blaming everyone else when there’s pushback. As does the reliably oleaginous Zhao Lijian, highlighted below. IOW, it was China created the “disputed” in “disputed waters”.

Online version here

By the way, we have often sailed across those “disputed waters” in our boats Thea and then  Xena. In races from Hong Kong to the Philippines and to Hainan Island and Vietnam and Thailand. 

In 2008 we raced Thea to Na Trangh in Vietnam, a pretty wild and woolly race, high winds, knocked down a couple of times, pretty dramatic.

In 2010 we raced Xena to Hainan island. On the last day we were accompanied for a while by a Chinese Navy frigate. We chatted in the VHS. And we felt good that they were there to protect us from pirates! That was the, before Xi Jinping. Would we be so happy to have a Chinese navy vessels approach us today? Not so sure. They might be there to “express sovereignty” and kick us out. While the US claims China’s claims are “unlawful”.