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===South China Sea===

===South China Sea===

The South China Sea lies to the south of the China mainland and is bounded by the coastlines of the People's Republic of China (PRC), [[Vietnam]], [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Taiwan]].  In the south-west it becomes the Gulf of Thailand. To the south the Serat Karimata gives access to the Java Sea; to the east the Balabac and Mindoro straits give access to the Sulu Sea and the Luzon Strait north of the Philippines gives access to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The South China Sea contains a number of small island groups, uninhabited or inhabited only on a temporary basis by fishermen or by military detachments. These include the Paracel Islands and the [[Spratly Islands]].  

The [[South China Sea]] lies to the south of the China mainland and is bounded by the coastlines of the People's Republic of China (PRC), [[Vietnam]], [[Malaysia]], [[Brunei]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Taiwan]].  In the south-west it becomes the Gulf of Thailand. To the south the Serat Karimata gives access to the Java Sea; to the east the Balabac and Mindoro straits give access to the Sulu Sea and the Luzon Strait north of the Philippines gives access to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. The South China Sea contains a number of small island groups, uninhabited or inhabited only on a temporary basis by fishermen or by military detachments. These include the Paracel Islands and the [[Spratly Islands]].  

China has constructed artificial islands around seven reefs in the Spratly Islands archipelago. The islands are central to Beijing's apparent ambition to "have absolute control" over the South China Sea, which holds an estimated 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proven and probable reserves, in addition to maritime resources such as fish.<ref>https://amti.csis.org/south-china-sea-energy-exploration-and-development/#:~:text=The%20South%20China%20Sea%20holds,with%20much%20more%20potentially%20undiscovered.</ref>

China has constructed artificial islands around seven reefs in the Spratly Islands archipelago. The islands are central to Beijing's apparent ambition to "have absolute control" over the South China Sea, which holds an estimated 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 11 billion barrels of oil in proven and probable reserves, in addition to maritime resources such as fish.<ref>https://amti.csis.org/south-china-sea-energy-exploration-and-development/#:~:text=The%20South%20China%20Sea%20holds,with%20much%20more%20potentially%20undiscovered.</ref>