What is your view of the confrontation between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea?
Short answerIt is likely to continue because the Philippines has international law on its side while China relies on power, and other trading states have strong reasons to keep the sea lane open.
NotesThe Philippines' legal position faces China's use of material power. Control of a major maritime trade route affects states far beyond the immediate dispute, giving them an interest in resisting unilateral domination. Historical voyages or modern naming conventions do not, in this argument, establish ownership of an entire sea.