衝突方/中國、台灣、越南、汶萊、菲律賓、馬來西亞、（印尼）

南海的確切位置是中國以南、菲律賓以西、越南以東、馬來西亞以北，周遭各個國家都稱自己是南海諸島的主權聲索國。2015 年起，各國開始在鄰近島嶼蓋基地，甚至攻擊其他國家的漁船。菲律賓更在2016 年一狀告上常設仲裁法院，說中國違反《聯合國海洋法公約》，最後由菲律賓勝訴。

目前中國在南海多個島嶼設有軍事基地，且多次與越南、菲律賓發生海上衝突。2021 年，美國拜登政府把南海視為印太戰略重要位置，派有多艘航母艦隊巡航。目前情勢緊張。
台灣主張擁有南沙群島主權。

Time: Intensified since 2015

The exact location of the South China Sea is to the south of China, west of the Philippines, east of Vietnam, and north of Malaysia. The surrounding countries all claim themselves to be the sovereign states of the South China Sea Islands. Since 2015, these countries have started setting up bases on neighboring islands and even attacked fishing vessels of other countries. The Philippines even filed a lawsuit in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, claiming that China violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the Philippines won the case. 

China currently has military bases on many islands in the South China Sea and has repeated maritime clashes with Vietnam and the Philippines. In 2021, the Biden administration of the United States sees the South China Sea an important part of the Indo-Pacific strategy and has sent multiple aircraft carrier fleets to patrol the region which is now of heightened tension. 

Taiwan claims sovereignty over the Spratly Islands.