Spratly Islands dispute

China simulated "sealing off" Taiwan during a third day of wargames around the self-ruled island on Monday, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijing-claimed waters in a show of force.

The Chinese military said it had tracked a US warship in the South China Sea on Thursday and "warned it to leave" waters claimed by Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea -- a strategic waterway through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually -- despite an international court ruling that the assertion has no legal basis.

The United States said it's concerned by reports of China's interference with oil and gas activities in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, where Vietnam accuses Beijing of violating its sovereignty.

China has increased military presence in the South China Sea (SCS).The Red Army recently deployed a rocket launcher in disputed Fiery Cross Reef. The Chinese state-run media reported over the weekend that Beijing made the move in order to counter the Vietnamese aggression.

A US Navy destroyer has sailed close to a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China for the first time under US President Donald Trump.
The USS Dewey sailed within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of Mischief Reef, in the Spratly Island chain, on Wednesday, in a “freedom of navigation operation,” according to a US official.

Beijing landed a military plane on a disputed South China Sea reef it has built up into an artificial island, officials said on April 18, in the first confirmation of such a flight.
 
An air force plane landed on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago on April 17 to evacuate sick workers, a news report posted online by China's defence ministry said.
 

China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system to one of the disputed islands it controls in the South China Sea, Taiwan and U.S. officials said, while Chinese FM Wang Yi on Feb. 17 sought to downplay reports that China had positioned anti-aircraft missiles.

China said on Nov. 22 that the United States was making political provocations with its patrols in the disputed South China Sea, as tensions around the strategic waterways mount.

Divisions within Asia over China's claims in the disputed South China Sea spilled over on Nov. 4 to a meeting of U.S. and Asian defense ministers, where China insisted the group make no public mention of the strategic waters in a joint declaration intended as a public display of unity.

Beijing may be building its third airstrip on artificial islands in the South China Sea, a US think-tank said, in a move likely to raise tensions with Washington ahead of a state visit by China's president.