The South China Sea has been witnessing ever more complicated developments, with growing tension following China’s large-scale construction, military deployment and combined military-civilian operations, notably in the Paracel and structures in the Spratly archipelagos, which Chinese armed forces occupied in 1956, 1974 and 1988. Counter-moves have been taken in the South China Sea by other countries. All this is leading to dangerous threats to peace, security and stability in the region.