The South China Sea is again in the limelight as and again the naval forces of different nations have conducted exercises that have given rise to apprehensions regarding a possible conflict in the area. China, Vietnam and the Philippines who are the most involved parties in the territorial disputes in the region have been most involved in such actions, thus straining diplomatic relations and raising the possibility of military escalation.

Last couple of weeks, China has been holding large-scale naval exercises in the disputed region, including the newest aircraft carrier. Such activities that Beijing says are normal and within its sovereign powers have provoked concern among other countries and the global community. Vietnam and the Philippines have also conducted their military actions to back up their sovereignty over the disputed waters.

The United States, a major power in the region, has reassured its friends and allies in the Asia-Pacific that it will continue to back them up. The US naval vessels have at some point conducted freedom of navigation operation in the area, thus making the situation even more sensitive. These actions have elicited a lot of criticism from China which has considered them as being provocative and as an invasion of its sovereign airspace.

Experts say that such assertive operations can lead to additional provocations as the role of military forces in the region increases. The chances of an accidental collision or an encounter with an unknown ship has become rather high, and there are fears that this might lead to a general conflict.

It has also started to affect the civilian sea lines of communication necessary for the movement of goods around the world. Some cases of commercial ships being threatened or diverted by military ships have given a cause of concern to the international business players. South China Sea is one of the most important sea routes for international trade where over trillion of dollars of goods transit every year.

Sanctions applied to prevent the conflict have, to a certain extent, been ineffective so far as diplomatic measures to stop the escalation of the conflict. ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting held in Jakarta last week did not come up with a common stand on the issue, proving the dynamics of interests and affiliations in the region. Many of the Southeast Asian nations economically rely on China and this has been a major factor that has made it difficult for them to stand against China’s territorial claims.

Scholars insist on the necessity of communication in handling such tensions and urge all the parties to pursue diplomacy. People have been demanding a binding code of conduct in the South China Sea; it is a proposed idea that has been discussed for years but not yet realized in order to control the disputes and prevent the conflicts.

With tensions rising in this region that is of significant strategic importance, the international community wants to know whether reason will prevail. Due to close connection between economic stakes and the sovereignty concerns, it still remains extremely difficult for the international community to come up with a satisfactory solution that will meet all the parties’ demands.