China Already Controls The South China Sea #geography #geopolitics #usa

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]China has already built 27 military installations on reefs that did not legally exist as land 10 years ago. In 2016, the International Court ruled China's claims had no legal basis. China declared the ruling null and continued building. 1/3 of all global maritime trade passes through this sea. Whoever controls it controls the arteries of the world economy. China's nine-dash line claims 90% of the sea, overlapping the sovereign waters of five separate nations. Mischief Reef now hosts a 10,000-ft runway, radar arrays, and surface-to-air missile systems on a reef that was underwater in 2010. The US Navy still transits the sea under freedom of navigation operations. China calls each one a provocation and shadows every vessel. The question is not whether China will control the South China Sea.

[00:00:49]The question is who will acknowledge that it already does.