China has a growing military presence in the region, including the wholesale raising of islands and construction of airfields on what were once atolls. The U.S. Navy operates there as well, increasingly in concert with regional powers such as the Philippines. Two Chinese fighter jets on Tuesday intercepted and passed within 50 feet of a U.S. military reconnaissance plane.

“We rely heavily on the South China Sea [for] transportation of resources and energy and the South China Sea is an important trading group for us. We attach great importance to peace and stability in the South China Sea,” said Liu, who warned the United States that it “cannot circle China by building military bases — we cannot do so 30 years ago, or even now.”

“Chinese people and the government feel like we haven’t been treated fairly because the U.S. is blaming China for rising tensions in the South China Sea,” said Liu, who added that “what matters is that the U.S. government has recognized that times have changed, [and the U.S.] can gain much more through cooperation than going to war.”

China is party to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that framework provides “no legal basis” for China to claim its “nine-dash” area, said Alessio Patalano, senior lecturer in Naval History and East Asian Security at King’s College London.

But beyond that, Patalano said, China’s actions have no historical precedent.

“There is not a precedent of this kind, and this is for two reasons,” Patalano told CNBC. “First until recently, technology didn’t allow nation states to project power over the oceans as it is possible today. Second, today’s degree of interdependence has no precedent in history, therefore issues over the ability of shipping to move through this basin has potential impact on the international system in a way that was not possible previously.”

The South China Sea for years has been a point of contention for bordering nations besides China, including Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, but in recent years has become a larger nexus of disagreement as China has unilaterally declared the region its own. China’s fishing fleet, the world’s biggest, operates increasingly within the legally exclusive zones of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries.

A tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is expected to rule in the next couple months on China’s expansive territorial claims, though China has already rejected those proceedings. READ MORE

PENTAGON CLAIMS CHINA RESTRUCTURING FOR WAR

ARE YOU COMPLETELY PREPARED? 

IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PREP YOU CAN DO!   

The Bible tells us that every human has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God which is  is a heart-penetrating truth. He has provided a way to cleanse us of our sins since we can never be “good enough” to cleanse ourselves. That avenue to God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness (the cleansing of our sins) is through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth Who is equally God.