Sovereignty in the South China Sea is highly contested

The 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea and the islands within it are subject to a range of claims from governments around the region. China claims almost all of it as its sovereign territory enclosed within its “nine-dash line,” but others maintain claims based on their exclusive economic zones, which extend 200 nautical miles from their shores. Key disputed spots include the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, both locations where China has built military installations on disputed islands.

Exclusive Economic Zones

Note: The Spratly and Paracel Islands are not to scale.

Sources: Center for Strategic and Interrnational Studies's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Marine Regions

Graphic: Henrik Pettersson and Lou Robinson, CNN