Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HYSY 981) is a state-of-the-art, semi-submersible oil platform – the first of its kind for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Zheng Wang and Andrew Ludwig explore the HYSY 981 and discuss whether it will enhance political cooperation or fuel greater tensions in the South China Sea.

Only by getting to know China in an entirely new light, can the US formulate a sensible China policy and produce a win-win situation for both China and the US in the South China Sea, writes Wu Zurong.

China’s rising power and capabilities make PRC actions in the South China Sea more consequential and unsettling than those of others, so they deserve particular attention but need to be evaluated in the broader context of the motives and actions of others as well.

While the United States continues to try and resolve disputes in the South China Sea to protect the security of established sea routes and ports, China finds the situation to be stable. Dismissing any alleged tensions, China claims that it and ASEAN do not need U.S. interference to help rectify the so-called dispute.

On the chessboard of the South China Sea, spectators have turned into players and the game is expanding, writes Zhai Kun.

Can a market-based plan for energy infrastructure provide peace and prosperity in the South China Sea? Stewart Taggart, a former financial journalist, examines recent tensions and describes how creating Joint Development Areas could boost cooperation and mutual trust.

Regional tensions in Asia have precipitously increased as disputes in the South China Sea continue to grow. While Zhai Kun notes that the current escalation is controllable, future conflicts cannot be ruled out.

Shao analyzes the US’ “New Silk Road Initiative” and China’s “Silk Road Economic Belt,”and concludes that though having differences, they go in the same direction: acceleration of regional economic cooperation.

Following the first year of the new Chinese leadership’s time in power, Zhai Kun examines why tensions in the Asia-Pacific continue to increase and what can be done to promote regional stability and development without endangering the current US-China relationship.

To debunk the “String of Pearls” theory, Zhou Bo writes that China has only two purposes in the Indian Ocean: economic gains and the security of Sea lines of Communication.