With the deployment of advanced weaponry and coupled with extensive media coverage, the US military has put on a show similar to a Hollywood blockbuster. But war is not imminent: The US simply hopes to increase China’s costs for such sovereignty-defending activities through military, political, diplomatic and media tools – and embarrass China diplomatically.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will push President Barack Obama next week to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, a senior diplomat said on Thursday, a meeting that could also touch on hacking and the South China Sea.

China on Tuesday slammed the United States for being behind the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines following remarks by a senior U.S. diplomat that an upcoming ruling on the case would be a critical moment for the "rules-based" future of the region.

China has pressed Japan not to broach Beijing's disputes with regional neighbours in the South China Sea at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Japan in May.

The United States has seen Chinese activity around a reef that China seized from the Philippines nearly four years ago that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Navy chief said on Thursday.

Despite some negative social costs, most Philippine presidential candidates welcome American presence in the country because it provides deterrence from China’s assertive actions in the South China Sea. But China is very wary of EDCA and the subsequent increase of U.S. military presence in the Philippines because of Beijing’s long-standing fear of American containment.

The US promise of promoting peace and stability in the South China Sea may sound familiar to regional players as they have heard very same slogans many times in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria. All regional countries have to make concerted efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

China has set up a tsunami alert centre in the South China Sea, the head of the country's maritime regulator said on Wednesday, in Beijing's latest effort to bolster its jurisdiction in the disputed waters.

China plans to set up an "international maritime judicial center" to help protect the country's sovereignty and rights at sea, its top judge said on Sunday.

The U.S. Air Force will continue to fly daily missions over the South China Sea despite a buildup of Chinese surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets in the contested region, with both nations' militaries in discussions to avoid any miscalculations, a top U.S. general said Tuesday