Oil and gas resources rank high among the many riches of the South China Sea. Naturally enough, these attract the interest, or more, of the countries bordering it—of China in particular, which aims to dominate the zone as a leading regional power. Behind the many Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea lies Beijing’s desire to control Asia’s principal energy and commercial supply route, which passes through strategically important narrows, and to take as its own the submarine wealth that is also sought after by the other littoral countries.