| South China Sea | |
|---|---|
 Satellite image of South China Sea | |
  South China Sea  South China Sea  South China Sea | |
 The northeastern portion of South China Sea | |
| Location | East Asia and Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 12°N 113°E / 12°N 113°E |
| Type | Sea |
| Part of | Pacific Ocean |
| River sources | |
| Basin countries | |
| Surface area | 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi) |
| Islands | List of islands in South China Sea |
| Trenches | Manila Trench |
| Settlements | Major cities
|
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands, encompassing an area of around 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi). It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, and the Java Sea via the Karimata and Bangka Straits. The Gulf of Thailand and the Gulf of Tonkin are part of the South China Sea.
$3.4 trillion of the world's $16 trillion maritime shipping passed through South China Sea in 2016. Oil and natural gas reserves have been found in the area. The Western Central Pacific accounted for 14% of world's commercial fishing in 2010.
The South China Sea Islands, collectively comprising several archipelago clusters of mostly small uninhabited islands, islets (cays and shoals), reefs/atolls and seamounts numbering in the hundreds, are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.