South China Sea is an arm of Western Pacific Ocean in southeast Asia. This region has been disputed since the middle of the Cold War period and has never shown a declining trend in the level of tension. Conflict is on maritime and islands claims between different sovereign countries surrounding the region. The country parties to these disputes are China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. International Institutions such as the UNO, UNCLOS are trying to address the South China Sea dispute with China. This article highlights the UNCLOS as well as UN's position on the issues, also examines China's approaches in asserting sovereignty over the disputed waters and further the responses of other claimant countries towards China's actions.

dispute, South China Sea, UN, UNCLOS, maritime, EEZ, natural resources