Of the many conceivable contingencies involving an armed clash in the South China Sea, three especially threaten U.S. interests and could potentially prompt the United States to use force.

Japan, a United States ally in the Indo-Pacific region ... Strait after a joint naval drill on February 5 in the South China Sea with the U.S., Australia, and the Philippines.

Newsweek's map shows how a Chinese flotilla traveled to the South Pacific Ocean from the country's southern coast for drills near two United States allies ... the South China Sea and headed ...

Its approach has resonated with allies, including the United States, who support the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that found China's vast South China Sea claims had no legal ...

Beijing has been bolstering its military rapidly while pressing, with increasing assertiveness, territorial claims over disputed islands across the South China Sea — and its claim over the ...

China opposes Vietnam's construction activities on a disputed islet in the South China Sea known as the Barque ... has intensified as China and the United States vie for influence in the strategic ...