China and South Korea are looking for a demarcation of the South China Sea

South Korea has been an ally of Washington for a long time, since 1953. There are  US military base emplacements and materials were increased recently. The White House may to use South Korea as a proxy against both China and North Korea. But economically, South Korea depends on China.

 

The Philippines also have a claim on the South China Sea and President Benigno Aquino vowed on Monday Dec. 20th to leave behind a stronger and a more capable armed forces to face maritime challenges there. He promised to spend $1.77 billion until 2017 to strengthen the military, as China asserts its claims to most of the waters. Washington also supports the Philippines and already has transferred two former coast guard cutters and transport planes to this country.

 

China and Vietnam agreed to launch joint inspections on the waters outside the mouth of the Beibu Gulf in December.

 

The US provokes Bejing in different ways. Xinhua noted that a recent flyover by two U.S. bombers near Chinese islands in the South China Sea were an intentional incident, as every other maneuver by Washington aimed at sustaining its global hegemony. Also China was displeased that Obama's administration authorized a 1.83- billion-U.S.-dollar arms sale package to Taiwan.