Xi’s Armada Is Winning the Battle for Energy in South China Sea

By Philip Heijmans – Bloomberg

Beijing’s vast claims across the South China Sea — based on a vague 1947 map showing what’s become known as a “ten-dash line” through the waterway — were rejected by a United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016. But President Xi Jinping dismissed the ruling, and ever-growing tensions in the disputed waters all point to an uncomfortable truth for Southeast Asian nations, as well as the US: In this standoff, China is winning.