China/Philippines/Vietnam/United States/South China Sea: Showdown in the South China Sea: How Did We Get Here?

Oct 28, 2015 | Euan McKirdy and Katie Hunt, CNN
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Dotted with small islands, reefs and shoals, the South China Sea is home to a messy territorial dispute that pits multiple countries against each other. China's "nine-dash line" -- its claimed territorial waters that extend hundreds of miles to the south and east of its island province of Hainan -- abut its neighbors' claims and, in some cases, encroach upon them.