1. Introduction The South China Sea (SCS) is a semi-enclosed tropical and subtropical sea located between the Asian land mass (including Taiwan) to the west and north, the Phillipine Islands to the east and Malaysia and Borneo to the south (Figure 1), a total of 3.5×10 6 km 2 surface area. It includes the shallow Gulf of Thailand and connections to the East China Sea (through the Taiwan Strait)...
