The Background of the Conflict in the South China Sea: the Positions of the Participating Countries and Development Prospects

The conflict in the South China sea is a geopolitical problem, which is currently relevant for China and ASEAN countries. The subject of the conflict is the Paracel Islands and the Spratly archipelago. At the moment, territorial disputes between competing countries remain unsolved. The presence of contradictions in the region and the risk of escalation of the conflict make the problem relevant for the international community. The object of the study is the process of development of political relations between the countries in the context of political tension in the waters of the South China sea. The subject of the study can be considered as all the policy iwithn the South China sea area,.For example, the construction of China's artificial Islands and airfields. Historical and genetic methods are used in this study. Also, the quantitative and qualitative methods are employed in the study. The first purpose of the work is to identify the background of the conflict. This part of research is based on the historical analysis and analysis of current trends in the region. The second goal is to make a forecast based on quantitative and qualitative methods of the research. The hypothesis: "the Escalation of the conflict is unlikely, as the potential damage from a large-scale conflict at the moment is too great." This hypothesis was confirmed during the process of the research. In the future, this study can be deepened by a more detailed study of the economy of the South China sea.