West Philippine Sea

South China Sea
The northeastern portion of the South China Sea
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	南海
Traditional Chinese	南海
Hanyu Pinyin	Nán Hǎi
Literal meaning	South Sea
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Nán Hǎi Bopomofo ㄋㄢˊ ㄏㄞˇ Wade–Giles Nan2 Hai3 IPA [nǎn xài] Wu Romanization noe平 he上 Hakka Romanization nam11 hoi31 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping naam4 hoi2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ lâm-hái Hainanese Romanization nâm-hái
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	南中国海
Traditional Chinese	南中國海
Hanyu Pinyin	Nán Zhōngguó Hǎi
Literal meaning	South China Sea
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Nán Zhōngguó Hǎi Bopomofo ㄋㄢˊ ㄓㄨㄥ ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄏㄞˇ Wade–Giles Nan2 Chung1-kuo2 Hai3 IPA [nǎn ʈʂʊ́ŋkwǒ xài] Wu Romanization noe平 tson平 koh入 he上 Hakka Romanization nam11 dung24 gued2 hoi31 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping naam4 zung1 gwok3 hoi2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ lâm tiong-kok hái Hainanese Romanization nâm tieng-kuōk hái
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Biển Đông
Chữ Nôm
Literal meaning	East Sea
Thai name
Thai	ทะเลจีนใต้  [tʰā.lēː t͡ɕīːn tâ(ː)j] (South China Sea)
RTGS	Thale Chin Tai
Japanese name
Kanji	南支那海 or 南シナ海 (literally "South Shina Sea")
Hiragana	みなみシナかい
Transcriptions Romanization Minami Shina Kai
Malay name
Malay	Laut Cina Selatan (South China Sea)
Indonesian name
Indonesian	Laut Cina Selatan / Laut Tiongkok Selatan (South China Sea)
Filipino name
Tagalog	Dagat Timog Tsina (South China Sea) Dagat Luzon (Luzon Sea) Dagat Kanlurang Pilipinas (West Philippine Sea)
Portuguese name
Portuguese	Mar da China Meridional (South China Sea)

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi). The sea carries tremendous strategic importance; fully one-third of the world's shipping passes through it, it contains lucrative fisheries that are crucial for the food security of millions in Southeast Asia, and huge oil and gas reserves are believed to lie beneath its seabed.

It is located

The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and the name in most European languages is equivalent. This name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (Mare da China); later needs to differentiate it from nearby bodies of water led to calling it the South China Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as "South China Sea (Nan Hai)".

The Yizhoushu, which was a chronicle of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BCE) gives the first Chinese name for the South China Sea as Nanfang Hai (Chinese: 南方海; pinyin: Nánfāng Hǎi; literally: "Southern Sea"), claiming that barbarians from that sea gave tributes of hawksbill sea turtles to the Zhou rulers. The Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu classics of the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BCE) also referred to the sea, but by the name Nan Hai (Chinese: 南海; pinyin: Nán Hǎi; literally: "South Sea") in reference to the State of Chu's expeditions there. Nan Hai, the South Sea, was one of the Four Seas of Chinese literature. There are three other seas, one for each of the four cardinal directions. During the Eastern Han dynasty (23–220 CE), China's rulers called the Sea Zhang Hai (Chinese: 漲海; pinyin: Zhǎng Hǎi; literally: "distended sea").Fei Hai (Chinese: 沸海; pinyin: Fèi Hǎi; literally: "boil sea") became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. Usage of the current Chinese name, Nan Hai (South Sea), became gradually widespread during the Qing Dynasty.