Lawyers

• McCain calls on Pentagon to clarify South China Sea patrol

  The chairman of the influential U.S. Senate Armed Services committee has called on the Pentagon to clarify publicly the legal intent of a U.S. patrol last month within 12 nautical miles of an island China has built in the South China Sea.

• 'Hope to see you again': China warship to U.S. destroyer after South China Sea patrol

  As soon as the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen breached 12-nautical-mile territorial limits around one of China's man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea last week, a Chinese warship shadowing its movements began demanding answers.

• Pentagon chief to visit U.S. aircraft carrier in South China Sea

  U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will visit a U.S. aircraft carrier transiting the South China Sea on Thursday, a move sure to raise the ire of China as tensions between Washington and Beijing simmer over the disputed waterway.

• China naval chief says minor incident could spark war in South China Sea

  China's naval commander told his U.S. counterpart that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea if the United States did not stop its "provocative acts" in the disputed waterway, the Chinese navy said on Friday.

• Australia to join Chinese navy exercises in South China Sea

  Two Australian warships will hold exercises with the Chinese navy in the South China Sea next week, Australia's defence minister said on Thursday, just days after a U.S. navy patrol near a man-made Chinese island in the disputed waters angered Beijing.

• Angry China shadows U.S. warship near man-made islands

  A U.S. guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of China's man-made islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday, drawing an angry rebuke from Beijing, which said it had tracked and warned the ship and called in the U.S. ambassador to protest.

• U.S. Navy destroyer patrols near islands built by China in South China Sea

  The U.S. Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea on Tuesday, a U.S. defense official said, in a challenge to China's territorial claims in the area.