The United States has slammed China over a territorial dispute with the Philippines in the South China Sea, a key maritime region that has emerged as a flash point for questions of regional sovereignty. “This is yet another unilateral attempt by China to use dubious environmental and legal pretexts, backed by coercion, to advance its sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors.” In recent weeks, tensions have flared in the South China Sea, after Chinese ships fired water cannon on Filipino fishing vessels near the Scarborough Shoal. AdvertisementBut China refused to participate with the arbitration panel and has instead advanced what is widely called the “nine-dash line”: a looping border that asserts Chinese sovereignty across much of the South China Sea. Critics speculate that China is seeking to translate its claims over the South China Sea into greater economic heft and military power.