Keywords: South China Sea, artificial islands, international arbitration, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, sovereignty, exclusive economic zone Events in the Middle East and the crisis in Ukraine have overshadowed the sometimes escalating and subsiding conflict in the South China Sea (SCM)1. But the development of events in this western part of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) is becoming increasingly dangerous for the world community. It has already been noted that in the second and third quarters of each year, i.e., in the period from April to September, there is a peak of disputes and contradictions in this area. Attention is also drawn to the cyclical nature of China's policy, in which 3 - 4 months of tension are replaced each time by the same period of its easing. First, in 2015, the artificial expansion of reefs and shoals in the Spratly Archipelago (Kit. - Nansha) occupied by China, turning them into artificially created islands with runways, berths, warehouses and other structures provoked a new crisis, this time with the active participation of the United States, which can not come to terms with the fact that how the South China Sea is turning into another "maritime province" of the PRC. NEW ROUND OF SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE Numerous satellite images have appeared in the media, indicating large-scale construction work. All indications were that China intended to build an "unsinkable aircraft carrier" in the South China Sea, which would have landing strips, radar installations, and ports for fishing and warships. These bases will be able to accommodate its H-6 strategic bombers, which have a range of 6,000 km and can reach anywhere north of Australia. Their missile armament allows them to hit American bases in Australia and control any actions in the Strait of Malacca. China seems to be preparing to project its military power to all parts of the region from the very center. The Americans were clearly alarmed, first of all, by the unprecedented scale of these ... Read more