Sukhoi SU-35 S ( Credits- Wikimedia Commons / Aleksandr Medvedev) Source- The National Interest Author- Harry J. Kazianis Once again, the South China Sea is back in the news, and once again, it’s for all the wrong reasons. The People’s Republic of China seems to have one crystal-clear objective: to dominate this important body of water to such an extent that they will be able to enforce what they call their “nine-dash-line” claim that incorporates almost the entire sea. What comes after that is unclear. For example, would China stop any and all foreign military vessels from transiting, by force if necessary? Would Beijing kick out all so-called foreign fishing vessels? How far do Chinese claims of so-called “indisputable sovereignty” go? Know this—if trends continue, in the next few years, we might just find out. But in all honesty, we are getting ahead of ourselves just a wee bit. In fact, there are several important steps that Beijing will need to follow be