The South China Sea disputes, far more than the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula, was always going to be the US path towards sowing discord and conflict in Asia. Whereas in respect of Korea, the US has little choice but to ultimately cooperate with China in what amounts to a protracted diplomatic tug-of-war, in the South China Sea, the US constantly provokes China by sailing through waters claimed by China. This almost always elicits a firm response from China which almost always includes the scrambling of Chinese ships and aircraft, along a strongly worded statement.