Beijing Playing Both Shark And Mermaid To Settle South China Sea Dispute

China has snapped out of a funk since the world arbitration court rejected Beijing's legal basis for claims to 95% of the widely disputed ocean off its south coast. Since the July 12 court decision, the Chinese military has held live-fire exercises and hinted at starting aerial patrols over the South China Sea. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippine also claim all or parts of the same 3.5-million-square-kilometer sea. They're not happy with China's maritime expansions. China is also saying it will keep reclaiming land to build up the islets it holds in the sea, which is known for fisheries and fossil fuel as well as about half the world's marine shipping traffic.