The report traces actions of each claimant state, particularly China, in 2012 in order to assert its claims, such as China’s announcement of upgrading the administrative level of Sansha, a city located on an island in the disputed Paracels. In the case of the Philippines, the author argues that in 2012 Manila explored several means of resolving disputes, including offering China an opportunity to take their dispute over Scarborough Shoal to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.