Satellite photo shows China's ships and vessels docking at the Whiston Reef, South China Sea. (Photo: Maxar Technologies/AFP)

 The 47-page “Limits in the Seas” study stated that China’s unlawful maritime claims in the South China Sea seriously violate the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Department of State called again on China to conform its maritime claims to international law as reflected in the UNCLOS, and to cease its unlawful and coercive activities in the South China Sea.