You might not notice Second Thomas Shoal from the air.... The South China Sea has some of the world’s most productive fisheries, as well as shipping channels that carry about a third of global ocean trade.... Surveys suggest that it may also contain large oil and natural gas deposits. AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT The sea’s features were mostly beyond “ the administration and often the awareness ” of governments until the late 19th century, the scholar Gregory B. Poling wrote in a recent boo