Abstract The UK’s motives for intervening China’s safeguarding its legal rights in the South China Sea specify three demands, including political demands for the UK’s strategic games with China, security demands for enhancing the UK’s influences in the Asia-Pacific region, and psychological demands for demonstrating the UK’s global power status. The UK has been conducting diplomatic exploration of China’s position through the China-UK strategic dialogue, using Shangri-La dialogue to understand the policy trends of all parties as well as developing trends of the South China Sea issue, and also may seek existing military presence in the South China Sea while avoiding stimulating china by cooperating with its allies and partners. With the help of FPDA and G7 mechanisms, the UK can establish its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region legally, while involving in the south china sea issue. On the basis of observing and analyzing the UK’s various movements on the south china sea issue calmly, China must resist any possibility that the UK emerges as the new great power beyond the south china sea region resolutely.
