As far as taxation and shipping go, not really. The Law of the Sea grants the right of innocent passage to all ships, so a country can&#x27;t tax or harass ships merely passing through its waters. This holds for territorial waters as well as the Exclusive Economic Zone.<p>There are a couple exceptions for things like drug smuggling and terrorists, and now there&#x27;s some concern whether these rules (fairly vague on paper) will be exploited by some for extensive search &amp; seizures.<p>I made a site explaining the South China Sea disputes in particular if anyone is interested. southchinasea.co