The game between China，Japan，and U.S. on the issues related to the disputes of South China Sea is actually a game of power politics beyond the frameworks of law，which is built on the defects of the current United Nation Convention of the Law of the Sea （UNCLS） and intensified during the process of South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the Philippines. More specifically，the United States took military deterrence，Japan adopted international intervention strategy，while China gave considerations to both international law and international cooperation simultaneously and also made diplomatic negotiations a priority. The fundamental divergence between the strategies adopted by these three countries is largely shaped by the different perceptions of these three countries on the UNCLS，the changes of the maritime order in the Asia-Pacific，and the maritime game between traditional maritime powers such as the U.S. and Japan and the newly-emerging maritime power such as China.