China,
Seriously,
https://apnews.com/article/china-bus...0ecaa729f2fb34
Brand new space station under construction.
The international multi-state space "module" station has several components close to the end of their useful life (2028).
https://apnews.com/article/china-tec...9c04a4d1375322
And look here, China has successfully landed on Mars.
As for the South China Sea, except for Vietnam's 200 mile conflict (and ignoring the Taiwan issue) China does actually have quite a bit within it's 200 mile.
China's game plan is clearly control of resources.