The western part of the Pacific Ocean extending along the eastern coast of Asia from southern Japan to the Malay Peninsula. It is divided by Taiwan into the East China Sea and the South China Sea. the China Sea the western part of the Pacific Ocean that goes along the coast of China and Vietnam. Part of the Pacific Ocean. Reaching from Japan to the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, it is divided by Taiwan into two sections. The northern section is the East China Sea, or Eastern Sea, which covers an area of 482,300 sq mi (1,249,157 sq km), has a maximum depth of 9,126 ft (2,782 m), and is enclosed by eastern China, South Korea, Kyushu island, Ryukyu Islands, and Taiwan. The southern section is the South China Sea, often called simply the China Sea, which covers an area of 895,400 sq mi (2,319,086 sq km), has a maximum depth of about 15,000 ft (4,600 m), and is enclosed by southeastern China, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, and Taiwan