Here's how the US military is sticking it to Beijing in the South China Sea

China has for years been whittling away at the US military's asymmetrical advantage in conventional military strength with a naval buildup, building and militarizing artificial islands in the South China Sea, and creating systems and weapons custom built to negate the US's technological advantage.

By all indications, China is building aircraft carriers and getting ready to place surface-to-air missiles deep into the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, China's neighbors have grown increasingly worried and timid as it cements a land grab in a shipping lane that sees $5 trillion in annual trade and has billions in resources, like oil, waiting to be exploited.

Six countries lay claim to parts of the South China Sea, and the US isn't one of them. But the US doesn't need a dog in this fight to stand up for freedom of navigation and international law.

Here's how the US counters China in the region.