This article examines changing or unchanged policy position of the U.S. government, in particular under the Obama Administration, on the South China Sea issue. First, it reviews the previous administrations’ policy and position on the sovereignty and maritime disputes in the South China Sea. This is followed by examining the statements or remarks made by the high-ranking American officials in different domestic and international occasions. The differences or similarities between the Obama Administration’s and the previous Administrations’ South China Sea policy or position are then discussed. The article analyzes a number of internal and external factors that affected the direction of the Obama Administration’s South China Sea policy. The article concludes by pointing out a trend of development in the relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States, that is, the sovereignty and maritime disputes in the South China Sea will continuously to play a role in affecting the two countries’ diplomatic relationship in the years to come. However, this issue will not be the most important hot-spot issue in the Sino-American relations. During the predictable future, it is likely that the U.S. government will use the South China Sea and Spratly Policy Statement announced by the Clinton Administration in May 1995, which was based on a policy position of the so-called “active neutrality”. However, in term of strategic operation, the Obama Administration will implement its South China Sea policy in accordance with the principles and position that were made clearly to the international community by the former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Hanoi in July 2010.