South China Sea dispute
GS PAPER II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora - their structure, mandate.
Context: Tensions between Manila and Beijing have escalated over the months-long presence of hundreds of Chinese boats in the Philippines' 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
- Manila lodged the diplomatic protest over the "incessant deployment, prolonged presence, and illegal activities of Chinese maritime assets and fishing vessels" in the vicinity of Thitu island.
- It demanded its giant neighbour withdraw the vessels.
- Thitu, known as Pag-asa in the Philippines Pag-asa Islans is an integral part of the Philippines over which it has sovereignty and jurisdiction.
- China has built a mini-city with runways, hangars and surface-to-air-missiles in the Subi Reef about 25 km from Thitu.
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea
- The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims by several sovereign states within the region, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
- 80 percent of China's energy imports and 39.5 percent of China's total trade passes through the South China Sea.
Militarisation of the sea
- In 1982, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted and signed, formalising extended maritime resource claims in international law.
- At this time, no fewer than six governments had laid claim to the disputed Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea.
- Since then, there has been a creeping militarisation of the waters by nations seeking to secure extended maritime resource zones.
- China’s claim to the sea is based both on the Law of the Sea Convention and its so-called “nine-dash” line.
- In a historic decision in 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled against part of China’s claims to the sea in a case brought by the Philippines. China rejected the authority of the tribunal.
- The nine-dash line area claimed by the Republic of China, later the People's Republic of China (PRC), which covers most of the South China Sea and overlaps with the exclusive economic zone claims of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
Spratly Islands dispute
- There has been an ongoing territorial dispute between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia concerning the ownership of the Spratly Islands archipelago.
- Spratly Islands may have large reserves of untapped natural resources.
Paracel Islands dispute
- The Paracel Islands dispute is slightly more complex.
- This archipelago is a collection of 130 islands and coral reefs and is located in the South China Sea, almost equidistant from China and Vietnam.
- Beijing says that references to the Paracel Islands as a part of China sovereign territory can be found in 14th century writings from the Song Dynasty.
- Vietnam on the other hand, says that historical texts from at least the 15th century show that the islands were a part of its territory.
- In January 1974, China and Vietnam fought over their territorial disputes after which China took over control of the islands. In retaliation, in 1982, Vietnam said it had extended its administrative powers over these islands.
- In 1999, Taiwan jumped into the fray laying its claim over the entire archipelago.
- Since 2012, China, Taiwan and Vietnam have attempted to reinforce their claims on the territory by engaging in construction of government administrative buildings, tourism, land reclamation initiatives and by establishing and expanding military presence on the archipelago.
International law
- Under the Law of the Sea Convention, all states have a right to 200 nautical mile “exclusive economic zone” to exploit the resources of the sea and seabed, as measured from their land territories.
- Where these zones overlap, countries are obliged to negotiate with other claimants.
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