South China Sea : Platform for prosperity or arena for altercation?

Beyond Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea, 2013

The South China Sea ranks among the most geographically and geopolitically complex ocean spaces in the world. It certainly appears to have been one of its most vigorously contested, featuring multiple, longstanding and competing territorial and maritime jurisdictional claims. The objective of this chapter is to provide the geographical and geopolitical background to the frequently conflicting national maritime claims made by the South China Sea littoral States. This exercise is designed to provide the necessary contextual backdrop to considerations of the application of maritime joint development mechanisms and/or other provisional arrangements of a practical nature in the South China Sea. With this in mind, key characteristics of the coastal geography of the South China Sea are outlined, notably the implications of its semienclosed nature and the baselines that have been defined along its coasts. The insular features of the South China Sea, many of which are subject to conflicting sovereignty claims, are then examined with particular reference to their potential maritime claims and role in the delimitation of maritime boundaries. The chapter then outlines the maritime jurisdictional claims of the South China Sea coastal States, including existing maritime boundary agreements and maritime joint development zones, as well as unilateral and historical maritime claims. Accordingly, a spatial picture of the maritime geography of the South China Sea including the locations and extents of claims to maritime jurisdiction is built up. The chapter then proceeds to highlight the main geopolitical factors that arguably serve as key drivers for the South China Sea disputes. These include longstanding yet still powerful sovereignty imperatives, significant and growing marine resource interests and energy security concerns, crucial navigational and maritime trade considerations and evolving military and strategic factors.

Beyond Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea, 2013

The South China Sea is of critical importance to its multiple bordering States and entities for a number of reasons. In particular, the broad, semienclosed waters of the South China Sea host a marine environment of globally significant biological diversity and productivity. Consequently, these waters support and sustain marine living resources, especially fisheries and aquaculture activities, which are fundamental to the livelihoods as well as the primary protein needs, and thus food security, of literally hundreds of millions of people within the region. The seabed underlying the South China Sea is also often portrayed as a major potential source of seabed hydrocarbon resources. Regardless of the true validity of suggestions that the seabed is 'oil rich', the perception that this is the case remains a powerful factor in the calculations of the interested coastal States. Moreover, the South China Sea hosts sea lanes of global significance and the geostrategic importance of the region cannot be ignored. All of these considerations are of note in the context of the other critical feature of the South China Sea-its highly disputed and contested character. The South China Sea is host to multiple and, to a large extent, intertwined maritime and territorial disputes involving China, Viet Nam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan (the claimants). These disputes include competing claims to territorial sovereignty, especially in respect to several groups of small islands, as well as maritime jurisdictional disputes which have given rise to broad areas of overlapping maritime claims. These contentious disputes are longstanding and represent an enduring source of friction between the interested States with alarming and dangerous potential for escalation. Consequently, the South China Sea has frequently been ranked among the Asia-Pacific's primary flashpoints for conflict.

2005

The Working Paper argues that the maritime disputes over the South China Sea are characterised by a strategic and diplomatic status quo. China does so far not have the necessary power projection to impose naval hegemony in the South China Sea. None of the ASEAN claimants can rely on sufficient naval power or an external military alliance to impose their claims in the Spratly Islands. A similar situation of status quo exists on the diplomatic front. China and the ASEAN countries have been negotiating for years to conclude a code of conduct for the South China Sea. The 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea is based on a multilateral dimension as well as on a convergence of views on the need to peacefully manage the dispute. While a step in the right direction, the declaration is only an interim political agreement and it is still to be seen whether the parties will sign a detailed and binding code of conduct for the South China Sea. The Working Paper starts...

2020

Boundary disputes in the South China Sea have been a long-standing threat to peace and security in East and Southeast Asia. Without agreed definition of boundaries, provisional arrangements to develop resources in the disputed area have become the favored, and most effective, solution. Therefore, joint development between various countries has taken place in the form of ad hoc arrangements with the goal of achieving positive outcomes for all parties involved. Incorporating insights from ten authors from six countries (Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam), this book provides a comprehensive analysis of the incentives and policies for joint development in the South China Sea disputes. The authors also discuss the bottlenecks and proposed policy options. The authors ease doubts over joint development in South China Sea disputes and shed light on creative ways to promote cooperation. The book is a key reference for students and scholars in politics and international relations, Asian studies, and maritime law.

2021

DOI: 10.25041/lajil.v3i1.2266 The South China Sea is a strategic marine area in terms of natural resource potential and international trade routes. For decades, territorial disputes have occurred with peaceful solutions from regional organizations, international courts, and even contributions from outside the claimant state. This paper examines the efforts made to contribute to a peaceful solution to disputed states of claims. The achievement of a peaceful solution, the shortcomings of the peaceful solution to the proposed peaceful solution's chronology. This research is normative juridical research that is historical descriptive in nature. The South China Sea Dispute arises from China's actions regarding its map of its maritime territories that do not comply with international maritime law. Regulations regarding the method of drawing deep-sea boundaries under international maritime law are violated in this act. Negotiation efforts in finding conflict solutions in regional o...

2017

Conflicts have been shaping the states since the very beginning of their formation. However, they also jeopardize peace, security and stability around the world, leading to economic and social issues in the regions affected by them. One of these conflicts is happening in the South China Sea region. The tensions are territorial in nature, its importance laying mainly on the richness of sea area with natural resources, but also on the fact that it is a major trade route. Moreover, the conflict itself has created and highlighted other problems. In attempts to diminish the tensions and appease the parties, the matter was brought to international bodies and the conventions, such as Permanent Court of Arbitration and UNCLOS. However, those attempts failed to fulfill their purpose and brought into question the strength of international law in maintaining peace and stability in the international community. The aim of this paper is to analyze the reasons behind this conflict, with focus on e...

An analysis of mechanisms for resource sharing in the South China Sea in the light of the 2016 Philippines-Peoples Republic of China arbitration, with particlar reference to the arbitral tribunal's rulings on the question of islands and rocks. Soochow Law Journal (forthcoming)

Power Shifts in East Asia and Their Implications for Asia-Europe Relations

Forming the maritime heart of SE Asia, the South China Sea has grown in recent years into one of the most important geopolitical areas in the world. The conflict over seemingly insignificant archipelagos has many aspects, and, like a lens, focuses the rivalry of modern powers. The territorial dispute over the Spratly and Paracel Islands is the primary level of conflict, with prestigious and economic meaning. Another aspect is the striving for control over the regional Sea Lanes of Communication. The point here is not only the transport of goods from east Asia to Europe and Africa, but also of oil and natural gas supply from the Persian Gulf. The next aspect is related to Sino-American relations and rivalry. An equally important facet is the internal politics of the PRC, which is one of the causes of an assertive foreign policy. The CPC has become hostage to its own nationalist rhetoric. There is also a broader international level of the dispute. Countries such as Australia, India and Japan have to a greater or lesser extent joined the conflict as an element of their China policy. The South China Sea unexpectedly found its place in Russian-Chinese relations, and interest in the situation in the region is also expressed by France and the United Kingdom. All these aspects form an image of a very complex and dynamic conflict of growing importance.