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Rival countries have squabbled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries - but a recent upsurge

in tension has sparked concern that the area is becoming a flashpoint with global consequences.

What is the argument about? It is a dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas and the Paracels and the Spratlys - two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries. Alongside the fully fledged islands, there are dozens of uninhabited rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal. Who claims what? China claims by far the largest portion of territory - an area stretching hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan. Beijing has said its right to the area come from 2,000 years of history where the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation. In 1947 China issued a map detailing its claims. It showed the two island groups falling entirely within its territory. Those claims are mirrored by Taiwan, because the island considers itself the Republic of China and has the same territorial claims. Vietnam hotly disputes China's historical account, saying China never claimed sovereignty over the islands until the 1940s. Vietnam says both island chains are

entirely within its territory. It says it has actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century - and has the documents to prove it. The other major claimant in the area is the Philippines, which invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the grouping. Both the Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China) - a little more than 100 miles (160km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China. Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their economic exclusion zones, as defined by theUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. Brunei does not claim any of the disputed islands, but Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys. Why are so many countries so keen? The Paracels and the Spratlys may have vast reserves of natural resources around them. There has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighbouring areas. Chinese officials have given the most optimistic estimates of resource wealth in the area. According to figures quoted by the US Energy Information Administration, one Chinese estimate puts possible oil reserves as high as 213 billion barrels - 10 times the proven reserves of the US. But American scientists have estimated the amount of oil at 28 billion barrels. According to the EIA, the real wealth of the area may well be natural gas reserves. Estimates say the area holds about 900 trillion cubic ft (25 trillion cubic m) - the same as the proven reserves of Qatar. The area is also one of the region's main shipping lanes, and is home to a fishing ground that supplies the livelihoods of thousands of people. How much trouble does the dispute cause? The most serious trouble in recent decades has flared between Vietnam and China. The Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam in 1974, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops. In 1988 the two sides clashed in the Spratlys, when Vietnam again came off worse, losing about 60 sailors. The Philippines has also been involved in a number of minor skirmishes with Chinese, Vietnamese and Malaysian forces.

The most recent upsurge in tension has coincided with more muscular posturing from China. Beijing officials have issued a number of strongly worded statements, including warning their rivals to stop any mineral exploration in the area. The Philippines has accused China of building up its military presence in the Spratlys. The two countries have engaged in a maritime stand-off, accusing each other of intrusions in the Scarborough Shoal. Chinese and Philippine vessels refuse to leave the area, and tension has flared, leading to rhetoric and protests. Unverified claims that the Chinese navy deliberately sabotaged two Vietnamese exploration operations has led to large anti-China protestson the streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam has held live-fire exercises off its coast - an action that was seen as a gross provocation by Beijing. Is anyone trying to resolve the row? Over the years, China has tended to favour arrangements negotiated behind closed doors with the individual leaders of other countries. But the other countries have pushed for international mediation. So in July 2010, when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton became involved in the debate and called for a binding code of conduct, China was not pleased. The Chinese Foreign Ministry dismissed her suggestion as an attack on China. Agreements such as the UN's 1982 convention appeared to lay the framework for a solution. But in practice, the convention led to more overlapping claims, and did nothing to deter China and Vietnam in pressing their historical claims. Both the Philippines and Vietnam have made bilateral agreements with China, putting in place codes of conduct in the area. But the agreements have made little difference. The regional grouping Asean - whose membership includes all of the main players in the dispute except China and Taiwan - concluded a code of conduct deal with China in 2002. Under the agreement, the countries agreed to "resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force, through friendly consultations and negotiations".

But recent events suggest that Vietnam and China at least have failed to stick to the spirit of that agreement. And Asean continues to discuss new ideas for resolving the dispute.
Chapter 2
The Spratly and Paracel archipelago are two groups of uninhabited islands located within the South China Sea, which are subject to a complex territorial dispute involving the surrounding countries. The interests of different nations include acquiring fishing areas around the two archipelagos, the exploitation of crude oil and natural gas beneath the Spratly Islands, and the strategic control of a core position. Along with territorial land claims on the islets, the disputes also involve the territorial waters of the various countries within the region. The nine-dotted linedrawn by China which marks its claim covers around three-fourths of the total area of the South China Sea.

The area is potentially rich in oil deposits. The Ministry of Geological Resources and Mining of the People's Republic of China estimate that the South China Sea may contain 17.7 billion tons of crude oil (compared to Kuwait with 13 billion tons). In the years following the announcement by the ministry, the [1] claims regarding the South China Sea islands intensified. However, other sources claim that the proven [2] reserve of oil in the South China Sea may only be 7.5 billion barrels, or about 1.1 billion tons. The South [3] China Sea is dubbed by China as the "second Persian Sea." The state-owned China Offshore Exploration Corp. planned to spend 200 billion RMB (US$30 billion) in the next 20 years to exploit oil in the region, with the estimated production of 25 million metric tons of crude oil and natural gas per annum, [4] at a depth of 2000 meters within the next 5 years. On March 11, 1976, the first Philippine oil company discovered an oil field off Palawan Island (island within the South China Sea belonging to the Philippines). These oil fields supply 15% of annual oil consumption in the Philippines. The nine-dotted line was originally an "eleven-dotted-line," first indicated by the then Kuomintang government of the Republic of China in 1947, for its claims to the South China Sea. After, the Communist Party of China took over mainland China and formed the People's Republic of China in 1949. The line was adopted and revised to nine as endorsed by Zhou Enlai, who stipulated that "In the 1960s and 1970s, according to the spirit of the relationship of comrades and brothers, in order to make the Vietnamese Government can effectively fight against imperialism, allow the Vietnamese building up radar stations and other military facilities, eleven-dotted-line changed to nine-dotted-line." The legacy of the nine-dotted line is viewed by some Chinese government officials, and by the Chinese [5] military, as providing historical support for their claims to the South China Sea. Following World War II, Chinese exercise of sovereignty over the South China Sea region, the Spratly and Paracel archipelago and their adjacent waters was relatively uncontested. The United States and Spain had not included the Spratly Islands within the territorial limits of the Philippines in the Washington Treaty of 1898 and the Treaty of Paris in 1900. This understanding was reinforced by the 1973 Philippine Constitution, which followed the signing of the 1951 Philippine-US military alliance. In 1975, Vietnam explicitly recognized China's territorial sovereignty over The Spratly archipelago, and before December

1978 the Malaysian published continental shelf map did not include the reefs and waters of the Spratly archipelago in Malaysian territory. In the 1970s however, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries began referring to the Spratly Islands as included in their own territory. On June 11, 1978, President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines issued Presidential decree No. 1596, declaring the Spratly Islands (referred to therein as the Kalayaan [6] Island Group) as Philippine territory. The abundant fishing opportunities within the region are another motivation for the claim. In 1988, the South China Sea is believed to have accounted for 8% of world fishing catches, a figure that has grown since then. There have been many clashes in the Philippines with foreign fishing vessels (including China) in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone. China believes that the value in fishing and oil from the sea has risen to a trillion dollars. The area is also one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. In the 1980s, at least 270 merchant ships [clarification needed] used the route each day. Currently, more than half the tonnage of oil transported by sea passes through it, a figure rising steadily with the growth of Chinese consumption of oil. This traffic is three times greater than that passing through the Suez Canal and five times more than the Panama Canal. [edit]Current

situation

The nine-dotted line exist in theory only: Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and other countries claim the reefs within The Nine-dotted line are the unmanned reefs. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into effect on November 16, 1994, which resulted in more intense territorial disputes between the parties. As of 2012, only nine of the Spratly Islands are under Chinese control, with Mainland China accounting for 8, Taiwan accounting for one; Vietnamese troops have seized 29 the greatest number of islands; the [citation needed] Philippines controls 8, Malaysia controls 5, and Brunei controls 2. The Indian Ambassador to Vietnam while expressing concern over rising tension in the area said that 50 per cent of its trade passes [7] through the area and called for peaceful resolution of the disputes in accordance with international law. [edit]2011

agreement

On July 20, 2011, the PRC, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, the ROC and Vietnam agreed to a set of [8] preliminary guidelines which would help resolve the dispute. The agreement was described by the PRC's assistant foreign minister, Liu Zhenmin, as "an important milestone document for cooperation [8] among China and ASEAN countries". Some of the early drafts acknowledged aspects such as "marine environmental protection, scientific research, safety of navigation and communication, search and rescue and combating transnational crime," although the issue of oil and natural gas drilling remains unresolved. [edit]Chinese

objection to Indian naval presence and oil exploration

On July 22, 2011, the INS Airavat, an Indian amphibious assault vessel on a friendly visit to Vietnam, was reportedly contacted 45 nautical miles from the Vietnamese coast in the disputed South China Sea. The ship was contacted on open radio channel by a party identifying itself as the Chinese Navy and stating [9][10] that the ship was entering Chinese waters. A spokesperson for the Indian Navy explained that as no ship or aircraft was visible, the INS Airavat proceeded on her onward journey as scheduled. The Indian Navy further clarified that "[t]here was no confrontation involving the INS Airavat. India supports freedom

of navigation in international waters, including in the South China Sea, and the right of passage in [9] accordance with accepted principles of international law. These principles should be respected by all." In September 2011, shortly after China and Vietnam signed an agreement seeking to contain a dispute over the South China Sea, India's state-run explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said that its overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh Limited, had signed a three-year agreement with PetroVietnam for developing long-term cooperation in the oil sector, and that it had accepted [11] Vietnam's offer of exploration in certain specified blocks in the South China Sea In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu, without referring to India by name, stated as follows: China enjoys indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea and the island. China's stand is based on historical facts and international law. China's sovereign rights and positions are formed in the course of history and this position has been held by Chinese Government for long. On the basis of this China is ready to engage in peaceful negotiations and friendly consultations to peacefully solve the disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights so as to positively contribute to peace and tranquillity in the South China Sea area. We hope that the relevant countries respect China's position and refrain from taking unilateral action to complicate and expand the issue. We hope they will respect and support countries in the region to solve the bilateral disputes through bilateral channels. As for oil and gas exploration activities, our consistent position is that we are opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration and development activities in waters under China's jurisdiction. We hope the foreign countries do not get involved in South China Sea dispute.
[12][13]

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman responded, The Chinese had concerns, but we are going by what [12] the Vietnamese authorities have told us and [we] have conveyed this to the Chinese. The Indo[11][13] Vietnamese deal was also denounced by the Chinese state-run newspaper Global Times. [edit]Retrenchment In Spring 2010, Chinese officials communicated to U.S. officials that the South China Sea is "an area of [14] core interest that is as non-negotiable" and on par with Taiwan and Tibet on the national agenda. In October 2011, China's Global Times newspaper, published by Communist Party organ, People's Daily, editorialized on South China Sea territorial disputes under the banner Don't take peaceful approach for granted. The article referenced recent incidents involving Philippines and South Korea detaining Chinese [15] fishing boats in the region.

If these countries don't want to change their ways with China, they will need to prepare for the sounds of cannons. We need to be ready for that, as it may be the only way for the disputes in the sea to be resolved.
Global Times (China), 25 October 2011

Responding to questions about whether this reflected official policy, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stated the country's commitment to resolving the maritime dispute through [16] peaceful means.

[edit]Oil

development

This section may require copyediting.

Vietnam and Japan reached an agreement early in 1978 on the development of the South China Sea oil cooperation. Since then, Vietnam and more than 50 foreign oil companies signed oil exploration and development contract about over 30, Vietnam is still the Xisha and Nansha Islands in illegal oil bidding more than 120. The title of "White Tiger" oil field in the South China Sea in 1986 officially put into operation, which began the year by year growth in crude oil production in Vietnam so far, only the "White Tiger" oil field, has cumulative production of over 2000 tons of crude oil, earning $ 25 billion.In 2009, Vietnam and the title of "The Bear", "Dragon" and "Dragon" three oil fields also have been put into these fields in the South China Sea, intermittent line. Vietnam was once the oil-poor country, now oil production up to nearly 2,000 tons, became the oil-exporting countries. The oil has become one of the most exported products in Vietnam, the proportion of GDP has exceeded 30%. China's first independently designed and constructed oil drilling platform in the South China Sea, Ocean Oil 981 (981), began its first drilling operations in 2012. The platform is located 320 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong, and contains 160 employees. [edit]Events [edit]Taiwan In 1939, Japan invaded and occupied the South China Sea islands. 1946 according to the "spirit of the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation, China Ministry of the Interior in conjunction with the Department of the Navy and the Guangdong provincial government to appoint Xiao Yin and Mak Yun Yu, Commissioner for The Spratly and Paracel archipelago, went to take over The Spratly and Paracel archipelago, build up the sovereignty of the monuments. In 1952 according to "Treaty of Peace with Japan", the Spratly and Paracel archipelagobe were returned to China In 1956, Taiwan's navy has dispatched the prestige fleet, the Weiyuan fleet and the Ning fleet to patrol the Spratly Islands.Cruise process, in the Pacific Island, South Island, West Tsukishima heavy tree monument, held a flag raising ceremony, and adapted for the "Nansha garrison" reassignment Marines to protect Pacific Island In 1975, the Taiwan authorities claim the only legitimate sovereign of the Spratly. For the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, successively seized the Spratly Islands. January 28, 2000, the establishment of the Coast Guard Administration to take over the Pacific Island In 2012, Taiwan rejected a pan-Chinese approach of coordinating with the PRC in asserting claims to the [18] South China Sea. [edit]Vietnam
This section may require copyediting.
[17]

1956-1971, South Vietnam occupy the The Spratly Islands, and issued a declaration of sovereignty over the The Spratly; 1958,September 14, the North Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong sent Premier Zhou Enlai in a formal diplomatic correspondence. In this correspondence, recognized that The Spratly and Paracel archipelago have been China's territory since ancient times. The government official letter written on the Vietnamese Government fully agree with the Declaration and its Annexes of the Chinese Government on the 12-mile on February 14, 1975, new Vietnam claimed that "sovereignty" on The [citation needed] Spratly and Paracel archipelago [edit]China In 1974, after the outbreak of the Paracel Islands naval battle with Vietnam (South Vietnam), the Paracel Islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Hainan. In the 1988 Johnson South Reef Skirmish with Vietnam, China took seven Spratly Islands. In 1997, China reaffirmed the U-shaped area in the South China Sea as Chinese territorial waters and Chinese sovereignty over of all reefs within the area. [edit]2005 Chinese ships fired upon two Vietnamese fishing boats from Thanh Hoa province, killing 9 people [19] and detaining one ship.

[edit]2009 In March 2009: The Pentagon reported that Chinese ships harassed a U.S. surveillance ship. According to the report, five Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity to USNS Impeccable, in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters. The crew members aboard the vessels, two of which were within 50 feet, waved Chinese flags and told [20] the U.S. ship to leave the area, the statement said.

[edit]2011 26 May: The clash involved the Vietnamese Binh Minh 02 oil and gas survey ship and three Chinese maritime patrol vessels occurred 120 km (80 miles) off the south-central coast of Vietnam and some 600 km south of China's Hainan island. Vietnam says the Chinese boats deliberately cut the survey [21] ship's cables in Vietnamese waters. China denies the allegation. The event stirred up [22] unprecedented anti-China protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. On June 9, 2011, a Norwegian-flagged seismic conducting ship hired by Vietnam Oil & Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) clashed with another three Chinese fishery patrol vessels within Vietnams Exclusive Economic Zone. Vietnam once again claimed its exploration cables were [23] deliberately cut. Chinas systematic action is aimed at turning the undisputed area belonging to Vietnam into an area under dispute in order to materialize Chinas nine-dotted line claim in the East Sea. This is unacceptable

Vietnamese spokeswoman Pham Phuong Nga, following the June 9th incident

[edit]2012 In April 2012, the Philippine warship Gregorio del Pilar was involved in a standoff with two [24] Chinese surveillance vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, an area claimed by both nations. The Philippine navy had been trying to arrest a group of Chinese fisherman, but the surveillance boats prevented them. On April 14, 2012, U.S. and the Philippines held their yearly exercises in Palawan, [25] Philippines. On April 16, 2012, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged a Philippine archaeological ship to immediately leave the waters of the Scarborough Shoal, which China claims is an "integral part of [26] its territory." On May 7, 2012, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying called a meeting with Alex Chua, Charge D'affaires of the Philippine Embassy in China, to make a serious representation over the current incident at the Scarborough Shoal. China also warned its nationals against travel to the [27][28] Philippines and raised trade barriers on imported pineapples and bananas. On May 16, 2012, a fishing ban in the Scarborough Shoal by the governments of China and the Philippines became [29][30] effective. By mid June 2012, both nations had withdrawn their vessels from the waters around [31] the disputed Shoal due to the arrival of the typhoon season. In June 2012, Indian Navy vessels sailing in the South China Sea received an unscheduled escort by [32][33] a People's Liberation Army Navy frigate for 12 hours. On 11 July 2012, a Jianghu-V type frigate of the PLA Navy, 560 Dongguan, ran aground on Hasa [34] Hasa Shoal just 60 nmi west of Rizal, well within the Philippines' 200 nmi-EEZ. By 15 July the ship [35] had been refloated and was returning to port with no injuries and only minor damage. The 2012 ASEAN summit was taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the same time, where the mood [35] was already tense over the escalating aggression in the region. In July 2012, citing reports from diplomats on-hand, Reuters wrote that Cambodia "batted away repeated attempts to raise the issue about the disputed waters during the ASEAN Meeting last week [36] as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum."

[edit]U.S.-China

Relations

See also: Sino-American relations China and the United States are currently in disagreement over the U.S.s policy of operating military ships and planes in the South China Sea. This disagreement is exacerbated by the fact that the U.S. is not a member of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Nevertheless, the U.S. has stood by its maneuvers, claiming that peaceful surveillance activities and other military activities without permission in a countrys Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), is allowed under the convention. Additionally, a South China Sea free to access is in the U.S.s economic and geopolitical interests. Although the U.S. is not a party to the dispute, should China achieve exclusive rights to the sea, the U.S. will have to base access to the waterways on the willingness of permission of China, not UNCLOS. Given U.S. desire to maintain its position as a top Asia-Pacific power, succumbing to Chinese pressure is an undesirable position. In relation to the dispute, Secretary Clinton voiced her support for fair access by reiterating that freedom of navigation and respect of international law is a matter of national interest to

the United States. Her comments were countered by Chinas Foreign Minister as in effect an attack on China, and warned the United States against making the South China Sea an international issue or multilateral issue. Clinton subsequently testified in support of congressional approval of the Law of the Sea Convention, which would strengthen U.S. ability to support countries that oppose Chinese claims to certain islands in the area. On May 29, 2012, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed concern over this development, stating that "non-claimant Association of South East Asian Nations countries and countries [37] outside the region have adopted a position of not getting involved into territorial disputes."

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