SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE: An overview GS: 2 "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• Recently, China unilaterally renamed 80 islands, reefs and other geographical features around the Spratly and Paracel Islands (in South China Sea) with Chinese names, drawing criticism from neighbouring countries who have also laid claim to the same territory.

 

 

 

 

What is the Spratly Islands dispute about?

• There has been an ongoing territorial dispute between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia concerning the ownership of the Spratly Islands archipelago and nearby geographical features like corals reefs, cays etc.
• Since 1968, these nations have engaged in varying kinds of military occupation of the islands and the surrounding waters, with the exception of Brunei, that has contained its objections to the use of its maritime waters for commercial fishing.
• Although the Spratly Islands are largely uninhabited, there is a possibility that they may have large reserves of untapped natural resources.

 

Quest for Oil

• Over the years, US government agencies have claimed that there is little to no oil and natural gas in these islands, but these reports have done little to reduce the territorial dispute.
• In the 1970s, oil was discovered in neighbouring islands, specifically off the coast of Palawan. This discovery ramped up territorial claims by these countries.

• However, due to the ongoing dispute, there have been few initiatives to explore the scale of these reserves.

 

What is the Paracel Islands dispute about?

• 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.
• These islands also find mention in records starting from the 16th century by explorers who led expeditions to the East.
• Colonial powers of the French-Indochina further accelerated the tensions with regard to the Paracel Islands due to their colonial policies in the 20th century.
• By 1954, tensions had dramatically increased between China and Vietnam over the archipelago.

 

 

India and South China Sea:

 

 

 

 

South China Sea

• South China Sea is an arm of western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.
• It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.
• Bordering states & territories (clockwise from north): the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
• It is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea.
• It contains numerous shoals, reefs, atolls and islands. The Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal are the most important.

 

Why is it important?

• The South China Sea is a key commercial thoroughfare connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, and its seabed is rich with natural resources. One third of global shipping, or a total of US$3.37 trillion of international trade, passes through the South China Sea.
• About 80 per cent of China’s oil imports arrive via the Strait of Malacca, in Indonesia, and then sail across the South China Sea to reach China.
• The sea is also believed to contain major reserves of natural resources, such as natural gas and oil.
• The US Energy Information Administration estimates the area contains at least 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Other estimates are as high as 22 billion barrels of oil and 290 trillion cubic feet of gas.
• The South China Sea also accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s fisheries, making it a key source of food for hundreds of millions of people.

 

 

• This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. (Strait of Malacca)
• According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body.

• According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, this sea has one-third of the entire world’s marine biodiversity and contains lucrative fisheries providing food security to the Southeast Asian nations.
• South China Sea is believed to have huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

 

Challenges

• China’s behavior of negligence, denial and the sense of superiority while overlooking international laws and regulations like the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
• Along with China’s bullying tactics, North Korea’s provocative behaviour has attracted US aircrafts in the already troubled waters. The growth of military vessels and planes in the area makes it more challenging to handle.
• Undefined geographic scope of the South China Sea; disagreement over dispute settlement mechanisms; different approaches to conflict management (self-restraint, mutual trust, and confidence building); and the undefined legal status of the Code of Conduct (COC) add to it.
• The different histories of distant, largely uninhabited archipelagos of the sea make the matter more complicated and multifaceted.

 

India’s Stand on South China Sea Issue

• In a Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean Region, India and the USA talked about ensuring freedom of navigation and resolving disputes according to UNCLOS referring to the South China Sea but after Philippines won the arbitration award in its favour in 2016, India has clearly separated itself from the dispute.
• New Delhi has not conducted any defence cooperation, navigational patrols and naval exercises with the claimant states in the South China Sea (only recently it conducted a naval exercise with Vietnam).
• After the recent development of affairs with Japan and Russia, it might appear that India wants to raise its strategic presence in the South China Sea but it is not so. Firstly, because India is not a party to the maritime territorial disputes in the region and does not want to interfere. Secondly, India wants to preserve its “Wuhan Consensus” with China, in which both nations respect each other’s spheres of influence in their adjacent water bodies.

 

 

 

Islands in the South China Sea

 

 

The islands of the South China Sea can be grouped into two island chains.

• The Paracels Islands: These are clustered in the northwest corner of the Sea.
• The Spratly Islands: These are located in the southeast corner.

 

What is the Spratly Islands dispute about?

• The ongoing territorial dispute is between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia concerning the ownership of the Spratly Islands archipelago and nearby geographical features like corals reefs, cays etc.
• Brunei has contained its objections to the use of its maritime waters for commercial fishing.
• The islands may have large reserves of untapped natural resources including oil.