TERRITORIAL DISPUTES IN THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA

Question 1

is 200 NAUTICAL MILES of not sovereign territory but gives a country the right to the fish and seabed resources, including oil and gas, within that zone.

Answer 1

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Question 2

5 key points why they favored PH

Answer 2

• Historic Rights and the ‘Nine-Dash Line’
• Status of Features
• Lawfulness of Chinese Actions
• Harm to Marine Environment
• Aggravation of Dispute

Question 3

China claims

Answer 3

to have discovered the islands in the Han dynasty in 2 BC. Archaeological surveys have found the remains of Chinese pottery and coins in the islands, as proof for the PRC claim. Also pointed out that the Spratly islands were not part of the Philippines when the US acquired the Philippines from Spain in the Treaty of Paris in 1898, and the Japanese ruled Taiwan itself had annexed the Spratly islands in 1938 and the US ruled Philippines did not challenge the move and never asserted that it was their territory.

Question 4

The Philippines’ claims

Answer 4

are based on sovereignty over the Spratlys on the issues of Res nullius and geography. The Philippines contend their claim was Res nullius as there was no effective sovereignty over the islands until the 1930s when France and then Japan acquired the islands. When Japan renounced their sovereignty over the islands according to the San Francisco Treaty, there was a relinquishment of the right to the islands without any special beneficiary. A second argument used by the Philippines regarding their geographical claim over the Spratlys is that all the islands claimed by the Philippines lie within its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone according to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This argument assumes that the islands were res nullius. The Philippines also contend, under maritime law that the People’s Republic of China can not extend its baseline claims to the Spratlys because the PRC is not an archipelagic state.

Question 5

Vietnam’s response to China’s claim

Answer 5

is that Chinese records on Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang are in fact records about non-Chinese territories. After the Vietnam War, the unified Vietnam SRV (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) continued to claim the Spratly islands as an indisputably integral part of Vietnam. China has produced a letter, Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Niên News claims China has intentionally misrepresented the letter, which contains no direct reference to either island chain.
The Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Niên News claims China has intentionally misrepresented the letter, which contains no direct reference to either island chain. In addition, it ignores the spirit and time in which the letter was written. During that time, the two communist neighbors shared extremely close ties and the US navy was patrolling the Taiwan Strait, threatened them both. The letter represented a diplomatic gesture of goodwill that has no legal relevance to the current territorial dispute. “Dear Comrade Prime Minister, We solemnly inform you that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam acknowledges and supports the declaration dated September 4th, 1958 by the Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding the decision on the breadth of

Question 6

Brunei claims

Answer 6

the part of the South China Seas nearest to it as part of its continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In 1984, Brunei declared an EEZ encompassing the above-water islets it claims in Louisa Reef. Brunei’s claims to the reef are based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Brunei states that the southern part of the Spratly Islands chain is actually a part of its continental shelf, and therefore a part of its territory and resources.

Question 7

Malaysia

Answer 7

a small number of islands in the Spratly Islands and its claims cover only the islands included in its Exclusive economic zone of 200 miles as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Malaysia’s claims are based upon the continental shelf principle, and have clearly defined coordinates within the limits of its EEZ defined in 1979. This argument requires that the islands were res nullius and this requirement is said to be satisfied as when Japan renounced their sovereignty over the islands according to the San Francisco Treaty, there was a relinquishment of the right to the islands without any special beneficiary.

Question 8

UNCLOS

Answer 8

U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea

Question 9

TERRITORIAL DISPUTES IN THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA

Answer 9

Six nations – China and five ASEAN countries, including the Philippines – have conflicting territorial and maritime claims on the South China Sea. … China is claiming “indisputable sovereignty” to all the islands and waters enclosed by the nine U-shaped lines that enclose 85.7 percent of the entire South China Sea.

Question 10

January 2013. The Philippines’ case against China marks the first time any legal challenge has been brought in the South China Sea territorial dispute. Centered on the Spratlys archipelago, which straddle vital international shipping lanes, tensions in the South China Sea have simmered for decades, intensifying in recent years. China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all claim the Spratlys and/or surrounding waters. China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all the Paracel Islands in the north of the South China Sea

Answer 10

The Hauge Convention