SEVILLA, PAMELA- 2D

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW ATTY. ELIZA YAMAMOTO-SANTOS

THE SOUTH CHINA SEA WEST PHILIPPINE SEA DISPUTE

The views of the Philippines and China has brought a lot of arguments that was pointed out by former
Associate Justice Antonio Carpio in his talk about the Scarborough Shoal entitled “The South China Sea,
West Philippine Sea Dispute”.

Below are the things that were pointed out by Justice Antonio Carpio:

WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR THE PHILIPPINES:

A. 80% of the Philippines’ EEZ comprising 381, 000 sq kilometers of maritime space and;
B. 100% of the Philippines’ ECS estimated at over 150, 000 sq kilometers of maritime space.
Philippines had explained the legal basis for the 9-dashed lines which China claims that it is 87.5% of
the entire South China Sea. Apparently, China did not explain for its legal basis. In China’s 2009 note
verbal, they claimed that they have “indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and
the adjacent waters and enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters as well as the
seabed and subsoil thereof”. China refuses to explain the meaning of “adjacent” or “relevant” waters as
they are not UNCLOS terms.

On July 4 2011, China protested and sent a note verbal to the Philippines stating: “ The Chinese
government urges the Philippines to immediately withdraw the bidding offer in areas 3 and 4, refrain from
any action that impugns on China’s sovereignty and sovereign rights”

In 2013, China released a new map of China, adding a 10th dash on the Eastern of Taiwan. China claims
the 10-dashed lines are its “national boundaries” without explaining the legal basis or giving the fixed
coordinates for the dashes. The map that was released was China’s official Chinese Government map. The
Philippines answered in a note verbale that it “strongly objects to the indication that the 9-dash lines are
China’s national boundaries in the West Philippine Sea.”

China opposed that the 9-dash lines are their national boundaries and contradicts to the assurance to the
world that there is “freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with the
international law.”
 As a legal basis, under UNCLOS, the maximum maritime zone that a state can claim is 350 NM from
baselines along its coast which China violated when they claimed James Shoal as its southernmost border
that is situated more than 950 NM from Hainan Island and more than 450 NM from Itu Aba. Furthermore,
under international law, a state’s border must either be a land territory, a river or a territorial sea- which are
all subject to its full sovereignty. James Shoal is 80 KM from Malaysia’s coast in Bintulu, Sarawak within
Malaysia’s EEZ. In 2012, China seized Scarborough Shoal from the Philppines.

China claims that Scarborough Shoal generates a 200 NM EEZ. In 2013, China Luconia Shoals from
Malaysian National Security Minister Shahidan Kassim posted on Facebook with this statement: “This
small island is not a disputed territory but the foreign ship which came here has intruded our national
waters.” China claims that all geologic features in the Spratlys generate a 200 NM EEZ. China placed its
$1 billion deep-water HD 981 oil rig 130 NM from Vietnam’s coast, well within Vietnam’s EEZ. In protest,
Vietnamese workers in export processing zones in Vietnam rioted, burning several Chinese factories.

The enclosed waters under Hainan’s administration comprise 2 million sq kilometers out of the 3.5sq
kilometers total surface are of the South China Sea. China claims a total of 3 milion sq kilometers or 85.7%
of the waters of the South China Sea. Macclesfield Bank, which is part of the high seas, is within the
enclosed waters.

UNCLOS declares: “No state may validly purport to subject any part of the high seas to its sovereignty.”
By appropriating for itself the fishery resource in the high seas of the South China Sea, China is committing
a grand theft of the global commons. All these acts of China demonstrate beyond doubt that China is
claiming sovereignty, sovereign rights nd jurisdiction to al waters, fisheries, gas, oil, mineral resources,
seabed and subsoil enclosed by the 9-dashed lines.

The Philippines loses about 80% of its EEZ facing the West Philippine Sea, including the entire Reed
Bank and part of Malampaya gas field which is the effect of China’s “National Boundaries” under the 9-
dashed lines. China’s island-building violates the 2002 Asean-China Declaration of Conduct, which states
that the parties undertake to exercise self-restraint, like “refraining from action of inhabiting on presently
uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, cays and other features.”

The island-building in the Spratlys is not a knee-jerk response to Philippines’ arbitration case but part
of China’s long-term grad design. Under UNCLOS, “Only the adjacent coastal state has the right to create
artificial islands or erect structures on LTEs within its EEZ or ECS. Thus, such artificial islands or structures
put up by other states within the EEZ or ECS of a coastal state are illegal.” Which was clearly violated by
China in island-building on LTEs in the EEZ and ECs of the Philippines.
 In December 7, 2004, in its Position Paper submitted to the UNCLOS Tribunal, China made this
incredulous claim: “Chinese activities in the South China Sea dated back to over 2,000 years ago. China
was the first country to discover, name, explore an exploit the resources of the South China Sea Islands and
the first to continuously exercise sovereign powers over them.”

According to 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration of Conduct, the South China Sea dispute shall be
resolved “in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

After the Philippines filed in January 2013 its arbitration case against China under UNCLOS, China
insists on Respect for Historical facts. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi declared that the South China
Sea dispute should be resolved in accordance with “historical facts and international law.”

In the Ancient Map of China and Philippines, it has shown that the southernmost territory of China has
always been Hainan Island from 1136 until 1912. On the other hand, official and unofficial maps show that
Scarborough Shoal has always been part of the Philippines from 1636 until 1933.

In 1938, the U.S. had already determined that Scarborough Shoal is part of Philippine Territory in a
memorandum of Cordell Hull of U.S, Secretary of State Department.