THEDISPUTE OVER THE SOUTH CHINASEA

Half a dozen nations, including China, are disputing claims to islands, reefs, and surrounding waters in the South China Sea.
The disputes draw China and the U.S. into a potential confrontation.

About a third of all the world’s

The Australian National University (CC BY-SA 3.0 AU)

CartoGIS Services, College of Asia and the Pacific,
maritime (relating to oceans) trade
goes through the South China Sea.
Half of all oil and gas tankers from the
Middle East sail into it on their way to
China, Japan, the U.S., and elsewhere.
The location of the Sea also makes it
militarily strategic, valuable for na-
tional security.
Disputes among nations generally
center on land features in the South
China Sea. Specifically, they dispute
who controls the waters around them.
The Sea itself is rich in fish. Oil and
natural gas reserves below the sea bed
are significant.
There are two major clusters of
land features in the Sea. The
Paracels consist mainly of islands
and reefs. Reefs are chains of rocks
or coral at or near the surface of the
water. The Spratlys have some is- This map shows the South China Sea, surrounding nations, and the “nine dash line,” which
indicates the extent of China’s claims of control over these waters.
lands but are mostly reefs and rocks
that may not even appear above 1946, the Philippines took control of several Spratly
water at high tide. land features. Later, the Philippines declared all the
Six nations actively claim parts or all of the Spratlys its territory. The Philippines also claimed
South China Sea and its land features. These dis- sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal. This is a minor
putes include: feature about 150 miles from the Philippines. It is
• Paracels: China, Taiwan, Vietnam nevertheless important for its strategic location near
• Spratlys: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines and major shipping lanes.
Malaysia, Philippines
China’s Claims
• Almost all the South China Sea, its land features,
China claims it occupied South China Sea islands
and resources: China
in ancient times. In 1947, the Republic of China pub-
The Small Country Claimants lished a map with nine dashes. When connected,
Five small nations claim parts of the South China the dashes form a U that encloses most of the South
Sea’s land features and surrounding waters. Vietnam China Sea. However, the Republic of China did not
and the Philippines are the most active claimants. clearly explain this “nine dash line.”
Vietnam bases its current claims on 17th century In 1949, Chinese communists defeated the Re-
maps. Troops from France’s colony of Vietnam oc- public of China in a civil war and drove the anti-
cupied some Paracel islands in the 1920s. After the communist Chinese to the large offshore island of
Vietnam War, Vietnam occupied the western Taiwan. The communist Peoples Republic of China
Paracels and annexed certain Spratly land features. then took over the mainland. It also adopted the
In 2009, Vietnam declared sovereignty (supreme map with the “nine dash line.” This is how it is re-
legal authority) over both the Paracels and Spratlys. ferred to today, although China added a tenth dash
After gaining independence from the U.S. in in 2013 to include Taiwan.

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 In the 1970s, China began to assert control over ships as well as military ships and aircraft through
different islands, reefs, and waters in the South and over the South China Sea. The U.S. totally re-
China Sea, often by force. It drove out Vietnamese jects China’s “nine dash line” as a threat to freedom
troops from the western Paracels in 1974. By the late of navigation.
1980s, China controlled all of the Paracels. The U.S. has been challenging China’s claims of
China built oil-drilling rigs in waters near the sovereignty over the South China Sea by “freedom
Paracels that Vietnam still claimed. This provoked of navigation operations” (FONOPS). The U.S. flies
protests and riots against China in Vietnam. In the surveillance aircraft over Chinese artificial islands
Spratlys, China won the 1988 Battle of Johnson Reef and sails Navy warships close to Chinese occupied
where about 70 Vietnamese were killed. Afterward, islands and reefs. The Chinese complain that the
China detained non-Chinese fishermen and ha- U.S. is using FONOPS as a pretext to curb China’s
rassed foreign ships sailing near its occupied islands rise as a great power.
and reefs. The Law of the Sea
China began building artificial islands in the In 1982, the United Nations adopted the Con-
1990s. This often involved dredging sand from the vention on the Law of the Sea. All the claimants in
seabed and crushing coral to “reclaim” land for a the South China Sea dispute, including China,
reef that in its natural state was underwater at high signed and ratified this international law. The U.S.
tide. China claimed the artificial islands were for signed the Convention, but the Senate never ratified
civilian (non-military) purposes. it. The Senate feared that it could weaken American
One of the first artificial-island projects began in sovereignty. Nevertheless, the U.S. considers the
1995 on Mischief Reef in the Spratlys. At first, the Chi- Convention part of “customary international law.”
nese had to build structures on stilts since the reef The Convention defines certain terms that are
was below high tide. Then, as the reclamation of land extremely relevant to the South China Sea dispute:
speeded up, the Chinese constructed a harbor and • A true island must be a “naturally formed area
airstrip capable of handling combat aircraft. The Chi- of land, surrounded by water, which is above
nese said these were necessary for self-defense.
water at high tide” and is capable of sustaining
Meanwhile, in 2009, China presented the “nine
human or economic life on its own.
dash line” for the first time at an international con-
• A coastal nation’s islands each have their own ter-
ference, making this assertion:
ritorial sea. This is a maritime zone that extends
China has indisputable sovereignty over the is-
14 statute miles out from each island’s coastline.
lands in the South China Sea and the adjacent
This sea, its living and non-living resources, and
waters, and enjoys sovereign rights and juris-
the airspace above are part of the coastal nation’s
diction over the relevant waters, as well as the
seabed and subsoil thereof. sovereign territory. All nations have the right of
peaceful passage through this zone.
In 2012, China asserted its “nine dash line” by
• An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends up to
trying to take Scarborough Shoal as its territory,
230 miles out from the territorial sea of each coastal
even though the Philippines had claimed it earlier.
nation’s island. The coastal nation has the exclu-
A standoff resulted. China remained in control but
sive right to the sea life and other natural resources
allowed Filipino fishermen to fish there.
in this zone. All nations have the right of freedom
The U.S. Position of navigation and overflight through an EEZ.
The U.S. is officially neutral in the South China • Rocks, including natural reefs, cannot sustain
Sea dispute. It seeks a negotiated settlement under human life or economic activity on their own.
international law among the claimants. However, it Those that are above the high tide, however, have
too has national interests in the Asia-Pacific region. a territorial sea but no EEZ. Those that are under-
These include defense treaties with Japan, South water at high tide have no territorial sea or EEZ.
Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, along with de- • Coastal nations have the right to build artificial
fense partnerships with Indonesia and Vietnam. islands. But, they are not true islands and have
The chief U.S. national interest is freedom of no territorial seas or EEZs if they are under water
navigation: the unrestricted passage of commercial at high tide in their natural state.
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 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
In the South China Sea,
what really matters is who
controls the 14-mile territorial
seas and the 230 mile EEZs.
The South China Sea
Arbitration Case
In 2013, following the Scar-
borough Shoal standoff, the
Philippines appealed to a spe-
cial arbitration court author-
ized by the Convention on the
Law of the Sea. In interna-
tional law, these courts make
decisions that are binding on This illustration shows the degrees of sovereignty (control) nations may claim over waters along
the nations involved. their shorelines according to the Law of the Sea. Maritime means relating to the sea.

The Philippines case was

limited to deciding the legal status of waters ex- Reactions to the Court Decision
tending from a number of reefs and other land fea- The Chinese called the court decision “illegiti-
tures, including Scarborough Shoal, that were mate.” They proceeded to ignore it. China’s Presi-
controlled by China. dent Xi Jinping stated, “We are strongly committed
The court did not consider who owned the dis- to safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and secu-
puted land features. It only decided whether China had rity, and defending our territorial integrity.”
the right to control and benefit from the waters around The Chinese continued their preferred way of
them. China refused to recognize the arbitration court’s handling the dispute by negotiating with other
authority and did not participate in the case. claimants separately. They did resume talks with the
On July 12, 2016, the law of the sea arbitration other claimants on a “Code of Conduct” for the
court issued its decision. The two key rulings went South China Sea. But this has been going on for
badly for China: decades. China criticized the U.S. for “meddling” in
1. The court decided that six of the disputed land the dispute.
features, including Scarborough Shoal, are The U.S. noted that after the arbitration-court rul-
“rocks” that appear above water at high tide. ing, China speeded up building and militarizing its
Thus, they qualify for 14-mile territorial seas, but seven artificial islands in the Spratlys. Mischief Reef
not the 230 mile EEZs. Five land features, in- and two others have airbases. Most worrisome for the
cluding Mischief Reef, appear above water only U.S., China doubled down on its “nine dash line.”
at low tide in their natural state. Therefore, they The U.S. declared that its military forces will “fly,
do not qualify for either territorial seas or EEZs. sail or operate wherever international law allows.”
2. The court also ruled that because the Convention Under President Trump, the U.S. has persisted in its
of the Law of the Sea does not recognize histori- freedom of navigation operations, intentionally sail-
cal claims to oceans and seas, China’s “nine dash ing Navy vessels near Chinese occupied disputed
line” is “without lawful effect.” reefs and artificial islands. Secretary of Defense
James Mattis warned China about militarizing arti-
Since none of China’s disputed land features ficial islands and pursuing excessive claims in the
qualified for an EEZ and only some for a much South China Sea.
smaller territorial sea, its legal control over most of Complicating matters, the Philippines had a
the disputed waters was nearly obliterated. Even change of government after the court decision in its
more explosive was the ruling that China’s “nine favor. The new President Rodrigo Duterte sought
dash line” was illegal under the Convention on the warmer relations with China. Currently, the two na-
Law of the Sea. The Philippines won the decision, tions have put the court decision “on hold.”
but the Convention provides no way to enforce it.

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Negotiation or Confrontation? igation.’ ” The U.S. State Department repeated its
A negotiated settlement of the South China Sea position that American forces will fly and sail
dispute is not likely in the near future. A draft of the “wherever international law allows.”
“Code of Conduct” was recently approved. But it The Mischief Reef incident once again demon-
did not mention the arbitration-court decision, strated that the Chinese “nine dash line” and Amer-
which criticized China’s aggressive actions and ican “freedom of navigation” are vital national
damage to the marine environment. None of the interests in direct conflict with one another.
claimants want war, but none are willing to back
away from their claims. WRITING & DISCUSSION
On August 10, 2017, a U.S. Navy ship participated 1. When the American Navy ship sailed within seven
in another freedom of navigation operation. This time, miles of Mischief Reef, the Chinese said it violated
the Navy ship sailed within seven miles of China’s Mis- China’s sovereignty. The Americans said the ship
chief Reef artificial island in the Spratlys. was in international waters. According to the law of
The Chinese Defense Ministry declared that the sea, who was right? Why?
China “holds indisputable sovereignty” over the 2. Why does China vigorously defend its “nine dash
Spratlys under the “nine dash line.” China further line” around the South China Sea?
charged that the U.S. wanted “to pick quarrels and 3. Why does the United States vigorously reject
make troubles under the banner of ‘freedom of nav- China’s “nine dash line”?

ACTIVITY: Crisis in the South China Sea

This activity is a hypothetical case about what the U.S. should do in a national-interest crisis in the South
China Sea sometime in the future.
The Crisis
Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea is within China’s “nine dash line.” But, it is only about 150 miles
from the Philippines where the U. S. has air and naval bases.
Over objections from the Philippines, China claimed and made Scarborough Shoal an artificial island, con-
structing military facilities there. These include an airstrip and its first nuclear submarine base in the South
China Sea. China has modernized and built up its air, naval, and military personnel forces to equal those of
the U. S. in the Asia-Pacific, changing the balance of power there.
China previously proclaimed the South China Sea within its “nine dash line” was its sovereign territory. After
making Scarborough Shoal a manmade island, China stated that no military ships or aircraft will be per-
mitted to fly over or sail these waters without first notifying and getting the permission of the Chinese gov-
ernment. The U. S. replied that this was a violation of the law of the sea.
Develop a Strategy
You are a member of the U.S. National Security Council that advises the president. Meet in a group with
three or four other members of the council. Each group will develop a strategy to resolve this crisis. The
strategy should consist of a sequence of at least four specific U.S. actions ranked from the most to least
preferable. The sequence could include actions that involve some or all of the following:
• U. S. freedom of navigation operations,
• diplomacy,
• compromise,
• trade relations,
• the United Nations,
• war,
• an international court, or
• some other approach.
Each group should select a spokesperson to defend its strategy before the class.
BRIA 31:3 (Winter 2018) WORLD HISTORY/CURRENT ISSUES 15
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 Standards Addressed Sources
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