Why Is China’s Sovereignty Over the South China Sea Challenged Frequently?

By CHU HAO

IN recent years confrontations over

certain islands in the South China Sea have been escalating. Recent provocations by Vietnam and the Philippines in the area have once again dragged this issue to the front of the international stage.

An Indisputable Part of Chinese territory

With support from an abundance of historic records and international laws, we can claim that the Nansha Islands and its surrounding waters, the centerpiece of contentions over the South China Sea, are Chinese territory. Some neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, however, dispute this highly corroborated fact, challenging the marine boundary demarcation and laying claims to resources in the area.

As early as the second century BC Chinese people first discovered and named the Nansha Islands, and have since gained more knowledge of the area with the development of its shipping industry. Multiple names were applied to this cluster of small islands in the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties and later regimes, during which their shapes, locations, shipping routes, shoals and hidden reefs were all detailed in a raft of ancient documents and books.

The Chinese made the earliest recorded exploration of these islands. Records of Rarities (Yiwu Zhi) a book completed in the late Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 220) wrote about Chinese fishing in the region. By the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, fishermen from Chinas Hainan Island had reached significant numbers and the scope of their activities steadily expanded, accompanied by the establishment of several trade routes. Meanwhile they reclaimed land and grew trees on the Nansha Islands. In time, such exploration and activities were recognized by sailors of foreign nationalities. The 1868 Guide to the South China Sea by British navy have accounts of the activities of Chinese fishermen in the Nansha Islands. According to the Guide, fishermen from Hainan Island would travel to Zheng He Isles and Reefs where they would live on sea cucumbers and shellfish. Fishermens footprints could be found on every one of the Nansha Islands and some fishermen spent long periods living there.

China was the first country to exercise sovereignty over the South China Sea. The Nansha Islands were marked in The Sailing Charts of Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty under the name Wansheng Shitang Islands, and also featured as part of Chinese territory in the 1716 atlas The Great Qing and the World and the 1817 map Unification of the Great Qing.

In 1933 French colonists took over several of the Nansha Islands by force, but eventually retreated following strong resistance by local fishermen and protests from the Chinese government.

During World War Two the Nansha Islands were seized by Japanese invaders, and were not returned to China until the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation were signed. In 1946 the Chinese government sent four warships to the South China Sea archipelago for a handover ceremony and re-erected the sovereignty monument on the major isle.

In 1947 the Republic of China government released a list featuring the old and new names of islands in the South China Sea and put them under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province. In February of the following year it published a map of the South China Sea Islands, which was used as a reference map during the founding the Peoples Republic of China in 1949.

Since the founding of the PRC, China has continued to exercise sovereignty over the region. Premier Zhou Enlai, in his 1951 statement on the U.S. and U.K.s draft peace treaty with Japan at the San Francisco Conference, explicitly stated: “The Xisha Islands and Nanwei Island, just like the Nansha, Zhongsha and Dongsha islands, have always been Chinas territory.” In 1958 China issued the statement of the Peoples Republic of China on its maritime territory, declaring that the breadth of the territorial sea of the PRC is 12 nautical miles, and that this provision applies to all territories of the Peoples Republic of China including the Chinese mainland and its coastal islands, including the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands.

This claim has even been bolstered by the international community and the countries concerned. Vietnams government has recognized that Xisha and Nansha are part of Chinese territory on several occasions. For instance in a meeting on June 15, 1956 with Li Zhimin, Chinas charge daffaires in Vietnam, Vice Foreign Minister of Vietnam Ung Van Khiem acknowledged that according to Vietnamese sources the Xisha and Nansha islands are Chinese territory. On September 14, 1958 Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong sent a diplomatic note to his Chinese counterpart, saying, “We would like to inform you that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam has noted and supports the September 4, 1958 declaration by the Peoples Republic of China regarding the territorial waters of China.” The position of Nansha and Xisha islands within Chinese borders have been confirmed by a number of foreign maps, including the Welt-Atlas published by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1954, World Atlas published by Romania in 1957, The Daily Telegraph World Atlas published by Britain in 1968, Atlas International Larousse published by France in 1968 and 1969 as well as China Atlas published by Neibonsya of Japan in 1973.

Based on the aforementioned facts and in light of international law doctrines of discovery, uti possideti (whereby territory remains in the possession of the nation that possesses it at the end of a conflict unless otherwise decided on in a treaty) and equitable estoppel, Chinas territorial claim over the Nansha Islands and surrounding waters is unchallengeable.

Abundant Resources and a strategic Position

The rise of the South China Sea disputes has had much to do with the abundant resources underneath the sea, the development of modern international maritime law and the regions strategic importance. In recent years, the U.S. has also played a more and more prominent role in this issue.

The South China Sea is rich in oil, gas, fishery resources and minerals, such as manganese, iron, copper, and cobalt, and rare formations such as manganese nodules. Its gas and oil reserves have earned the sea the name “the Second Persian Gulf.” It also has abundant ocean life, with over 2,850 species of marine creatures. These natural treasures have become the motivation for countries who are now claiming the area as their own.

With the surrounding nations economic growth, the rise of international oil prices and the soaring demand for energy, some countries have been showing more and more interest in the South China Sea. They have tried both hard and soft measures to strengthen their claims of sovereignty and have made agreements with several foreign countries about the exploitation of its resources.

The emergence of the South China Sea issue is partly a result of the development of modern maritime international laws. When the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was concluded in 1982, several countries in the South China Sea region extended their right to an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to a distance of 200 nautical miles or laid claims to continental shelves. Some even raised sovereignty claims over the islets in the area. Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia raised sovereignty claims over all or some islets of the Nansha Islands, and speeded up the exploration of the seas gas and oil resources. These have all resulted in incursions into Chinas territory, separation of Chinese sea territory, and the occupation of Chinese islets whose resources have been exploited. It was at this time that disputes emerged.

Strategic considerations also come into play. The South China Sea is the main sea channel and transportation hub connecting East Asia to the Middle East and Europe. The sea routes that pass through the South China Sea are highly important to Japan and connect China with the world. One third of global marine trade, over half of the energy supply in Northeast Asia and 80 percent of the oil transit of Japan, the Republic of Korea and Chinas Taiwan region is transported along these routes. From a military perspective, occupying the islets in the South China Sea is equivalent to taking direct or indirect control over the majority of sea routes east of the Strait of Malacca, one of the worlds 16 major chokepoint sea routes, or even from as far as West Asia, Africa, and Europe to East Asia.

With the end of the Cold War the geopolitical situation of the South China Sea grew in importance, accompanied by the steady discovery of more and more resources under the sea. Around the time that UNCLOS came into force in 1994, several neighboring countries pushed their claims for sovereignty over the islets, the EEZs and continental shelves, leading to the escalation of disputes between China and those countries. ASEAN member countries, Japan, the U.S. and several Western countries have stepped in and made the situation more complicated. It has become a hot issue among the East Asian countries and the international community.

Peaceful settlement

The global financial crisis brings the South China Sea into the global spotlight for both political and economic reasons. On a political level, the posturing around territory is a strategy by contesting countries to maintain power. The financial crisis has had a huge impact on economic growth in Southeast Asia. Living costs have soared and living standards fallen. With potential social crises looming on the horizon, the governments of these countries are using the issue to distract public attention from their economic woes.

On an economic level, most of these Southeast Asian countries follow an export-oriented economic strategy because of their limited domestic markets, and they are at the mercy of the international economic climate. The financial crisis in 2008 hit their economies hard, shattering their export-oriented strategy along with their economies. And with the pressure of rising oil prices, some countries shifted their focus to the South China Sea with the hopes of using its wealth of natural gas and oil to secure their domestic energy supply.

Furthermore, the policies of these countries toward China in the light of the nations fast rise are influenced by two conflicting issues. On one hand, they can benefit their own economy by trading with China; on the other, they are worried about becoming overly reliant on China and that Chinas power and influence will damage their own interests and security. In 2010, Chinas GDP surpassed Japans to become the worlds second largest economy. Some countries are wary of the rise and push the hypothesis that the big power would seek hegemony over the world. Subsequently cooperation with China has been colored by alliances, wariness and hostility.

The U.S.s Asia-Pacific strategy is also influencing the South China Sea issue. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared the U.S. “back in Asia” in 2009, marking a major increase in activities and investment in the Asia-Pacific and in particular the Western Pacific. For the U.S., countering the rise of China is an integral part of its foreign policy. Atsolicitation from Vietnam and the Philippines, interfering with the South China Sea issue had become a good opportunity for the U.S. to pursue its own strategic considerations and tackle the asserted threat to its international strength.

The U.S.s oceanic activities have gradually been diverted to this area in order to undermine Chinas territorial claims and role in Southeast Asia. Since asserting its national interest in the South China Sea issue in 2010, the U.S. has made sea territory a key issue in its Asia-Pacific strategy. It has taken actions to strengthen its military forces at sea, and expanded its military base on Guam to increase surveillance over disputed sea area in East Asia. The new U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has repeated the intention to increase the U.S. military presence in the region. He visited Indonesia during the 2011 ASEAN Defense Ministerial Meeting, underlining the influence and significance of Southeast Asia in the U.S.s regional security strategy. The U.S.s intentions are clear.

Over the years, Chinas core strategy in the settlement of the South China Sea dispute has been “shelving disputes and seeking common development.”This has brought about some positive results, making stable and peaceful relations with surrounding countries possible. Confronted with obstacles and interference from outside the region, China has acted responsibly and with restraint. It commits itself to talks and negotiations and expects to undertake bilateral negotiations with those involved in order to settle the disputes peacefully in accordance with recognized international laws and modern maritime laws, including the principles and laws of the UNCLOS.

China strives to gain the trust and understanding of its neighboring countries and the world through its actions rather than win empty victories through the use of intimidation. It hopes that its approach and eventual solution to the South China Sea issue will add to its positive image, showing that outsiders need not view the nations rise as a threat.

Chu Hao is an assistant researcher with the Institute of South-Southeast Asian & Oceanian Studies under the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.