South China Seas Edison Novice Committee I. Background: An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area of water a certain distance off the coast where countries have sovereign rights to economic ventures like drilling, fishing and so fourth. Inside the South China Sea the countries Brunei, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have Exclusive Economic Zones that overlap. Over the past couple of years, the South China Sea has become an region of rising tensions over ownership of the waters. 11 billion barrels of oil, 5.3 Trillion Dollars pass through the sea every year, 90% of Middle Eastern Fossil Fuel circulates through the area, and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, making it a very profitable venture for any country that holds the sovereign rights. The largest sea in the ocean with 1.35 million square miles. The sea borders the countries of China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand all of which are very important in the South China Sea issue, including, two of the fastest growing economies in the world and a total of two billion people. Located inside the waters are 250 different islands. Some of the ones up to dispute are the Spratly (contains 2.5 of the 11 billion barrels of oil), Pratas, Macclesfield, Paracel, Scarborough islands. This sea also holds a large majority of its value in domestic trade an estimated 5.3 trillion dollars flows through the South China Sea annually. It functions as the main write of passage of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans transporting commercial products, crude oil, foodstuffs and various other goods through these trade routes, providing the rest of the world and other countries with economic vitality. In addition to being an integral source of commodities and economic growth, the South China Sea is one of the largest food sources in the world with 3,300 different species of fish and thousands of other various wildlife. The South China Sea is estimated responsible for 12% of the fish caught in the world, bringing in an estimated 2.3 billion dollars a year just in fishing. Acting as one of the most critical means of employment worldwide, employing 3.7 million people.
Seeing how unregulated fishing is now, this has begun to pose a huge threat on the seas. With China looking to lay claim to the South China Sea they have begun to actively support its fishermen through the means of bigger boats, subsidies, water, fuel, and militarized fishing fleets. They have spent 5.9 billion USD in total on their fishing industry last year and supplied the fishermen with 52,000 motorized boats and increased the amount of fishermen employed by 4.5 million. They have created a special subsidy for fishing in the contested waters located around the Spratly Islands. In 2014 they spent $6.5 billion on these subsidies to their fishermen. This forces other nations fishermen, which must go farther out at sea due to coastal waters being depleted, to stay away from these areas and loose money they need to make a living. It s estimated that by 2020 46% of the fishing economy in these other countries will be gone as a direct consequence. In the next 10 years the South China sea is expected to see a decline of population in invertebrates from 29-59%. The aggressive assertions made by nations policies amalgamated with the decline of fish in the region has created a future picture of destruction of the seas and economies. The political tensions and the overfishing draws a direct correlation and posses some of the most immediate dangers around the world seeing how crucial the South China Sea is. China, wishing to lay claim to all of the sea without other nations infringements on their waters, states that China s present borders largely reflect the frontiers established during the spectacular episode of eighteenth century Qing (Manchu) expansionism. If true this area that china would be given contains 100% of the Spratly Islands and about 67% of the other important areas within the South China Sea. This map drawn out by China is known as the Nine-dash nine, a geopolitical border that draws out the area to include paracel and Spratly islands as theirs. However, these claims have been argued internationally and contradict the claims of Taiwan and Vietnam who agree to have joint custody over both the Spratly and Paracel as far back as the 17th century. However, Vietnam only began to contest China's claims after learning the potential economic value these islands possess. Regardless, the claims made by each country are disarranged.
In the years 1970 through 1990 China used military action to show their dominance over the islands and caused the casualties of 130 Vietnamese people. Since then China has only upped their maritime influence in the South China Sea. The United States Department Of Defense states that China has been making increased efforts to up their military presence in the South China Sea. Showing with drone evidence, that the current construction taking place on the islands contains aircraft carrier and vessel capabilities and they continue to increase maritime tensions to other nations as they look to continue development. Despite the ruling from the international court of justice, the militarial presence and condoning of other nations China has continued development and announced and began the plans for nuclear reactors on the islands in 2016 with the intentions of speeding up development in the region. In April 28, 2018 they announced plans for an official departure of this floating power plant. Though nothing has caused China to slow or halt progress as of yet. The United States of America believes that by lending militarial pressure, it can have a large impact on China s military presence in the region. China as of now has more of a maritime presence than any other country bordering the South China Sea as a ratio of 303:202. With the United States increasing military presence through the use of eight naval bases located within the Philippines, they believe they may sway the effectiveness of any maritime or militarial presence by enhancing [...] force posture and persistent presence in the region, [...] to maintain a higher pace of training, transits, and operations. Along with the United States, Australia has begun to show military presence in the region by conducting its own maritime and airborne operations to observe progress and positioning of nations inside the South China Sea. Vietnam on August 2016 targeted the Spratlys islands with mobile rocket launchers. This is has been the most aggressive step by far it has an effect on influencing the flow of power and decision making process. However, nothing has yielded a different response from China. II. United Nations Involvement:
The framework laid out by the United Nations covering this whole basis is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which is considered by most nations to be one of the most important frameworks that pertains to the issue in the South China Sea. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea lays out the guidelines for territorial and commercial disputes of pertaining to the jurisdiction of a certain island, area or region at sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea framework also dictates what can and cannot be done within this area. However, this framework has no way of enforcement and has no binding with any governmental or official court body. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states that only organizations like the International Maritime Organization can enforce legal guidelines. Therefore making the jurisdiction and action pertaining to the South China Sea minimal. Due to the certain way the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was created, the international community can only intervine if parties involved invite external assistance via the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Due to tensions the only use of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea remains an idea used to apply pressure. Until the Philippines in 2013, used the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to seek out the illegitimacy of the Chinese claims, a case handled by the Permanent Court of Arbitration which found the Chinese claims illegitimate under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration officially nullified any legal standing of the claims brought from the Nine-dash line. The Permanent Court ruled as of 2016 that China lacked sufficient legal evidence for their claims therefore had no jurisdiction. China's response to this was a simple rejection of the ruling stating that they believe they have sufficient legal justification. Due to the decision brought by the Permanent Court of Arbitration Vietnam decided to attempt to handle the dispute in peaceful means under Article 279 in which parties may agree to solve to dispute by any peaceful means allowing parties to become the complete master regarding how the dispute is handled. Due to the ruling and the legitimacy of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the bilateral agreement between Vietnam, Philippines and China officially settled. Seeing as the complexity of the issue including,
economic and political agenda for each individual nation and the possible consequences of a shift in power dynamics, the result could mean something farther off than the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would have intended. The Philippines also attempted to make the claims that their close location to the islands reserves their rights to the region. The rest of the regions claim their Economic Exclusion Zones land them the right to the sea and the islands as stated by the United Nations on the International Law of the Sea to deal with issues of claimancy. Due to the muddled jurisdiction of the islands the Philippines took the case to the International Court of Justice under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the international tribunal in The Hague in which they came to the decision that the historical claims made by china have no legal jurisdiction and are only entitled to 200 nautical miles from the Coast of china and the construction on the islands are a direct infringement on the sovereignty of the Philippines. After this ruling the Philippines released a statement in which they announce an attempt to stop the development and usage of the disputed waters through bilateral talks with Beijing. These talks have been unsuccessful and have yielded no sign of success as of yet. III. Questions To Consider: 1. What negotiation tactics regarding the South China Sea issue have been used in the past but have failed and why? 2. Any important resolutions or meetings that could be brought back up to help solidify a stance or ruling 3. What does your country believe is the correct why to divide up the region and why? 4. What is something different your country will do if China continues to ignore international rulings? Works Cited:
1. "A Line In the Sea." Foreign Affairs. N.p., 10 Aug. 2016. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. 2. "Chagos Archipelago." Britlink. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. 3. "China-Vietnam Tensions High over Drilling Rig in Disputed Waters." Center for Strategic and International Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. 4. Kaplan, Robert D. Asia s Caldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Asia Pacific. Print. 5. November 18, 2014 International Agricultural Trade Reports. "Southeast Asia: A FastGrowing Market for U.S. Agricultural Products." South China Sea: Report. USDA, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016 6. Sumaila, U. Rashid, and William Cheung. "Boom or Bust: The Future of Fish in the South China Sea - Ocean Recovery Alliance." Boom or Bust: The Future of Fish in the South China Sea - Ocean Recovery Alliance. University of British Columbia, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016
7. U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis." South China Sea. EIA, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2016. Witter, Allison. "Taking Stock and Projecting the Future of South China Sea Fisheries."