table of contents 0LETTER FROM USGS 1 Introduction to the Committee 2 Introduction to the Topic 4 Key Terms 5 History of the Topic 5.1 Timeline of the Events 6 Importance of South China Sea 7 Involved Countries and Organizations 8 Questions that Resolution Need to Answer 9 Simple Table of Claimant States 10 References 1
model model unıted unıted natıons natıons of of ıpekcılık ıpekcılık anatolıan anatolıan ımam ımam hatıp hatıp hıgh hıgh school school 2018 0. LETTER FROM USGS Fellow Delegates of United Nations Security Council, As the undersecretarygeneral of Security Council, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the MUNIA 18 organized by students of Bursa İpekçilik Anatolian İmam Hatip High School. I am Deniz Köse and I am studying at İpekcilik. It will be my privilege to be your host nearly this November at the Bursa Technical University. I am more than looking forward to meeting all of you, while I am also sure that you will all prove to be very successful delegates and that the debate will result in fruitful solutions. A little bit about myself: My experience with Model United Nations began in my English preparation year. My first experience was The British Schools Model United Nations in Warsaw, Poland. This gave me a lot of understanding about MUN conferences. Throughout these years I found a chance to participate in different MUN conferences. It was always the best experience for me to have a chance to discuss global issues while acting as a representative of a country. I, Sevde Esma Güleç, would like to express my enthusiasm but I am at the point where words are insufficient and emotions are dominant. I am welcoming you all with my deep sincerity to the second annual session of MUNIA 18. It will be an honor for me to serve as one of the Under Secretary General responsible for United Nations Security Council. I have been a part of a various amount of Model United Nations conferences ever since my prep year. MUN has been playing a major role in my life since my first experience. The organization which shapes my today and my future life has a significant place in my life. Security Council is a challenging committee in every Model United Nations. So, we expect the very best from each and every one of you. Your role as delegates to the United Nations begins with the research that needs to be carried out before the actual start of the conference. This Study Guide will hopefully aid you to acquire the fundamental understanding regarding the topic. Your topic, South China Sea, is one of the hottest spots around the world, and maintains itself as being unsolvable for centuries. Your duty is finding permanent solution or at least mitigating the tensions. As concluding the letter, we would like to thank our Secretary General Ms Şeyma Çakar for giving us a chance to be a part of this conference and for being our friend in this conference. Also we would like to give our special thanks to our Heads of Academic for their great contribution. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask. Also do not forget to send your position papers. Sincerely, Deniz Köse, Sevde Esma Güleç muniasecouncil@gmail.com 2
1. INTRODUCTION TO the committee 1.1 establishment of united nations The League of Nations was an international organisation that was created to be a place to discuss global problems, solve international conflicts through negotiations and diplomacy with bringing secret alliances and treaties to a halt. The League tried to put its main emphasis on the peace in Europe, and it has been authorised to put economic sanctions on any member that violated posed a threat to international peace. The economic sanctioning was the only prominent power of the League since no military power was reserved for it. The league had continued to lose its influences as its members continued to leave while World War II was living. After the World War II, in 1945, it finally resolved and succeed to a more useful and welldesigned organisation (with a military power) named United Nations. 1.2 unıted natıons structure The United Nations has six main organs which are the General Assembly, Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. 1.3 unıted natıons security council The main emphasis of Security Council is maintaining peace and international. Security Council s member can gather any kind of occasion that threat international peace and security. Different from the other organs of UN, Security Council has special rules and empowerments. Such as special voting procedure, members, and military empowerment 1.3.1 members of the security council United Nations Security Council has fifteen members. Five of them are United States of America, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Russian Federation, France, and People s Republic of China are the permanent members known as the P5. And there are ten elected members that General Assembly choose for two year term. These ten members are elected according to their locations; five from Africa and Asia, two from Latin America and the Caribbean, two from Western Europe, and one from Eastern Europe. 1.3.2 voting procedure of security council Different from the other organs, Security Council has diverse voting procedure. Each member of the Security Council have one affirmative vote right. However the P5 countries have the right to veto. 3
1.3.2 empowerment of the security council In order to maintain peace and international security, United Nations has military power. But, the only council that can use military power among the other UN organs is United Nations Security Council. 2. introduction to the topic South China Sea (SCS) is located in the Southern part of China and North part of Indonesia. The People s Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam are the countries that have border on South China Sea. Ten major rivers flow into SCS. The area includes Paracels and Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. These islands have crucial roles on living tensions at the region. South China Sea is the area that can protect its worth until now with increasing value. The region which could not have been shared since ancient times has many treasures from all ways. The area is rich in fish, oil, gas and other underground resources. Also huge amounts of world s trade routes, foreign military vessels pass through the SCS. South China Sea could not have been shared due to its geopolitical location and values it possesses. For a country, being sovereign in SCS means controlling world s trade routes and military shipments and also having underground resources. Because of these conditions we can clearly describe area as an impossibletoshare zone. The border countries except Indonesia has a dispute on sharing SCS. Because of that reason the region has always been one of the hottest spots around the world. The zone also saw the conflicts, oppressive decisions, treaties and conferences. The onset of the discussion has begun before B.C. But especially in 20th century the region saw significant evolutions. Such as Chinese NineDash Line in 1947. Nine Dash Line is about Chinese sovereignty on whole South China Sea. This boundary agreement was not done with any other country but China itself. With Nine Dash Line China announced to the rest of the world China claims SCS truly and deeply. However China had not taken it very much seriously. 4
After Nine Dash Line Declaration Vietnam, Taiwan and Philippines started to build military bases up to two thousands. However these military bases have not been deployed. Also China has started building later but faster than others. And Chinese bases have been deployed. Except Indonesia all the boundary countries want to have territory in SCS. Alike with China, Taiwan also claims whole SCS, but does not make this very clear and with oppressive ways. Philippines and Malaysia claims whole or some parts of Spratly Islands. Brunei only claims the territorial waters. Vietnam claims the Paracels and Spratly Islands but Scarborough shoal. United Nations tried to find a solution to solve these territory and sovereignty issues. United Nations Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS) gave rise the upper event which is also distributes territories of SCS among boundary countries. This has been a major barrier for Chinese Nine Dash Line. Also United States of America got involved in SCS conflict even though the state has not got any geographical proximity to the region. USA is one of the countries that sees SCS waters as an international zone. For being successful in its demands, USA has organized operations with the name Freedom of Navigation. In 21st century South China Sea became more important because of boundary countries have been growing economically, militarily and with other ways. Due to that situation the value of SCS has been increasing proportionally. All the boundary countries want to share it but China still resists on not sharing the SCS. 3. key terms UNCLOS: UNCLOS is an acronym for the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea. The convention is also sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty. UNCLOS, as a law of the sea came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982. UNCLOS is the international protocol that regulates international waters. Its purpose is to establish a comprehensive set of rules governing the oceans and define the rights and responsibilities of states as to their use of the world s oceans, while also establishing guidelines for the management of marine natural resources. As of June 2016, 167 nations and the European Union had joined UNCLOS. ASEAN: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation among its ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN countries have a population of nearly 640 million people and a combined GDP of $2.57 trillion. The group has spurred economic integration, signing six freetrade agreements with other regional economies. ASEAN's purpose is to form a European Union type of common market. The ASEAN Economic Community was established in 2015. It is working toward free movement of goods and services, investment and capital, as well as skilled labour. It will also create common standards in agriculture and financial services, intellectual property rights, and consumer protection. These are all necessary to attract foreign direct investment and promote growth. The bloc s biggest challenge is negotiating a unified approach to China, particularly in response to its widespread maritime claims in the South China Sea. 5
EEZ: An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is an area which is beyond, and is adjacent to, a given country's territorial seas, and extends no more than 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) out from a country's own coastlines. It can be seen that if the area for EEZ is overlapped and it is still less than 400 nautical miles, then it falls upon the respective states to delineate the actual boundaries of the coastlines. The area which is under the EEZ of a state gives them full rights to explore and exploit the marine resources in its adjacent continental shelf. The EEZs have also got economic importance as they do not only set the boundaries, but are also the source of livelihood for many countries because of their fisheries, natural gas reserves, and tourism. Even the shipping of goods also takes place through these zones from many other countries. The scientific importance of EEZs includes the carrying out of scientific research on varied marine creatures, and the sampling of the seabeds for oil and natural gas purposes which can also be carried out therein. Every country has been given the right to safeguard their territorial waters, but if some countries wish to explore the resources, then they have to enter into a bilateral agreement with the respective neighbouring country. Ninedash line: The ninedash is a document representing the People s Republic of China s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijing has never clarified the line s exact coordinates, but the line stretches over 2000 kilometres from the Chinese mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. The line has been visible on official Chinese maps since the 1940s (having initially eleven dashes) and it shows that any land or maritime feature contained within is owned by China in the basis of historical maritime rights. 4. history of the topic The source of the South China Seas dispute is traceable to the 1951 San Francisco Treaty, which failed to stipulate possession of the Spratly islands when Japan lost its title to them after being defeated in the Second World War (Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands and to the Paracel Islands). The chain of 200 islets, coral reefs and seamounts that constitute the Spratly and its northern extension the Paracel islands spread across 250,000 square kilometres of the South China Sea, a vast continental shelf that constitutes a potentially rich source of oil and natural gas. The Spratlys contested ownership developed into an international conflict when from the mid1970s a number of claimants began extracting resources from the seabed contiguous to their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). China, Taiwan, and four ASEAN states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam all laid claim and/or occupied part of the islands in the South China Sea. 6
4.1 timeline of events The conflict over the South China Sea and the Spratly Islands has been active for some decades. Due to a large number of claimants and how the conflict has evolved, it is especially complicated and difficult to understand, so it is necessary to write a summarized timeline. If we would look chronologically to the South China Sea dispute, at first, coral islands in the sea were occupied by Taiwan in 1956. In the 1970s the Philippines occupied some places in the Spratly Islands. The occupation of Paracel Islands in South Vietnam in 1974 followed these operations. On March 14, 1988, China occupied some parts of the Spratly Islands, while 74 Vietnamese soldiers were killed by Chinese forces in the area. In 1995, China invaded the Mischief reef (not far from the Philippine island of Palawan) and in the same year the Taiwan artillery opened fire on the Vietnam supply ship. In 1996, China signed the UN Maritime Law Convention and the dispute in the region was moved to a different dimension. In the same year, other states claiming rights in the sea also signed the Convention. From the end of the 1990s to the 2000s, there has been a more constructive dialogue between the parties in the South China Sea. Within the framework of the efforts to establish ASEAN countries and ASEAN China Free Trade Zone, the parties to the dispute have taken various measures to reduce the tension in the South China Sea. At the 8th ASEAN Summit held on November 4, 2002, the Declaration of the Parties' Behaviour in the South China Sea was signed between the ASEAN member countries and China. With this declaration, the parties expressed that they will develop relations based on equality and mutual respect and will solve the problems peacefully. In 2005, China, Vietnam and the Philippines gave a start a joint seismic research project to lay the groundwork for exploring underwater resources. However in 2010, these collaborative actions have become more aggressive, especially between Vietnam, the Philippines and China. In 20062007 Vietnam increases offshore petroleum exploration projects in waters claimed by China. In 2008 China s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues demarches and threats against foreign oil companies investing in Vietnam. In 2008 the number of Vietnamese fishing boats operating near the Paracels increased significantly. China s Bureau of Fisheries Administration detained Vietnamese fishermen operating near the Paracel Islands. In June 2008 China s 2005 joint seismic survey agreement with the Philippines and Vietnam expires and is not renewed. In March 2009 Malaysian Prime Minister Badawi makes a public visit to Swallow Reef, a feature in South China occupied by Malaysia. 7
In May 2009 The Philippines objects to China s claims to the UN. China s submitted a map with the ninedashed line to the UN Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf. In April 2011 The Philippines submits a note to the UN contesting in detail China s claims to territorial sovereignty and maritime jurisdiction. In March 2012 The Philippines and Vietnam reached an agreement to hold joint patrols in a portion of the Spratly Island. In June 2012 Vietnam began using advanced Su27 fighter aircrafts to patrol the skies over the South China Sea. China s Ministry of Defence announces that China has already established a combatready patrol system in the South China Sea. In November 2012, China showed the entire South China Sea as its own in its new maps. Vietnam and the Philippines sent diplomatic notes to China to abolish the map, claiming that some territories belong to them. Chinese fishing boats severed the seismic survey cables of a Vietnamese ship near Con Co Island between the Vietnamese coast and China's Hainan Island. In 2012, the Philippine navy attempted to arrest Chinese fishermen illegally hunting on Scarborough. The United States has been effective in the negotiation of the parties, but after the departure of the ships, China withdrew from the agreement. In 2012, the Philippines requested an article on Scarborough in the ASEAN joint declaration. Then China suppressed Cambodia. As a result, Cambodia refused to issue a joint statement. The Philippines accused Cambodia of blocking ASEAN's position on the South China Sea, decided to carry the international platform, and in 2013 it applied to the Constitutional Court of Justice. In 2014, the tension between China and Vietnam rose again. In May, China sent a drilling vessel near the Paracel Islands in order to extract oil from the territory declared by Vietnam as its territorial waters. Vietnam reported the situation to ASEAN and demanded that they condemn China's behaviour. ASEAN has issued a statement expressing concern and urging the parties to withdraw, but it has been a disappointment for Vietnam that ASEAN did not name China in the statement. China has withdrawn its oil drilling rig in June due to bad weather conditions. In 2015, United States Navy patrols within 12 miles of Chinesebuild islands. In 2016, China deploys surfacetoair missiles Woody Island. On July 19th, 2016; China announced that they started air patrols that would become a regular occurrence over disputed islands in the South China Sea. A spokesman said the People's Liberation Army Air Force sent H6K bombers, fighter jets, and tankers to the South China Sea. On August 9th, 2016; China started building aircraft hangars on disputed islands. New satellite images of artificial islands in the South China Sea showed fresh Chinese construction of reinforced aircraft hangars, according to Washington Strategic and International Studies. On August 10th, 2016; Vietnam moved rocket launchers into disputed waters. Vietnam allegedly sent new mobile rocket launchers into disputed waters near islands the country occupies in the South China Sea, according to Western officials. Vietnam's foreign ministry claimed the report was "inaccurate." 8
On September 30th, 2016; Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said that China would not sit idle if Japan increased its activities in the waters of the South China Sea. On October 7th, 2016; Philippines backed Away from U.S. Cooperation in South China Sea. Philippine Defence Chief Delfin Lorenzana said that plans for joint patrols and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea have been put on hold, the first concrete break indefence cooperation with the United States. President Rodrigo Duterte also wants to halt the twentyeight military exercises that are carried out with U.S. forces each year, Lorenzana said. December 15th, 2016; Satellite images showed that China has installed antiaircraft and other weapons on all seven islands it constructed in the South China Sea, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. On July 3rd, 2017; China said it will increase air and sea patrols after a U.S. guidedmissile destroyer sailed within twelve nautical miles of Triton Island, a disputed territory in the South China Sea. China said the United States had "seriously damaged strategic mutual trust". On July 27th, 2017; British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson announced plans to sail two new aircraft carriers in the South China Sea for a freedom of navigation operation. On August 10th, 2017; a U.S. Navy destroyer came within twelve nautical miles of a Chinese artificial island in the South China Sea as part of a freedom of navigation operation. August 16th, 2017; The Philippines defence minister announced that China has agreed not to occupy any new islands in the South China Sea. Additionally, the foreign secretary of the Philippines said that the two countries are negotiating a commercial deal to explore oil and gas reserves in the disputed region. On March 23rd, 2018; Vietnam s state oil company PetroVietnam halted an oil drilling project, licensed to Spanish energy company Repsol, in the South China Sea following pressure from China. This is the second major oil project suspended in the South China Sea waterway this year under Beijing s pressure. On March 27th, 2018; Satellite imagery confirmed dozens of Chinese navy ships, including a carrier group, are carrying out a largescale show of force off Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The combat drills included up to forty ships and submarines, and are part of what the Chinese navy earlier this week called routine annual exercises. On May 21st, 2018; The Chinese air force announced that it landed longrange bombers, including the nuclearcapable H6K, for the first time on artificial islands in the South China Sea. Visit these resources to read more about events after 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/world/asia/chinaseaairpatrols.html?_r=0 https://www.reuters.com/article/ussouthchinaseavietnamiduskcn10k2ne https://thediplomat.com/2016/09/chinadefenseministrymilitarywillnotsitidleifjapanexpandsinvolvementinsouthchinasea/ https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinainstallsweaponsinsouthchinaseasatellitesshow1481771066 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinaaccusesusofseriousprovocationaswarshipsailsneardisputedisland/2017/07/02/9ce7b0265f9311e7a6c7f769fa1d5691_story.html?utm_term=.33b0bc722ccb https://www.theguardian.com/uknews/2017/jul/27/britainsnewaircraftcarrierstotestbeijinginsouthchinasea https://www.reuters.com/article/ususachinasouthchinaseaexclusiveiduskbn1aq0yk https://www.reuters.com/article/ussouthchinaseaphilippineschinaiduskcn1av0vj https://www.reuters.com/article/uschinadefence/exclusivesatelliteimagesrevealshowofforcebychinesenavyinsouthchinaseaiduskbn1h3135 https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/20/asia/southchinaseabombersislandsintl/index.htm 9
5. importance of south china sea The South China Sea is a transit area between the Pacific and Indian oceans. The world's maritime trade fleet has more than 50% of the annual tonnage of the Malacca, Sunda and Lombok Straits. The Malacca Strait is the second most important transit point in the world in terms of energy delivery after the Hormuz Strait and imports 55% of the oil it needs (51% of which is from the Middle East, 24% from Africa with tankers, so it passes through the throat of Malacca) It is easy to understand how strategic the region is. Just over 15 million barrels of crude oil are transported per day by 2015 over the Makkakka straitsouth China Sea link. The fact that China is in the first place in world oil imports by 2013 is also a clear indication of the strategic importance of the South China Sea. There are coasts of 10 countries. The most important of these countries are the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei. The South China Sea is also known for its rich oil and natural gas reserves. It cannot be said that sharing of the mentioned reserves was desired among the countries, as the problems between coastal countries could not have been solved by far. It is stated that there are 7 billionbarrels of oil and 25.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the region located in the sea and in the south of the Spratly islands located exactly in the middle of the status discussion and north of the Paracel islands in the same position. These figures only show reserves that can be explored up to now. There are also comments that the actual figure may be well above this ratio. The South China Sea is not just an energy transfer line. At the same time having rich oil and natural gas deposits and at least 1/3 of the world's trade is done, this sea is a waterway where more than half of the total tonnage of the marine trade fleet of the world passes as we mentioned before. Another characteristic of the South China Sea is that it has very rich resources in the sense of fishing and has a particularly favourable position for "industrial fishing". 10
5.1 IMPORTANCE OF SOUTH CHina sea: islands Spratly Islands: Spratly Islands are home to reefs spread over an area of about 164,000 square miles at the southern tip of the South China Sea. Spratlys are too small and barren to support permanent human settlement. Nonetheless, these islands are still considered strategic, economic and political assets for the riparian states of the South China Sea because they can serve as legal bases for states to reflect their claims of exclusive jurisdiction over waters and resources in the South China Sea for. However, it should be understood that the Spratlys region has strategic priorities for all states in the region, as these islands cut off the sea lanes where commercial vessels must travel to and from the South Asian ports. The islands are currently occupied by six countries: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Also In 1973, Russian seismologists explained that they found oil deposits in the North Vietnamese coasts in the western part of the Spratly islands. Paracel Islands: The Paracel Islands are an archipelago that includes over 30 islands, and many sandbanks, and reefs, over a maritime area of around 5,800 square miles. Like the Spratlys most of the islands are too small for permanent settlement. However the islands are contested due to possible oil reserves in the seabed near the islands. In July 2012, China established the city of Sansha, under Hainan Province, to administer the area. 6. involved countries and organisations 6.1 PEople s REpublic of china The PRC is a permanent member of UNSC and directly involved with the South China Sea dispute. In order to dominate trade routes, deny access to foreign military and trade shipments and be owner of huge amounts of oil, China claims SCS with strong possibilities. China has been escalating tensions with its claims, by sending war ships, building military bases, by its increasing military power and its aggressive posture. For South China Sea, we can describe PRC as the main and the strongest power in the area. China has laid its claims on ancient Chinese dynasty records. These records generally about China s sovereignty on whole South China Sea. China has always tried to be sovereign in the SCS. In the past with Nine Dash Line and with other oppressive ways. China claims nearly whole South China Sea within Paracel, Spratly islands and Scarborough shoal. China has started late but was fast to construct on South China Sea s islands. In the last eighteen months, China has reportedly constructed more new island surface then all other nations have constructed throughout history. These islands surface including modern military bases, only China possess enough modern military vessels to protect its claims. According to PRC for resolving SCS dispute, only border countries must be involved 11
6.2 BRUNEi Brunei is one of the elected member of United Nations Security Council and involved with South China Sea territorial disputes due to its claims on the area. Brunei claims only territorial waters near its boundary, but also has conditions for claiming there. The territories that Brunei claims must be protected under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) agreement. That is all Brunei asks for. 6.3 indonesia Indonesia is one of the elected members of United Nations Security Council and is involved with SCS territorial dispute because of its borders. However in contrast to the other boundary countries, from the onset of the territorial disputes, Indonesia protects its position as a nonclaimant state. Nevertheless the stable position of country, the Chinese NineDash Line is including some parts of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Indonesia has repeatedly stated that the ninedash line claims over parts of the Natuna islands have no legal basis; statements have been issued stating that the country s sovereign rights in its EEZ would be protected at all costs. 6.4 malaysia Malaysia is one of the elected members of UNSC. And involved with SCS because of its claims on the region. Malaysia claims territorial waters around its borders and some islands in the Spratly Group. Also since 2009 Malaysia has been occupying some parts of Spratly Group. Malaysia s economy is sixth in the Asia, and twentieth in the world. The country which is Southeast s second largest oil and gas producer and world s third largest liquefied gas exporter constitutes nearly a third of its gains from SCS. Malaysia wants to make its relations stable with its neighbours. Especially with PRC because Malaysia also provides its resources from the zone of Chinese Nine Dash Line. The country which has strong relations with both PRC and other neighbours, sees itself as a peacemaker for SCS issue. 6.5 philippinnes The Republic of Philippines is one of the elected members of UNSC and is involved with SCS because of its geopolitical location and its territorial claims. As one of the border country of South China Sea. Alike with its neighbours Philippines also claims islands in the SCS. Due to its geopolitical proximity and as they are close to them along with Scarborough Islands, Philippines wants to be sovereign on the Spratly Islands. The Philippines has asked in the past for a tribunal of five arbitrators to declare China s claims under the ninedash line as invalid. In 2013, the Philippines also filed a case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, seeking a ruling on its right to exploit the waters, islands and reefs of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone. 12
6.6 vietnam One of the nonpermanent members of UNSC and is directly involved with this issue due to its territorial claims and geopolitical location. Also involved with building activities. Vietnam has become one of the world s strongest international arms importer. Also Vietnam disputes China s ancient claims on SCS, and says that they were ruling over both Spratly and Paracel Islands since 17th century. Vietnam claims whole Paracel islands, nearly all parts of Spratly islands, except Scarborough Shoal. 6.7 taiwan (the republic of china) Taiwan is one of the elected member of Security Council and involved with South China Sea issue because of its territorial claims. Taiwan claims huge part of Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. The country is not part of UNCLOS. Also the Republic of China is one of the countries that involved with building military bases activities with its allies. 6.8 united states of america The United States of America is one of the permanent and significant members of United Nations Security Council, and is involved with South China Sea dispute because of its interests in the area. Even though USA has not got any geopolitical proximity in the area, US has been playing major role in SCS. The most considerable effect of this situation is USA s allies in the area. USA has been supporting its regional allies such as Vietnam and Philippines with technological and military hardware to boost their power. The United States does not take a position on territorial disputes over features in the South China Sea. However, it does actively protest illegal claims to the waters surrounding these features, as well as illegal restrictions on navigation. Several states in the region have made such excessive maritime claims that illegally limit freedom of navigation. The United States conducts Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOP) in the South China Sea to protest these claims. Freedom of Navigation Operations are operated by U.S. naval and air forces that reinforce internationallyrecognized rights and freedoms by challenging excessive maritime claims. The particulars of each operation are determined by the excessive maritime claim that is being protested. US has conducted FONOP five times in the SCS. USA never opposed military base building activities of Vietnam, Philippines or even Taiwan, when they started in 1950s until 2000s. But when China started in 2000, US was hellbent to not to allow China s activities. And also USA never gave permission China to grow in the SCS due to its own strategic interests involved. USA considers SCS as international waters. So USA has always tried to get the Freedom of Navigation Operations and sailing of its warships and trade ships by using aircraft and naval vessels close to the Chinese vessels. Boundary countries such as China says the latest U.S. freedom of navigation operation infringed upon its sovereignty. For further information about Freedom of navigation you can visit: https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/files/publication/scs%20report%20%20web.pdf 13
6.9 north atlantic treaty organisation NATO has only minor possibilities for promoting cooperation between the states in the region around the South China Sea. Possibilities could include the development of interoperability between military forces in the region and to facilitate antipiracy operations. But China would most likely see NATO involvement as an extension to the USAChino conflict, thus an unwanted new organization in the region not to mention Europe's limited possibilities to have a permanent military presence in the South China Sea, unless it is heavily backed by US. 6.10 association of south east asian nations (asean) An organisation which established with the aim of promoting economic developments and political stability among members of the ASEAN. The members of the ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam. The organisation s basic aim is keeping member states relations stable with cooperation and to advance the interests of the whole region, including economic and trade growth. The nearly all member countries location located in the South China Sea. Which means member countries have borders in one of the world s most important economic region. The biggest criticism ASEAN is currently facing is the tensions caused by the South China Sea dispute, which involves the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. On 20 July 2011, the PRC, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam agreed to a set of preliminary guidelines which would help resolve the dispute. The agreement was described by the PRC's assistant foreign minister, Liu Zhenmin, as "an important milestone document for cooperation among China and ASEAN countries". Some of the early drafts acknowledged aspects such as "marine environmental protection, scientific research, safety of navigation and communication, search and rescue and combating transnational crime", although the issue of oil and natural gas drilling remains unresolved. 6.11 european union (eu) European Union is the organisation that gives respect to the international peace, security and law. And according to EU, SCS territorial dispute must be resolved in accordance with international law through peaceful and cooperative solutions. The EU contributes United Nations Convention on Law of Sea and Freedom of Navigation. Also EU aware of the fact that flaring up tensions will be an obstacle on international trade and investments 14
7. questions that resolution needs to answer What is the immediate action that United Nations can take? Can solution reduce or at least mitigate the tensions? Will the solution be permanent? Is the solution acceptable for international community? Can solution help prevent any kind of unexpected conflicts? What is the role of involved countries, such as claimant states, and what responsibilities they should afford? 8. simple table of claimant states COUNTRY SPRATLY ISLANDS PARCEL islands scarborough shoal water around ıts boundary P.R. CHINA TAIWAN VIETNAM BRUNEI PHILIPPINNES MALAYSIA INDONESIA (double plus means whole part of disputed islands) 15
9. references https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exfv0m0lci4 (highly suggested) http://www.visualcapitalist.com/explainedtensionsouthchinasea/ (highly suggested) https://thediplomat.com/tag/malaysiasouthchinaseapolicy/ https://outreach.un.org/mun/content/securitycouncil http://carlospromulo.org/wpcontent/uploads/2009/12/frasercameron.pdf https://csisprod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fspublic/140930_hiebert_perspectivessouthchinasea_web.pdf https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/aseanandthenewsouthchinaseareality/ http://www.wikizero.co/index.php?q=ahr0chm6ly9lbi53awtpcgvkaweub3jnl3dpa2kvqxnzb2npyxrpb25fb2zfu291dghlyxn0x0fzawfux05hdglvbnm https://www.cfr.org/interactives/globalconflicttracker#!/conflict/territorialdisputesinthesouthchinasea http://english.cctv.com/special/southchinasea/ https://www.lawfareblog.com/southchinaseadisputebriefhistory http://www.wikizero.co/index.php?q=ahr0chm6ly9lbi53awtpcgvkaweub3jnl3dpa2kvvgvycml0b3jpywxfzglzchv0zxnfaw5fdghlx1nvdxrox0noaw5hx1nlyq 16