Asia’s disputed waters

Why in the News?

Recently, Philippines removed barriers placed by Chinese vessels at the entrance to a lagoon off the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea (SCS).

• The Chinese Coast Guard ships placed a 30om long barrier to prevent the entry of boats from the Philippines.
• This became the latest in long-running tensions in the South China Sea.

  

Significance of SCS:

1. The South China Sea is a strategic body of water adjoining the Western Pacific.
2. The countries that open to the sea include China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Philippines.
3. Philippines refers to the waters off its coast as the West Philippine Sea. 
4. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) states that about $3.37 trillion worth of trade passed through the SCS in 2016.
   1. 64% of Chinese trade passes through the sea, the highest for any country.
   2. Only 14% of U.S. trade passes through it.
5. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that 80% of global trade by volume and 70% by value is transported by sea, of which one-third of global shipping passes through SCS.

Tensions In SCS and ramifications in the Indo-Pacific region

1. UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that, every state “has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles” and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the territorial sea baseline.
2. The SCS dispute involves multiple claims to the land features such as islands and reefs and associated territorial waters. 
   1. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) reports that nearly 70 disputed reefs and islets are under contestation.
   2. China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan have built more than 90 outposts on these disputed features. 
   3. Taiwan has one outpost in the Spratlys on Itu Aba island, the largest natural feature in the Spratly Island. 
3. China’s activities:
   1. It has 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and 7 in the Spratly Island.
   2. It has exerted control of the Scarborough Shoal through a constant Coast Guard presence since 2012.
   3. China indulged in activities of dredging and artificial island-building in the Spratlys, creating 3,200 acres of new land, along with a substantial expansion of its presence in the Paracels.

Diplomacy and arbitration:

1. Given the complexity of the disputes and the multiple claimants mostly members of ASEAN, the grouping has focused on drafting a Code of Conduct (CoC).
   1. A Declaration on the Conduct of parties (DoC) was adopted in 2002 by the foreign Ministers of ASEAN and China for affirming “commitments to the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS”. 
   2. The DoC also aimed at paving the way to a CoC.
2. Case at Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA):
   1. Philippines initiated arbitral proceedings against China under UNCLOS for its violation, in 2013.
   2. China refused to participate, deeming the PCA as illegal.
   3. China claims in SCS is via “nine dash line”, the line that claims all of the South China Sea’s islands and features by China and stated that its claims are based on “historical rights” to the “waters and islands”.
   4. The PCA ruling:
      1. China’s claims were inconsistent with UNCLOS, as its historic rights to resources in the waters of the SCS extinguished due to its incompatibility with the EEZ provided for in the convention.
      2. There is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’.
      3. Under UNCLOS, “islands generate an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and a continental shelf” but “rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf”.
      4. China rejected the ruling and issued a white paper claiming China’s sovereignty and relevant rights established throughout its history.