Headline: Why is the South China Sea unquiet?

Publication: ST^ST

Date: Monday, 17 April 2017

Page: A18

Picture Caption: Left: Filipino fishermen in the waters near Scarborough Shoal with
Chinese vessels in the background in the disputed South China Sea earlier this
month. Top and above: China has started construction work on several land features
in the Spratly Islands, as seen in satellite images of Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief
Reef released by the CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Inititative.

(C) Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Primer

This is the fourth of 12 primers on current affairs issues that are part of the outreach
programme for The Straits Times-Ministry of Education National Current Affairs Quiz

Goh Sui Noi

China Bureau Chief

BEIJING Territorial disputes in the South China Sea among several countries have
been ongoing for decades but tension has been increasing in recent years.

Much of it is caused by what has been perceived as Chinas growing assertiveness

in its claims, beginning in 2009 with its presentation of a map to the United Nations.
The map showed its claim over almost the entire South China Sea represented by a
U-shaped, nine-dash line.

This put China in clear contention with all the other claimants Taiwan and Asean
member states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

But part of the tension is also caused by the United States entering the fray as it
rebalanced to the Asia-Pacific in 2011, paying more attention to this region.

Heres a look at why the South China Sea has become unquiet.

WHO IS CLAIMING WHAT

IN THE WATERS? China claims nearly all of the South China Sea in accordance with
an official map with a U-shaped, nine-dash line, drawn in 1947 by the then
Kuomintang government of the country. China bases its claims on historical naval
expeditions dating back to the 15th century.
It is not clear if China claims just the rocks, reefs and isles and the 200-nautical mile
exclusive economic zone they might generate or the entire area within the U-
shaped line. An exclusive economic zone is an expanse of water and seabed within
200-nautical miles of a countrys coastline to which the country can claim exclusive
rights for fishing and other economic activities.

Taiwans claims are similar to those of China as they are based on the same 1947
official map. However, its claims are to the land features within the U-shaped line,
including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Pratas Islands, Macclesfield Bank and
Scarborough Shoal.

Brunei and Malaysia claim parts of the Spratly Islands that overlap with claims by
China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Vietnam lays claims to all of the Paracel and Spratly isles while the Philippines
claims almost all of the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

Most claimants occupy some of the reefs and islands that they lay claim to, with
some having military garrisons on these land features.

While Indonesia does not have any claims to these disputed areas, Chinas nine-
dash line claim overlaps with the exclusive economic zone of Indonesias Natunas
Islands.

WHY ARE THESE COUNTRIES FIGHTING OVER UNINHABITABLE BARREN ROCKS,

REEFS AND ISLES? The waters around these islands are rich with fish and shellfish
and afford livelihoods to the fishermen of these countries. Laying claim to these
islands would be laying claim to the fishing grounds around these islands.

There are also potential oil and gas deposits beneath the seabed of the disputed
areas, although such resources in the Spratly and Paracel islands are not large,
according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). An EIA analysis
showed that most fields containing oil and natural gas are in uncontested parts of
the South China Sea, close to the shorelines of coastal countries.

According to the EIA, the South China Sea in total has about 11 billion barrels of oil
and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas of proved or probable reserves. These are
similar to the amount of proved reserves in Mexico.

HOW ELSE IS THE SOUTH CHINA SEA IMPORTANT? The South China Sea is one of the
worlds busiest waterways through which one-third or more than US$5 trillion (S$7
trillion) of the worlds trade passes annually. Crucially, much of the oil supplies of
the energy-starved North-east Asian countries of China, Japan and South Korea also
go through this waterway. For these countries, keeping the sea lanes open and free
of potential blockades is important.
China is particularly worried about being blockaded as there are American allies to
its east Japan, South Korea and the Philippines and the US navy has long been
dominant in the waters of the region.

WHY HAS TENSION ESCALATED

IN RECENT YEARS? The South China Sea territorial disputes started coming to the
fore in 2009 when Malaysia and Vietnam filed a joint submission to the United
Nations (UN) Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to extend their
continental shelves beyond the standard 200 nautical miles from their coastlines.

China objected to this, saying it has seriously infringed on Chinas sovereignty

over islands in the South China Sea. It sent a diplomatic note to the UN that
included the map with the U-shaped line claim to almost the entire sea, sparking
protests from the other claimants.

The following year at the Asean Regional Forum, a regional security meeting, then
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in on the disputes, to which the
Chinese responded sharply, raising tension another notch.

In 2011, the US announced a rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and this was
accompanied by a strengthening of US alliances and partnerships in the region.

The growing US focus on the region led to a sense among the Chinese of collusion
between the US and other regional claimant states over the disputes and this added
to the unease in the region.

In 2012, following a stand-off between the Chinese and Filipinos in the Scarborough
Shoal over a fishing dispute, the Chinese blockaded the area, preventing Filipino
fishermen from fishing there. Manila then brought a suit against Chinas claims in
the South China Sea, in 2013.

Through the years, China staked its claims in the South China Sea in various ways.
Its fishermen ventured far from the Chinese shores protected by accompanying
coast guard vessels. It imposed a unilateral summer ban on fishing in disputed
waters and detained or chased away foreign fishermen from these waters during
the ban period.

China started building artificial islands on several land features it occupies and built
airstrips and military facilities on them, leading to accusations that it was
militarising the South China Sea.

Matters came to a head in July last year when the international arbitral tribunal
ruling on the case brought by Manila ruled that Chinas claims were invalid. China
rejected the ruling. But things have calmed down somewhat as the Philippines
under President Rodrigo Duterte has put aside the ruling in favour of economic
cooperation with China.
HOW HAVE COUNTRIES IN

THE REGION SOUGHT TO MANAGE THE DISPUTES? While not all 10 Asean nations
are involved in the territorial disputes, the grouping has sought to be united on the
issue. It has tried to manage the disputes to prevent them from escalating and
destabilising the region, by negotiating an agreement with China. The result was the
2002 Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Among other things, this non-binding agreement stated that the parties concerned
should resolve their disputes by peaceful means through direct negotiation in
accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea. It stated that signatories should exercise self-restraint in the conduct of
activities that could escalate the disputes.

The agreement also provided for the eventual adoption of a legally binding code of
conduct (COC) to manage the disputes.

The Declaration has not been fully observed by the claimant states and talks on the
code have been sporadic.

However, the case brought by the Philippines gave impetus to talks on the COC and
after the tribunal ruling, the Chinese agreed to a mid-year deadline this year for the
completion of a framework for the code.

A draft of the framework was completed early this year.

Singapore is not a claimant state and does not take sides in the South China Sea
disputes. But as a small, open, trade-dependent nation, it wants to uphold values
such as freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, and a rules-based
regional and international order that protects the rights and privileges of all states
and respects legal and diplomatic processes in the resolution of disputes.

WHY HAVE COUNTRIES

FROM OUTSIDE THE REGION

ENTERED THE FRAY? Chinas assertiveness has led claimant states like Vietnam and
the Philippines, and other countries in the region, to seek closer security ties to
outside powers such as Japan and the United States.

Vietnam and the Philippines have bought coast guard vessels from Japan while the
Philippines has strengthened its security pact with the US.

Vietnam has also begun naval exercises with the US.

Japan, for its part, wants to ensure that the sea lanes of the South China Sea remain
open, as much of its trade and oil supply go through them. It worries about Chinas
militarisation of the South China Sea and its potential to control the waterway.
The US has maintained it does not take a position in the disputes but that it has a
national interest in the freedom of navigation and overflight, open access to Asias
maritime commons and respect for international law in the South China Sea.

It has conducted several freedom of navigation operations close to islands claimed

by the Chinese to challenge what it sees as Chinas excessive maritime claims.

It has also sought to strengthen its security alliances and partnerships in the region.

There are analysts who see the US actions as a pushback against Chinese
assertiveness, which Washington sees as a challenge to its dominance in the Asia-
Pacific region.

Indeed, Chinas assertiveness goes beyond its territorial claims. It also seeks to
dominate the South China Sea militarily in the long term, analysts have said.

HOW CAN ASEAN MANAGE CHINAS GROWING REACH? While Asean has welcomed
the US pivot to the region as a hedge against China, it cannot rely fully on the US.
As rivals, the US and China will want to find ways to accommodate each other,
possibly at the expense of the regions interests.

What Asean can do is to build Asean unity and cohesion, multilateralism and open
regionalism.

Unity and cohesion will give the grouping strength in numbers to stand firm on
issues like the South China Sea disputes.

It can dilute Chinas influence in the region by strengthening its multilateral

institutions like the East Asian Summit and the Asean Regional Forum, which involve
countries and groupings with interests in the region, such as the US, India and the
European Union.

Likewise, its open regionalism which gives countries outside the region a stake in it
can help to counter China s influence.

suinoi@sph.com.sg
Headline: About the Big Quiz

Publication: ST^ST

Date: Monday, 17 April 2017

Page: A18

(C) Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Each Monday, the papers journalists will address burning questions in the Opinion section,
offering unique Singaporean perspectives on complex issues.

These primers form part of the outreach of The Straits Times- Ministry of Education National
Current Affairs Quiz, nicknamed The Big Quiz, which aims to promote an understanding of local
and global issues among preuniversity students.

Underpinning this years Big Quiz is a focus on disruption, a timely issue as various sectors and
industries adapt to this global change.

The theme will be featured in six campus talks helmed by editors and correspondents.

Six quiz rounds will also be held for students to demonstrate their current affairs knowledge.

The nationwide event is jointly organised by The Straits Times and the Ministry of Education,
with the Singapore Press Holdings Foundation as its presenting sponsor.

Pre-university schools and institutions can note these dates for participation in the coming quiz
rounds and talks:

April 19 at Nanyang Junior College

April 26 at Temasek Junior College

May 12 at Eunoia
Junior College

For more information or to view additional resources: http://www.straitstimes. com/tags/ the-big-

quiz

For more information on this weeks primer topic, go to: http://str.sg/4Xew

Publication: ST^ST

Date: Monday, 17 April 2017

Page: A18

(C) Singapore Press Holdings Limited

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