Thea Enriquez

AB Political Science – 4A

Thought Paper – South China Sea

South China Sea: China’s Nine-Dash Line and Ruling

Nine-dash Line

The "nine-dash line," as it is revealed to the public, is at the core of the South China Sea
issue, claiming to circumvent as much as 90 percent of the disputed waters. The boundary
expands for nearly 2,000 kilometers from of the main area of China to within kilometers near the
Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Beijing wants to take control of all terrain and features along
the border, asserting hazy "traditional marine privileges" in the process. China now asserts
undisputed ownership over the South China Sea, which several Chinese officials allude to as
the "blue national soil". It is a terminology for the nation's coastal water. The foundations of the
nine-dash line can be dated directly to the Nationalist Kuomintang's nautical charts, and while the
notion of the nine-dash line has been existing since 1947, Chinese charts for the longest period
of time scarcely paid it any significance. This began to alter in 2009, when China adapted a map
depicting the nine-dash line in paperwork provided to the UN throughout a conflict with Vietnam.
Chinese travel documents now feature a diagram of the South China Sea with nine dashes, as
well as a 10th dash that guarantees Taiwan is regarded as territory of China. However, there is
still a lot of confusion about what China's nine-dash line means. "The dash lines reveal the sea,
islands, and reefs ultimately belong to China and that China has sovereign control," according to
studies. However, it is disjointed, allowing other nations to casually cross over the borders." As
far as other states were concerned, the nine-dash line is seen as a "non - realistic assertion to
ownership and authority over all of the characteristics, ground, water, and seafloor inside the
region surrounded by the nine-dash line," according to Australian National University. " Many
countries are concerned about this." On the other extreme end, China may interpret the nine-dash
line as a container inside which it asserts jurisdiction above any higher altitude and administrative

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What Does the Nine-Dash Line Actually Mean? Accessed https://thediplomat.com/2016/06/what-does-

the-nine-dash-line-actually-mean/
Whatever happened to the South China Sea ruling? Accessed at https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-
interpreter/whatever-happened-south-china-sea-ruling
claims over any matching marine areas (e.g., territorial sea, EEZ, or continental shelf) formed by
that feature. This would be consistent with what China claimed about its sovereignty in its
objection when it signed UNCLOS in 1996, as well as some sections of their foreign complaint
letters in reply to Malaysia's expanded continental margin assertion in the South China Sea. Other
applicants would be unhappy with such an explanation because China would keep claiming
autonomy over land claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and others. China's nine-dash
line is significant because it underpins Beijing's assertion to historical rights in the area, despite
the fact that neither Beijing nor Taipei have ever had effective sovereignty over the entire region,
which spans more than 2 million square kilometers. Other claimants, such as the Philippines,
Malaysia, and Brunei, base their claims on vicinity, while Vietnam, with 29 coral atolls in the
Spratlys, emphasizes that it proactively manages the region. The Philippines is taking the line to
an arbitration panel under UNCLOS to challenge its validity. A country has jurisdiction over seas
12 nautical miles from its coastline and exclusive jurisdiction over commercial activity 200 nautical
miles out, as per the agreement. Beijing claims to have empirical proof of its ownership over land
further out into the sea. If the Philippines prevails, China's assertions will be severely weakened,
and surrounding nations will have legal grounds for their holdings.

Ruling

Countries have the sole right to pursue the commodities of and develop uninhabited
islands inside their exclusive economic zones (EEZ) under article 56 of the United Nations
Conventions and Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory. As a result, any part
of the nine-dash line which is within a foreign country's EEZ is illegal. International law forbids
China from mobilizing resources or forming territories in other countries' EEZs. Thus, as I have
understood, all of the dashes on China's 9 dash line which is within the EEZs of the Philippines
and Vietnam are unlawful assertions.

The precise condition of the geographical characteristics they inhabit is China's only viable
entitlement to area within no states' EEZ. For example, China's territorial claims on the Subi,
Gaven, and Fiery Cross areas are located outside of any nation's EEZ in the South China Sea.

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Beijing rejects tribunal's ruling in South China Sea case Accessed at

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china
The Validity of the 9 Dash Line Accessed at
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4791710315c54e6fb963e10496faa4db
However, because the Gaven and Fiery Cross artificial islands are built on boulders and Subi reef
is built on a low tidal altitude, the first is only eligible to twelve miles of maritime boundary, while
the latter has no legal borders under UNCLOS. As a result, China can only retain control over a
twelve-mile perimeter surrounding the Gaven and Fiery Cross reefs. Thus, any assertion beyond
that is illegal.

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Rejection of China's 'nine-dash line' spreads from Asia to Europe Accessed at

https://www.state.gov/fifth-anniversary-of-the-arbitral-tribunal-ruling-on-the-south-china-
sea/#:~:text=Five%20years%20ago%2C%20an%20Arbitral,no%20basis%20in%20international%20law.