DIRECTIONS:

Look for sources used by the Philippines and China in their respective claims of sovereignty over
the Scarborough Shoal

Scarborough Shoal is a rocky outcropping in the South China Sea, 120 nautical miles west of the
Philippine Island of Luzon. Scarborough Shoal does not have any structures, but it is effectively
controlled by China, which has had a coast guard presence there since 2012.

 Sources used by the Philippines:

 A CNA Occasional Paper

Philippine Claims in the South China

Sea: A Legal Analysis

Mark E. Rosen, JD, LLM

With a Foreword by CNA Senior Fellow Michael McDevitt

Scarborough Shoal, along with all other Spanish maritime features surrounding the Philippines
archipelago, was transferred from Spain to the United States in 1898, according to the Philippines. The
Philippines inherited ownership to the Scarborough Shoal after gaining independence from the United
States.

The

Philippine claims to sovereignty over the features known as Scarborough Shoal and the KIG are
independent of its archipelagic status both legally and historically. Because Scarborough Shoal is a
feature which exists above high tide, it is capable of [sovereign] appropriation under international law.

As regards the Philippines, these legal conclusions are reached:

 The Philippines has a superior claim to Scarborough Shoal.

Reed Bank should be legally classified as a feature which is part of the Philippine continental shelf.

 The ubiquitous KIG claim by the Philippines carries little legal weight. It stands on the same
footing as the nine-dashed-line claim. Also, it was made later than the claims of China, the ROC,
and Vietnam.
 The Philippines has a superior claim to four specific high-tide elevations in the KIG based on a
principle of first discovery and effective occupations – namely, West York, Nanshan Island, Flat
Island, and Lankiam Cay.
 The Philippines is illegally occupying two small islands in the KIG that are the rightful property of
Vietnam (based on the French annexation document): Thitu (Pagasa) Island and Loaita (Kota)
Island. It is possible that Northeast Cay should be included on this list, but more evidence is
needed.
 Sources used by China:
 Geopolitics of Scarborough Shoal
François-Xavier Bonnet
November 2012

Scarborough is the largest atoll in the South China Sea, located some 220 kilometers from the
Philippines. The shoal is located inside the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines but is claimed by
China as its ancestral territory since the 13th century. The paper considers the strategic importance of
the shoal for the two countries. Then, using unpublished records and documents from China, the
Philippines, and the United States, the author will show that the two countries claimed Scarborough
Shoal in the 1930s, each without the knowledge of the other, and performed few actions that asserted
their sovereignty up to the 1990s.

For China, Scarborough Shoal is of utmost importance for its claim over the Zhongsha Qundao
(Zhongsha Islands or archipelago) and consequently to the features located inside the controversial “U-
shape line”. In effect, the Zhongsha Qundao is composed of Macclesfield Bank, Truro Shoal, Saint Esprit
Shoal, Dreyer Shoal, and Scarborough Shoal. All these banks and shoals, except for Scarborough Shoal,
are under several meters of water even during low tide.7 Chinese policymakers know too well that
without Huangyan Island, the chance of having their ownership over Zhongsha Qundao recognized is nil.
If China loses Huangyan/Scarborough, it will lose Zhongsha Qundao, which could be divided by the EEZs
of the neighboring countries or placed under the regime of the high seas. By consequence, China’s
entire claim to the South China Sea supported by the “U-shape line” would be moot and academic.

To support their claim to Zhongsha Qundao, the Chinese describe Scarborough Shoal as an
island (Huangyan Island). Article 121 of UNCLOS defines an island as a “naturally formed area of land,
surrounded by water which is above water at high tide”.8 In theory, island status would allow the
drawing of, from Scarborough Shoal’s baselines, not only a territorial sea (12 nm) and a contiguous zone
(24 nm), but also an EEZ (200 nm) and a continental shelf. In this case, Scarborough Shoal would give to
China a huge and disproportionate maritime territory. It is, nevertheless, doubtful that UNCLOS could
recognize Scarborough Shoal as an island. Pictures 2 and 3 show clearly that the shoal has few rocks
above sea level at high tide. Rocks are defined in UNCLOS Article 121 (3) as elements that cannot sustain
human habitation or economic life of their own. Scarborough Shoal satisfies these two criteria as both
Filipino and Chinese fishermen live on their boats during the fishing season; none could live on these
rocks, and all the logistics come from the two mainland’s’. The irony is that the representatives of China
have affirmed in various international forums that:

“If a 200-mile limit of jurisdiction could be founded on the possession of uninhabited, remote or very
small islands, the effectiveness of international administration of ocean space beyond national
jurisdiction would be gravely impaired”.

Identify which are the primary sources.

 1. Primary sources (Philippines)

CNA is a nonprofit research and analysis organization

dedicated to the safety and security of the nation. CNA's
Center for Naval Analyses is the federally funded research
and development center (FFRDC) for the United States
Navy and Marine Corps. It also provides research and
analysis services to other military and government
agencies to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness
of U.S. national defense efforts.

2. Primary sources (China)

IRASEC aims to develop French

research on contemporary Southeast
Asia. The Institute’s various research
projects cover political, social,
economic and environmental
processes, as well as regional
integration dynamics among the
region’s 11 countries — Brunei
Darussalam, Burma/Myanmar,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. In addition to producing regional
and country-based research works, the Institute identifies ASEAN as an object of study.

Also, look for the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and explain the reason for its
decision.
 On this day five years ago, an international tribunal invalidated Beijing's claim to much of the South
China Sea in a landmark decision. On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague
stated that there was no proof that China had enjoyed exclusive control of the crucial waterway in the
past. After the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands, dismissed Beijing's
nine-dash line claim that includes practically the entire South China Sea, the Philippines won its
arbitration lawsuit against China.

The tribunal determined that both Chinese and Filipino fishermen had the right to engage in
traditional fishing in Scarborough Shoal, which has a handful of rocks that break water at high tide,
regardless of who eventually claims jurisdiction over the shoal.

The international community must explain to the Chinese people why the claim of the 9-dashed line
is illegal under international law. UNCLOS is the rule of law in the West Philippine Sea conflict. All the
dispute's claimant states are UNCLOS parties, and they are obligated to uphold their treaty
responsibilities under UNCLOS in good faith.