THE SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTES UNDER VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL LAW
Introduction
The features in the South China Sea (‘SCS’) have become the root of tensions and conflicts in the region for years. Generally, that is the dispute on territory and sovereignty over ocean in whole or in part by countries in region. The case has dominated headlines for more than four decades not only because it complicatedly involves ‘multiple claimants contend over issues of sovereignty’ but also because it raises awareness on the regional security. Additionally, the case, which causes a number of legal questions, is both challenge and interesting regarding International Law legal studies. This essay will approach key elements of the issue as well as discuss on the dispute settlement in light of international law.
1. Overview on the dispute
1.1. What is the conflict about?
The main subject of the longstanding territorial disputes, the SCS area, is a “semi-enclosed sea in the western Pacific Ocean spanning an area of almost 3.5 million square kilometres”. The area can be grouped into two island chains, the Paracel Islands lie in the northwest corner
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First, SCS embraces the rich and diverse natural and living resources, especially vast undersea deposit of oil and gas. The impressed data on the SCS show that “roughly two thirds of South Korea’s energy supplies, nearly 60 per cent of Japan’s and Taiwan’s energy supplies, and 80 per cent of China’s crude oil imports come through the South China Sea”. Along with the economic value, the area keeps the main fishing lances, accounting for the portion that “more than half of the world’s annual merchant fleet tonnage passes through these choke points and a third of all maritime traffic worldwide.” Finally, to some certain extend, States consider controlling the sea means to strengthen political position, to enhance country pride and to protect history of
Under the UN 1982 treaty, a state’s territorial sea extends twelve nautical miles from the national coastline (Slomanson 305). Within this area, Ecuador exercises its sovereignty over these waters as if it were a landmass (Slomanson 305). All aspects of the sea are under its control, including the seabed and airspace. Furthermore, Ecuador is allowed to impose laws that regulate the territory and consume resources that lie inside this defined area. Within this territorial sea, Ecuador “must exercise its sovereign power in this adjacent strip of water” (Slomanson 305). Additionally, Ecuador is expected to chart this water and to provide warning of navigational hazards (Slomanson 305). However, Ecuador did not act upon this and was “lax in enforcing it”. In 1951, the International Court of Justice issued this statement in response to a ruling:
The book China Marine by E. B. Sledge was a biography about the life of E.B. Sledge as a Marine during his guard duty in North China. During the Pacific War, Sledge tired of waiting for his academic degree and officer’s commission. He decided to leave Georgia Tech and enlisted in the Marine to join the war. In 1944, he survived from Peleliu and Okinawa War. Those were murderous battles and he was in the front lines as an infantryman serving in a rifle company of the First Marine Division. After the strong fought with Japanese soldier, on 14 August 1945, Japanese had surrendered unconditionally and the World War II was over. Sledge and his marines’ comrades felt blessed after they heard that announcement. They thought that they would be going home after the war ended. However, they got a new command that they should go to North China to secure the region from China Communist. In this book, Sledge wanted to tell about the effect of America in China civil war and the story about the life of Sledge while he was at North China.
First, if the CCP recognizes Taipei as an independent state, the CCP risks losing it bargaining power over the decisions and actions taken in regard to the island. A country’s bargaining power is the strength of a states claim over the disputed territory. A decline in this power mea...
United Nations , "United Nations and Convention on the Law of the Sea:Division for Ocean Affairs and the LAw of the Sea." Accessed November 27, 2013. http://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/UNCLOS-TOC.htm.
Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and Russia all claimed sole trading points to their selected “spheres of influence.” Some of these countries’ even claimed that the territory that lay within their spheres was their own. With the United States’ recent acquisition of the Philippines, they too were now an Asian power just 400 miles away from Mainland China. This closeness resulted in American businesses hoping to take advantage of China’s tremendous resources. The various spheres of influence, however, challenged their ambitions.
方玥雯[Fang Yue Wen] (2009). 北韓核武研發與東北亞安全：2002-2007. [The North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and the Security in Northeast Asia: 2002-2007] in台灣[Taiwan]: 國立政治大學[National Cheungchi University] Retrieved 18 July, 2013 from http://nccuir.lib.nccu.edu.tw/handle/140.119/37029
China is the most populous state in the world, with over 1.3 trillion inhabitants (Central Intelligence Agency 2010). Because of its large population base, China also has the largest military and a booming economy that is third only America and Japan in terms of GDP; however, economic trends show that Japan’s economy is stagnating, while the American Chinese economies continue to spike upward (Google, Inc. 2010). Despite its growing economy and large military force, China lags behind America in technology and naval power. Chinese Admiral Wu Shengli said, “The Navy will move faster in researching and building new-generation weapons to boost the ability to fight in regional sea wars under the circumstance of information technology” (Xuequan 2009). This quote shows that China wants to remain a regional sea power, and not develop a blue-water navy that can compete with the American navy. Furthermore, a Popular Mechanics article showed the world that China was stealing American military “leap ahead” technology, or technology that is decades ahead of Chinese technology (Cooper 2009).
Laver, R. C. (2001). The Falklands/Malvinas Case: Breaking the Deadlock in the Anglo-Argentine Sovereignty Dispute. Developments in International Law , 40, 66-71.
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes tells us about seven voyages made by junk armadas during the Chinese emperor Zhu Di's reign. 'Treasure ships' as they were called, were under the command of admiral Zheng He, these ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine objects of value. They sailed from India to East Africa, throughout Korea and Japan, and possibly as far as Australia. She believes that China might have been able to create a great colonial realm one hundred years before the Europeans explored and expanded, from China's navy of some three thousand ships.
In the book, When China Ruled the Seas, Levathes talks about seven voyages made by the Chinese armadas during emperor Zhu Di's reign. Admiral Zheng was in control of many “Treasure ships”. These ships traded silk, porcelain, and many other fine goods. They sailed from India to East Africa, through Korea and Japan, and might have even traveled all the way to Australia. Levathes believes that it could have been very possible for China to have been able to create a great kingdom to rule over one hundred years before the Europeans even explored and expanded, with China's giant navy of about three thousand of these large treasure ships.
Since the end of the Second World War, the shape of the relations between the nations in the Pacific region has stayed more or less the same way until the present. However, there has been one big changed that affected the situation in the Pacific region and it was the outbreak of the Korean war and the creation of a Communist North Korea. This brought a huge inevitable change in relations between countries in the region. The stability that was brought about with the end of the Second World War disappeared and a new type of tension appeared. This especially affected the relations between the Korea and Japan to a great extent. In the past few years, the two countries have been seeking cooperation for the common aim of keeping the security in the Pacific region but things did not always work out fine due to many reasons including the historic background of two countries. In this paper, the historical background, the chronology of main events, the development of the relations and the current situation regarding the security and cultural issues, between Korea and Japan will be examined and analysed, which will be followed by a conclusion.
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