On May 2nd, 2014 the Chinese National Offshore Oil Cooperation’s oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 (HS981) began drilling in disputed waters just off the coast of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The drilling was met with outrage by both the Vietnamese government and its people who claim that the People’s Republic of China is drilling in waters belonging to Vietnams Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). China responds stating the waters as belonging to them, and thus debate, protests and attacks ensued.
The dispute regarding the division of the South China Sea has been a long one and can be understood in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Law of Seas (UNCLOS). Brunei Darussalam, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam are the states that claim sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea, but the UNCLOS does not address questions of sovereignty over land . However under UNCLOS the claim of maritime zones is made by using the coastal baselines by which a zone is measured. The Convention lays outs means of determining breadth of the zone, rights and obligations of coastal states, and also set out provisions in order to settle disputes between parties over the application of the convention rules .
According to UNCLOS a coastal state can claim an EEZ by measuring 200 nautical miles from the baseline of its mainland coasts. Furthermore within the EEZ, as per the UNCLOS, the claimant coastal states have,
‘Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the pro...
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A Beijing power play in the South China Sea is met with U.S. inaction, The Washington Post, 13 May 2014, retrieved 06 June 2014 http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-beijing-power-play-in-the-south-china-sea-is-met-with-us-inaction/2014/05/12/f0602134-d9ef-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html
ASEAN leaders express ‘serious concern’ over escalating disputes in South China Sea, The National, 12 May 2014, retrieved 03 June 2014, http://www.thenational.ae/world/southeast-asia/asean-leaders-express-serious-concern-over-escalating-disputes-in-south-china-sea
Notes verbale CML/8/2011 from the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN Secretary General, 14 April 2011
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, United Nations Conference on the Law od Sea, Montego Bay: Jamaica, 10 December 1982, p. 7-208
However, if any action is taken to defend the coastline, if you hinder in nature's course of beach erosion, there will always be after effects resulting from unnatural intrusion. This proves that any sea defence could prove a problem especially with the land owned by Nation Trust. Nevertheless if you could prove to the owners of the land to the extent of which erosion is taken place and show them how much LSD is affecting the area, action may well become a better option.
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:
...ities as a responsible state holder. One of the consequences of the international community questioning China’s military capabilities is that the international community could potentially induce an unproductive arms race with China. If China is to participate in the race, China will have a weakened competitive position in the races of economic and intellectual strength. Secondly, China will lose the ability to use its army as a form of soft power therefore making it harder to believe that China can be a responsible state holder since it will seem like propaganda. In terms of China, the world is in a very exciting position with the promotion of the China’s model an alternative governing system is being offered. However, we need to remain vigilant and aware for just as quickly as China rose, it has the potential to fall as well if it doesn’t play it’s cards right.
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.
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how the growing Chinese presence in Kenya affects the United States’ international interests. In order to do this, we must look at how China was able to create such a presence, what the U.S. did or failed to do to alleviate this, Kenya’s view on both the U.S. and China, and if the U.S. would benefit from expanding or decreasing economic investments in the country.
...ny. In the UN, China has been known for voting against resolutions such as interventions and imposing of sanctions.
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).
The Web. The Web. 27 May 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1354343?ref=search-gateway:1c7b5d35c756095be3255402d85e5e3f>. Nathan, Andrew J. "U.S.-China Relations Since 1949."
...ghur rights, as human beings, being violated, and who's responsibility is it to make sure that rights aren’t violated, as well as if China is living up to its responsibilities as a world power, to take care of its people.
" Journal of International Affairs 52.2 (1999): 691. Academic Search Elite -. Web. The Web. The Web.
Given these sets of circumstances, china, Taiwan and United States have much to gain and even more to lose if an armed conflict erupts in the Taiwan Strait. All three countries have political, economic, and national security issues involved and united states and china are both in competition economic...
The Instability of China–US Relations", The Chinese Journal of International Politics 3, no. 3 (2010): 263-292, http://cjip.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/3/263.
China's Foreign Policy Since the initial warming of U.S.-China relations in the early 1970’s, policymakers have had difficulty balancing conflicting U.S. policy concerns in the People’s Republic of China. In the strange world of diplomacy between the two, nothing is predictable. From Nixon to Clinton, presidents have had to reconcile security and human rights concerns with the corporate desire for expanded economic relations between the two countries. Nixon established ties with Mao Zedong’s brutal regime in 1972. And today, Clinton’s administration is trying to influence China’s course from within a close economic and diplomatic relationship.
Ng, Teddy. “Rise of China’s Military and Economic Power Leaves the Rest of the World Wary.” South China Morning Post. South China Morning Post Publishers. 20 Sep 2012. Web. 10 Mar 2014.
Fedman, David. "Rethinking Asia: “Smart Power” and US-China Policy." The Olive & Arrow. The Word Press, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2011. .