The South China Sea

A new theatre of global chess game

China asserts undisputable sovereignty over South China Sea and Islands. These claims are rooted in historical realities. China is opposed to any country engaging in oil and gas exploration and development activities in waters under Chinese jurisdiction. However there are disputes regarding both the Spartly and Paracel islands as well as maritime boundaries in the gulf of Tonkin and elsewhere among several nations including Peoples Republic of China, Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines. The exploitation of the crude oil reserves, natural gas under several parts of the South China Sea and strategic control of important shipping lanes ostensibly form the cause of these disputes. China-Japan dispute over Senkaku Islands is another worrying factor. Japan seized Xisha and Nansha islands in a war with China. The Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation clearly demanded of Japan to return the Chinese territories captured by it. China after the war of resistance against Japanese aggression recovered these Islands and stationed troops and set up various military and civil facilities on the Islands.

Nevertheless despite claiming sovereignty over the area, China has repeatedly and unequivocally made it clear that it was ready to engage in peaceful negotiations and friendly consultations to peacefully resolve the disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights so as to positively contribute to peace and tranquillity in the South China Sea area, without foreign powers getting involved in the disputes between the countries of the region. Since 1960s, staying true to its commitment, China has settled boundary questions with 12 out of its 14 neighbours. China and Viet Nam have delimited the maritime boundary in the Beibu Gulf through bilateral negotiations in the spirit of good neighbourliness and international law.

However, since the US has started refocusing on the area after a long prelude following the Viet Nam fiasco, to expand its commercial and military interests, to exploit the oil and gas reserves in the area and aggressively pursuing to check the burgeoning expansion in the Chinese commercial interests in the region and beyond, made possible by the phenomenal economic resurgence by China and the consequential military prowess attained by her, the region seems to have become the theatre of a new global Chess Game. The US has not only taken a number of daring naval expeditions in the jurisdictional area of China on the basis of freedom of navigation but has also been encouraging its allies like Japan, Philippines and other states to pursue their disputes with China regarding sovereignty on islands and maritime areas more vigorously.

The latest provocation by US occurred on May 10. A US warship sailed within 12 miles of an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, which according to Pentagon was an operation intended to show that the US opposes China’s efforts to restrict navigation in the strategic waterway. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that the US threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests. Chinese ministry of Defence said that three Chinese aircraft and three warships had expelled the American vessel from China’s waters. As an indication of the mounting tensions, China’s military said that it was conducting exercises in the South China Sea this week with warships, submarines, aircraft and troops from the garrisons in the Spratly archipelago and the Paracel Islands. The US Navy had conducted similar manoeuvres around the Paracel Islands in January and another in October last year around Subi Reef, in the Spartly archipelago.

In the past two years, China has built seven artificial islands in the South China Sea, including Fiery Cross Reef. Beijing says it owns the islands, rocks and shoals — and the waters around them — in a giant expanse of the South China Sea, overlapping with claims made by countries such as Indonesia, Viet Nam and  the Philippines.

Regarding China’s dispute with Philippines it is noteworthy that before 1970s the latter never made any territorial claims in the South China Sea after which it illegally occupied China’s maritime features in the Nansha Islands, violating the UN Charter. These were the areas beyond the territory demarcated in the Treaty of Paris between the United States and Spain in 1898, between UK, Spain and US delimiting the boundary between the Philippines Archipelago and the State of North Borneo in 1930.

China tried to resolve the dispute through bilateral negotiations; a solemn commitment by the Philippines made in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in The South China Sea (DOC). However Philippines took some irresponsible and unilateral actions including exploration of oil and gas to escalate tensions.  China wrested the control of shoal, used by Filipino fishermen in 2012. In early 2013, the Philippines filed a suit at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague which has concluded its hearing and will be delivering a verdict in the near future.

China refused to take part in the proceedings, rightly maintaining that Philippines’ action to invoke arbitration violated the DOC’s spirit and that the UN Convention on the Law of Sea didn’t apply here. China has clearly indicated that it wouldn’t accept the verdict of the court of arbitration. China is justified in rejecting the Philippines’s arbitration, which must be sought with all parties’ agreement and not unilaterally, infringing on China’s territorial sovereignty.

The China – Philippines stalemate, US interventionist designs, Japan’s doctrine of ‘collective self-defence’ and US-Japan regional security alliance are very ominous portents. In view of deepening disputes with Japan over Senkaku Islands, Chinese fears of Japan relapsing into early-twentieth century imperialism cannot be dismissed lightly. China’s shown remarkable restraint against these provocations in line with the new policy of peaceful co-existence and resolution of disputes through dialogue. It’s in regional interest to see lurking dangers and not let the situation get out of hand. The settlement of disputes through bilateral channels without outside intervention is the only way for them to avoid getting sucked into the likely conflict between the two giant powers of the world. It is, however, encouraging to note that Russia endorses the position taken by China in regards to settlement of disputes between her and other states of the region through bilateral channels, which in a way can act as a counter balance to US indiscretions in the area.

It may not be out of place to mention that the new China is all for regional peace and shared economic prosperity as is amply corroborated by its initiative to set up Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the unleashing of ‘One Belt, One Road’ concept which also includes CPEC that is aimed at unfurling the economic potential of the whole region and sharing the fruits of the economic bonanza. These initiatives reinforce its credentials as a peace loving nation.