In the western part of the Pacific Ocean, overlapping maritime claims have been the sources of political tension and outright conflict. Brunei , China, Indonesia, Malaysia , the Philippines, Taiwan , and Viet Nam all assert conflicting rights to control of passage in the South China Sea, to the small rocky outcroppings, or to the marine resources. 1 In the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, similar issues plague relations between China, Japan, and South Korea . 2 At stake are the undersea mineral resources (including possible oil and natural gas reserves), access to fishing areas (traditionally exploited by vessels from many countries), and the ability to meet security concerns such as controlling the movement of military or commercial vessels.
Figure 1.1 provides a picture of the overlapping maritime claims. 3 While many countries are involved in these conflicts, China predominates. This is a result of a number of factors, including the country’s size and geographic centrality, the extent of China’s claims, and the explosive growth of the Chinese economy spurring an expansion of both the fishing and naval defense fleets. China’s claims follow from those made by the Republic of China in 1947 on the basis of a “nine-dashed line ” on a historical map of the region (US EIA 2013). As a result of this history, the Government in Taiwan generally has “mirrored” the claims by China (BBC 2015a), although not completely. 4 The other countries’ claims are generally smaller; often claims of exclusive economic zones flowing from their respective coastlines such as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). 5
Fig. 1.1
Overlapping maritime claims Source: US EIA 2013 (http://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis_includes/regions_of_interest/South_China_Sea/images/maritime_claims_map.png)
Table 1.1 provides a summary list of some of these disputes with a short, representative note on the overlapping claims and examples of the violence these have occasioned. A perspective on the political disagreements in the region can be judged by the way the names used for the various bodies of water are contested, see Box 1.1. Although the focus of this book is on resolving the South China Sea disputes, the similar issues of the East China Sea need acknowledging—they help us understand the behavioral dynamics, the interrelationships of the countries involved.
Table 1.1
A partial list of and parties to Western Pacific Ocean territorial conflicts
Parties | Disputed regions |
---|---|
Illustrative headline clash or actions | |
China-Japan | Diaoyu Islands (Chinese designation)/Senkaku Islands (Japanese designation) in the East China Sea(1) |
2011, Japanese military aircraft “confront” Chinese plane(2) 2012, Chinese naval vessels “blocked” Japanese vessels(2) | |
China-Philippines | The Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island in China) and some of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea(3) |
Naval “standoff” in 2012 at Scarborough Shoal(4) | |
China-South Korea | Maritime resources in Yellow Sea and East China Sea, including a submerged reef, Ieodo (Korean)/Suyan (Chinese)(5) |
2012 Deadly clashes between Korean maritime security personnel and Chinese fishermen(5) | |
China-Viet Nam | Islands in the Paracel(6) and the Spratly(3) groups in the South China Sea |
Violent clashes in 1974 (Battle of the Paracel Islands, between China and South Viet Nam)(2) and 1988 (Johnson Reef Skirmish)(2, 7) resulting in fatalities; 2014 naval confrontation over Chinese oil drilling rig(8) | |
Currently non-violent or less-violent disputes | |
Brunei-China | Parts of the maritime territory of Spratly Islands in the South China Sea(9) |
China-Indonesia | Region of the South China Sea, including near Indonesian-controlled, natural gas rich, Natuna Islands(10) |
2010 Faceoff between Indonesia naval vessels and “a Chinese ‘fishery management vessel’”(11) | |
China-Malaysia | Maritime area and parts of the Spratly Island group in the South China Sea(3) |
1995, Malaysian naval vessels fire on a Chinese ship(2) | |
Japan-South Korea | Conflicting claims to South Korea administered Dokdo (Takeshima in Japanese) in the East China Sea(l) |
“Last year (2012) witnessed a particularly angry diplomatic spat, when then South Korea President Lee Myung-bak visited the islands…. Japan responded by recalling its ambassador.”(12) | |
Japan-Taiwan | Tiaoyutai Islands (Taiwanese designation)/Senkaku Islands (Japanese designation) in the East China Sea(2) |
2012 Confrontation between naval vessels(2) | |
Philippines-Taiwan | The Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island in China) and some of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea(3) |
2013 Fatal encounter between Philippines coast guard and Taiwanese fishing vessel(13) | |
Philippines-Viet Nam | Conflicting claims to parts of the Spratly Island group in the South China Sea(9) |
1999 Philippines plane fired on by Vietnamese troops(2); 2011 Naval agreement eased tension(14) | |
Taiwan-Viet Nam | Islands in the Paracel(6) and the Spratly(3) groups in the South China Sea |
1995 Taiwan military fires upon Vietnamese vessel from Taiwanese held island(2) |
Box 1.1 The Name Game
The issues over these oceanic swaths on the West Pacific map have been highly politicized, to the extent that the names applied to the different bodies of water have become political issues. (McLaughlin 2011)
The South China Sea is the name most readily recognized in the USA for the body of water centered between China, Taiwan, and the Southeast Asian nations of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. This book will use that name. Using English translations, in China, the area is generally referred to as the South Sea, but in Viet Nam, it is the East Sea (Hookway 2013). In the Philippines, it is increasingly referred to as the West Philippine Sea (Green 2013). The Philippine President Benigno Aquino III showed a sense of humor in calling it “this sea known by many names” (Hookway 2013). A US non-governmental organization, the Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation (2014), advocates using the name Southeast Asia Sea.
Similar issues arise in the west Pacific Ocean areas between China, Japan, and Korea.
Following Baker (2016) we acknowledge that “Maritime borders are ephemeral and subject to diverse concepts of use and passage.” But this book will not attempt to further delineate the territorial extent of, the legal aspects surrounding, or the historical development of the overlapping claims to ...