Topic: Territorial Dispute in the South China Sea
Country: Somalia
Delegate Name: Aaron Cyril John
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Somalia position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The South China Sea has been a hot topic in territorial disputes for surrounding countries. Countries such as China, Taiwan, the Philippine Islands, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei have been fighting over land in that sea, especially the two largest island chains, the Paracel and Spratly islands. Each country claims to have the rights to these two islands and most of these countries have deployed military presence to back their claims. The countries also have different rationales for their claims and most of them contradict. The China and Vietnam are two major countries that are in few hot discussions short of skirmishes that could endanger lives. All these countries have signed The UN convention on the Law of the Sea which states that a nation has sole ownership of natural resources within 200 miles of their borders, which are defined as Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Also, China is building an offshore oil rig that would make the Paracel and Spratly part of its EEZ.The United Nations has only recently stepped in to deescalate the situation as they were unsure of their right to do so earlier, much to China's distaste. It is imperative that the UN assert their authority in judging the fate of the South China Sea. It is also important that the UN does not move to validate the rational claims of any country, but to ensure that proper procedure and the law of the sea be followed.
Since the heated situation is occurring in the South China Sea, which is approximately 4500 miles away from Somalia, Somalia has no direct connection to it. Somalia has not directly referenced the topic nor shared its position in national nor international levels. However, China is the closest ally of Somalia in all of Asia. And piracy in South China Sea has increased to the point where it dethroned Somalia as the piracy capital of the world. Other than these facts, there is no connection between Somalia and the dispute in the South China Sea.
We delegates propose that a meeting, supervised or set up by the UN, be held between the quarreling countries so that the protests and tensions between its people will decrease and a more peaceful agreement will be easier to reach. The UN should determine whether China’s artificial border (Oil Rig) should be considered in determining the fate of the South China Sea and which country can protect the Paracel and Spratly islands from piracy.
