Topic: Territorial Dispute in the South China Sea
Country: Benin
Delegate Name: Allie Alford
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Benin position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
Conflict over territories in the South China Sea has been accumulating recently and is very concerning to Benin and the world. The land in the South China Sea is very valuable because it is a major shipping route, it is home to fishing grounds that supply the livelihoods of people across the region, and consist of vast reserves of natural resources (, specifically petroleum oil). The problem and conflict that has rose in claiming sovereignty over these ocean areas is how China has approached the fight to gain control of the land. China has raised controversy by building small islands in the South China Sea then claiming the island and the land around it as theirs. They also have invested a large amount of money to expand their military in hopes to secure the land for themselves. Both the building of islands and increasing the military power is illegal according to the Law of The Sea Convention in which China is a party of. The United Nations must hold China accountable for the rules explained in the United Nations Law of The Seas Convention.
Benin has interest in resolving these disputes in the South China Sea because this violent conflict could potentially lead to a world war. As a developing country, going to war right now could be very damaging to Benin’s success. This issue could possibly affect our country and is affecting our allies and putting a stop to China’s aggressive behavior in taking over land in the South China Sea and the conflict involving the surrounding countries must come to a stop as soon as possible.
Benin would propose the idea of dividing the land in the South China Sea up into equal parts for each of the surrounding countries. Benin does not wish to interfere with the sovereignty of any nation and would be opposed to any plan which gave a country an unfair amount of region. We would expect to find allies in neighboring African states like Niger, Nigeria, Togo, and Ghana.
