Topic: Territorial Dispute in the South China Sea
Country: Rwanda
Delegate Name: Sophie Hogan
School: Forest Hills Eastern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Rwanda position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
The South China Sea, the water west of The Philippines, east of Vietnam, and north of Borneo, is filled with many uninhabited islands. China's efforts to claim parts of the South China Sea date back to the Han and Xia Dynasties. This problem has been an issue ever since. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states rules regarding navigational rights, sea mineral rights, and waters jurisdiction. 167 UN member states have ratified the convention and another 14 have signed, but not ratified. Rwanda is a signatory to this agreement and still stands by the agreement. The sections about the 12 miles off of the coast is property of the country whose coast it is off and creating reef islands to extend that border is being violated by China.
The South China Sea contains one third of the world's shipping and is home to large oil and gas reserves. The two main sections of islands, Paracel and Spratly islands, have been occupied by the Militaries of several different states but are claimed by two different nations. China, Taiwan, The Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei are all fighting for claims of the sea and all the resources that the South China Sea has to offer. This is an issue because countries like China are not following the international laws and agreements and not respecting the property of other nations. This is causing riots and unrest in some nations along with bad blood between the navy’s and governments of the affected countries. Although Rwanda is not directly affected, we still seek to find a peaceful resolution that will resolve the tensions between the affected nations.
Rwanda believes in the idea of supporting UNCLOS and following the rules of the agreement that we signed. China must surrender the areas that are not theirs and return them to the nations whose boundaries they fall into. The rule of 12 nautical miles from the baseline must be followed and reef islands to extend the border can not be tolerated. The UNCLOS may need to be updated and adjusted concerning the status of the Sea today.
