Topic: Territorial Dispute in the South China Sea
Country: Sri Lanka
Delegate Name: Senthuri Vasanthan
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Sri Lanka position papers GLIMUN 2015 committees
For decades China has been claiming sovereignty over a major part of the South China Sea, including the Paracels and Spratlys island chains. This has to lead to territorial disputes between China and other countries contesting the sovereignty. The countries involved include Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Although this area is largely uninhabited, the Paracels and Spratlys island chains have resources of natural gas and oil and extracting these resources would be lucrative. This area is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world and also has abundant fishing grounds. All of these factors contribute to the reason why so many countries want to assert their sovereignty over this area. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka believes that the South China territorial dispute should be settled bilaterally through negotiation with the concerned parties.
China claims the largest part of their territory, the so called “Nine Dash Line” area. Eight of the Spratlys Islands are under Chinese control. The others are controlled by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Recently, China has been constructing islands on top of reefs and claiming territorial seas around them to gain fishing and resource rights. All disagreements regarding maritime territorial disputes usually go through arbitration under UNCLOS.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans. Under UNCLOS, a coastal state is entitled to a territorial area not exceeding 12 nautical miles measured from its baselines. Within its territorial sea, the coastal state exercises sovereignty, including over its resources. It also grants a coastal state the right to establish a contiguous zone not extending 24 nautical miles from, the baselines. Additionally, a coastal state may establish an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) not extending more than 200 nautical miles from its baselines for the purposes of exploring natural resources.
One problem with UNCLOS, is that it is not comprehensive enough to use as a foundation for meditation of all controversies, as it does not rule on national sovereignty. It only outlines a system of territorial and economic zones. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China sea and bases it on “Nine Dash Line” that was published by the Chinese ministry of the interior in 1947. The map served as a basis for the declaration on China’s territorial sea made in 1958 by the Chinese government. The legal basis for the “Nine Dash Line” has been disputed by the other countries involved and under the UNCLOS treaty.
If direct discussion between the involved parties fail, there are a number of ways to attempt resolution. The involved countries should be referred to the arbitration council of the International Law of the Sea. The international court of justice can also help arbitrate. The two other options for mediation are the special arbitration tribunals and international arbitration panels.
The Philippines filed a case against China in the South China sea controversy. The arbitration court in the Netherlands has recently ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear territorial claims. China has said that it would not accept any ruling from the court. The court rejected China’s claim that the issues are about it’s territorial sovereignty.
The stability and safety of this area is of international importance to insure economic growth and avoidance of war. It is imperative that China can reach a peaceful accord with the other nations to avoid political tension and unrest. Many countries are monitoring the developments with interest, as the outcome of this case may set a precedent for how similar cases are settled.
