The Situation in the South China Sea

Specialized: United Nations Security Council

Topic: The Situation in the South China Sea

Since the mid-18th Century, multiple countries have made competing claims over all or part of the South China Sea, a sea in the Western Pacific Ocean. China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among other countries bordering the South China Sea have disputed control over the sea, including several dozen islands. The use of military force to enforce claims in the South China Sea began with the Chinese occupation of the Paracel Islands in 1974 resulting in the deaths of 18 Chinese soldiers and 75 South Vietnamese soldiers. Seven countries have disputed territorial control over the Paracel Islands, the neighboring Spratly Islands, the Pratas Islands, Scarborough Shoal, the maritime boundary along the coast of Vietnam, the Luzon Strait, the maritime boundary north of Borneo, and many other islands, banks, reefs, shoals, and other boundaries. In 1992, China passed a law formally claiming the territory within China’s “Nine Dash Line,” which encompasses a vast area of the South China Sea, reiterating territorial claims that date back to 1943 and maps dating to 1775. Countries claiming territory in the South China Sea have had occasional naval clashes and diplomatic disputes over the Paracel Islands since 1974 and the Spratly Islands since 1996. In addition to naval clashes, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Vietnam have all established outposts or occupied islands through out the South China Sea to enforce their claims.

The territorial disputes in the South China Sea have made it more difficult for military and commercial ships to traverse this key international waterway which sees over $3 trillion worth of global trade every year and half of all the word’s fishing vessels. This trade is coming from or going to nations in South-East Asia, leaving no alternative routes to avoid possible dispute. The South China Sea also contains a wealth of natural resources, ranging from fishing grounds to billions of barrels worth of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. These resources and the search for them frequently lead to aggressive exchanges between parties. Without international intervention or mediation, a peaceful resolution to these disputes is unlikely. The ASEAN Declaration of the Conduct on Parties in the South China Sea among other international efforts have not yet successfully resolved tensions between conflicting parties. Survey vessels from differing, sometimes escorted by coast guard vessels maneuver aggressively to block each other and fire high pressure water cannons at each other. Fishing vessels operating in disputed waters are forced to beach by one nations coast guard, while another nations coast guard attempts to retrieve the fishermen and prevent their capture. Armed military aircraft will fly in close each other in a manner that has led to collisions in the past. In 1982, The United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS), created Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) that surround the area of a coastal nation within 200 Nautical Miles. EEZs provide the coastal nation exclusive rights to explore and exploit the natural resources (e.g., fishing, oil, gas) within the zone and establish artificial structures (e.g., oil rigs), marine scientific research, and environmental protection. Other countries retain the right to sail ships and fly aircraft through the EEZ, as long as they do not exploit the resources. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China’s Nine Dash Line was not recognized as an EEZ under UNCLOS or historical basis.

The United Nations Security Council can neither dictate who controls the archipelagos in the South China Sea, nor should that be the focus of the Council’s deliberations. The UNSC should instead focus on respecting countries’ legally recognized EEZ and explore other ways to reduce the tensions between countries with territorial claims in the South China Sea. The Security Council must review the lessons learned from past international intervention and act to prevent tensions from escalating into armed conflict.

Focus Questions:

1. Given the global trade transiting through the region, how can the safety of civilian vessels and aircraft be guaranteed?
2. There are seven parties to this situation, any combination of which may be involved in disputes over territory, are there any common solutions that may be applied to these disputes?
3. Why have efforts like the ASEAN Declaration of the Conduct on Parties in the South China Sea failed, what can be learned from these attempts?

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