VietWill - Defending Vietnamese lives and borders in the South China Sea

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Who occupies what, Who claims what?

Who occupies what?

occupied islands

This map shows the islands being disputed, and is under the occupation of which country. As we can see, in the Paracel archipelago, pretty much everything is controlled by China. As for the Spratly archipelago, while the majority of the features are under Vietnamese control, the competition among all the claimants are quite fierce.

NB: This map may not reflect accurately the present situation.

Who claims what?

Oil Claims

china claim

China Claims 80% of South China Sea based on UNCLOS

Making its own interpretation of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, China declared an astounding claim of 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone around the various archipelagos in the South China Sea. It ends up taking up virtually the entire region.

But in fact, UNCLOS does not say that any island can claim 200 miles. UNCLOS says that 12 miles can be claimed for small islands that don’t have local population and economic life. This is the case with virtually all the islands being disputed on Paracel and Spratly archipelagos.UNCLOS stipulates that when there are overlapping claims present, a fair resolution must be reached by the claimants. Yet, China thinks that it can take little tiny islands and claim as much of the sea as the coastline of a country. China itself knows that it is not fair, that is why it consistently refuses to settle the matter in International Court because it knows that it stands little chance of convincing others of its claims. Instead, China resorts to diplomatic coercion and when necessary, military force.

While China keeps insisting that it wants to peacefully cooperate with its neighbors to develop the region, it prefers a bilateral method of negotiation rather than dealing with the other claimants as a whole. This way, it makes it easier for China to wield an upperhand in the negotiation process.

china claims

suvival space

Contradictory claims crisscross the South china Sea, surrounded by what were, until the recent Asian financial crisis, some of the world’s fastest developing nations. Overfishing exhausts catches close to shorelines here, and economic growth has outpaced existing oil supplies. Countries claim sovereignty over rocks, shoals, and reefs to establish national outposts for asserting ownership of fishing grounds and petroleum believed to lie beneath.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, countries may designate areas within 200 nautical miles of their coasts as exclusive economic zones, but across the South China Sea, especially in the Spratly islands, zones overlap. They also intersect historical claims by the Philippines, Vietnam, and China and Taiwan – the latter both advancing the same boundaries.

While diplomats talk, navies raise flags, arest fishermen, blockade oil rigs, and sometimes fire shots. In 1988 China sank Vietnamese ships, killing at least 70 sailors, before taking several of the Spratlys – the most serious clash since it seized the Paracel Islands from Vietnam in 1974. Tensions fuel a local arms race as well as fears that China aims to dominate all Asia by controlling the sea. Many experts, however, argue that China’s military is too weak and its leadership too pragmatic to follow that course.

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