China's sovereignty claims are of huge importance to its position in the region and globally. The South China Sea route plays a key role in international trade, so any hindrance in it would affect the economy of the countries directly or indirectly related to it. (2015). Writings on the South China Sea frequently claim that $5.3 trillion worth of goods transits through the South China Sea annually, with $1.2 trillion of that total accounting for trade with the U.S. Disputes in the South China Sea are not as complicated as they may seem. In a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention—to which the PRC is a State Party—rejected much of the PRC's South China Sea maritime claims as having no basis in international law. 2, pp. Fuelled by rising nationalism over ownership of disputed atolls, growing competition over natural resources, strident assertions of their maritime rights by China and the Southeast Asian claimants, the rapid modernization of regional armed forces and worsening geopolitical . This thesis will also study possible solutions and effects on both the region and the international community. South China Sea Territorial Disputes and Sino-Philippine ... This . China's aggression in the South China Sea may seem like a distant problem, but the U.S. has much at stake economically. Robert Gilpin, War and Change in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), pp. The South China Sea Dispute: Navigating Diplomatic and ... This includes' Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam that are directly involved in the South China Sea dispute with China. . An Analysis of the South China Sea Dispute: Focusing on ... sovereignty disputes, the United States and China disagree over what rights international law grants foreign militaries to fly, sail, and operate in a country's territorial sea or Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). apparent after the country's economic losses due to the 2008 global financial In this June 23, 2019, file photo, South East Asian leaders pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the ASEAN . 164-188 . To explore the impact of the arbitration, this paper . A barrage of medium range missiles was fired by. The South China Sea has never occupied the top rung on Beijing's foreign policy agenda, except perhaps during the Philippines' initiation of arbitration . PDF China's Island Building in the South China Sea: Damage to ...The Environmental Collateral Damage of the South China Sea ... The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), whose most recent charter came into force in November of 1994, constitutes the current basis of international law in the South China Sea disputes (UNCLOS, 2016). The article argues that Hainan has played three major . Since disagreements between China and the Philippines began to escalate in 2012, local fishers have often struggled to access the waters they depend on for their livelihoods. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South China Sea dispute and to analyze why the dispute has yet to escalate, as well as the strategic importance of the South China Sea dispute in relation to international trade. The South China Sea Disputes: Territorial Claims, Geopolitics, and International Law. china claims almost all of the south china sea (west philippine sea) that encroaches on the exclusive economic zones (eez) of countries facing the south china sea it argues that the dispute led our policy makers to focus on sovereignty claims that tended to overlook if not entirely neglect the status of our fisher folk and our ship building … In Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea (pp. Foreign policy and national security have never appeared to be strong vote . A key shipping route, $3.4 trillion in trade (or roughly 20% of global trade) is estimated to have passed through the South China Sea for the year 2016. neighbors. Kim, Weng Willam Choy, and Ming Zhang Yen. Instead, it implies "China's dispute behavior bears di-rectly on the future of peace and stability" in the region. 85-111. "Regional Cooperation in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Seas: Lessons Learned and Possible Alternatives to the South China Sea Disputes." China Sea Disputes 263-279. The Tribunal has upended the maritime claims of a number of nations in the South China Sea, but China is most affected, as its . South China Sea Territorial Disputes and Sino-Philippine Trade. Fang, Y. The press statement from Pompeo listed specific Chinese maritime claims the United States considers illegal. Exploration or Exploitation Activity Oil exploration, especially if it results in major In short, China uses coercive economic policy to extract concessions from Manila while it uses cooperative economic policy to woo Cambodian support in those very disputes. The verdict delivered in July by an international tribunal on the South China Sea case in The Hague is a stunning defeat for China. 2014. The new U.S. South China Sea policy, recently announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, once again put the disputes . In 2014, the country initiated the campaign of building manmade bases over Spratly islands. Economic costs of South China Sea conflict. spill over into the South China Sea and also trigger conflict, as would threats by any of the claimants to freedom of navigation. Yes, an outright naval confrontation or incident at sea — especially between China and the United States or Japan — could be destabilising. Updated: 24 Nov 2020, 09:38 AM IST Nikita Kwatra. The sea is heavily fished, however, and is the main source of animal protein for the densely populated Southeast Asian area. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the South China Sea dispute and to analyze why the dispute has yet to escalate, as well as the strategic importance of the South China Sea dispute in relation to international trade. Ecologically, the key to the development of the blue economy is that countries should make full use of the ocean while they avoid exploiting . It is also the site of several complex territorial disputes that have been the cause of conflict and tension within the region and throughout the Indo . The sea carries tremendous strategic importance; one-third of the . Recent Developments. 2011. A Filipino makes his views known in Los Angeles. 3, No. Photo: AFP. 1 min read . The verdict delivered in July by an international tribunal on the South China Sea case in The Hague is a stunning defeat for China. Facing up to China's realpolitik approach in the South China Sea dispute: The case of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off and its aftermath. Since 2013, the sovereignty disputes and the U.S.-China dispute over freedom of the seas for military ships and It is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea. SEA DISPUTE. Fang, Y. 0. While the South China Sea disputes help to assert Chinese influence militarily, they naturally ostracize many key trading partners - significant assets in China's mission to solidify its economic presence within the region. America does not take a position on competing claims, but as a global power it does have significant strategic and economic interests in the South China Sea. The United States says that while it has no official stance on maritime disputes, it interprets the holdings as either low tide elevations or . The South China Sea (SCS) Tribunal (the Tribunal) established through the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the terms of Part XV of the LOSC resulted from the efforts of the Philippines to hold China accountable for their activities near the Scarborough Shoal, the claims and conduct of China in the Spratly Islands, and Chinese . How South China Sea dispute affects India Any adverse impact on New Delhi's maritime trade will hugely dent its GDP. GLOBAL CHINA HOW CHINA'S ACTIONS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA UNDERMINE THE RULE OF LAW EAST ASIA 3 Staff, 12/07/2016 Sources: U.S. State Department; UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the . While a war in the region could create new business opportunities for small U.S. companies that supply the nation's defense contractors , additional U.S. military costs could lead to higher federal income taxes for small businesses or . The South China Sea is one of the most important economic and environmental regions in the world. In Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea (pp. China, the dominant force in the region, has a long history of economic and trade exchanges with neighboring states, which can lay a good foundation for the cooperative development of the South China Sea. Tensions in the South China Sea increased last April when a Chinese coast guard ship sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands—a fiercely disputed territory in the South China Sea. LXXIV, No. Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, 3(2), 157-182. The country's sea dispute with China will have a manageable impact on the economy provided as this does not escalate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. (2015). The new U.S. South China Sea policy, recently announced by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, once again put the disputes between China and other claimants in this Westernmost area of the Pacific back into the limelight.The core component of the disputes is China's nine-dash line claim which overlaps with the existing maritime zones of . China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have all made claims to the islands in the South China Sea. (2015). Philippine fishing industry struggles to control impacts of South China Sea dispute . Xi Jinping says China will not seek dominance over Southeast Asia. The biggest impact of this downward spiral of the US-China relations has been the growing military exercises and deployments in the South China Sea. December 13, 2020. China asserts that its South China Sea holdings are islands and are part of sovereign Chinese territory, giving them the full 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Since the 1990s many countries have fought over this resource-rich pocket of land with resolution far from being achieved (Johnson 3). A Philippines-China Perspective on the South China Sea Dispute The dispute over the South China Sea has garnered much discussion and until now its prevalence is still relevant. Regional Strategies Topic Week. China's economy would only face a loss of 0.7% because it has huge domestic markets and ports outside the potential conflict zone. Nevertheless, in 2002, the countries involved in the sovereignty disputes of islands in the South China Sea have at least reached an agreement to say that no country should use military power as a solution to end the dispute of the territorial rights to these islands. The apparent shift manifested in April 2016 when Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced that China had reached a four-point consensus with Brunei, Laos, and Cambodia on the South China Sea issue, agreeing the disputes were not an issue for ASEAN and should instead be resolved through 'dialogues and consultations between the parties . Disputes in the South China Sea are another such example, albeit of a very different nature. The impact of the current Asian financial crisis on the prospects for conflict in the South China Sea is also examined. NUMBER OF PAGES 97 16. Beijing should not be allowed to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire. cision as an important contribution to ongoing efforts in addressing disputes in the South China Sea." Unlike the u.s., Yasay did not urge China to comply with the ruling. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday the United States was increasingly concerned about disputes over sovereignty in the South China Sea and the impact they could have on economic activity. war inevitable. Fish are a critical food source for the coastal populations of Southeast Asia.27 The fish stocks of the South China Sea already face the problem of overfishing, and . South China Sea and examine potential Chinese dredging at unoccupied reefs are needed to assess the full impact of China's island building on the South China Sea's fisheries. -. In the study that follows the author does an international legal analysis of the disputes in the South China Sea explaining their impact on the regional security. The South China Sea is an arm of western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia. This morning, Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell elaborated further during remarks at CSIS's annual South China Sea Conference. The area is also rich in oil and natural gas. Bordering states & territories: the People's Republic of China . Given below are the causes for the South China Sea Dispute: Chinese Economy and Trade in 21st Century " South China Sea Dispute: Security Conflict and Economic Opportunities " Contributing to this abundance are the extensive runoff of nutrient-laden waters from land and the upwellings of water in certain areas of the sea. The South China Sea Disputes: Territorial Claims, Geopolitics, and International Law. By Viet Hung Nguyen Cao. Major Asia-Pacific economies could lose up to 12% of their GDP if the . The South China Sea is the site of several ongoing 'Exclusive Economic Zone' disputes between neighbours. Yet, those fisheries are The dismissal of the PCA's decision on the South China Sea dispute in 2016 marks another turning point in China's behavior as this time it shows non-compliant behavior with the UNCLOS and the international law and impact its position in the international society (Yu, 2016). Vietnam's Struggles in the S. China Sea: Challenges and Opportunities. Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) (L), and the . But the South China Sea has been dangerously overfished. Its handling of the issue reveals whether it is seeking status quo or revisionist foreign policies as its power rises. It is also the site of an intense geopolitical conflict. . en This article explores the role of the local government in Hainan Province in Beijing's policy in the South China Sea (SCS) disputes. -. Tensions between China and both the Philippines and Vietnam have recently cooled, even as China increased its military activity in the South China Sea by conducting a series . The maritime disputes in the South China Sea impact on a series of regional bilateral relations and continue to trouble ties between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The South China Sea disputes involve both island and maritime claims within the region by several sovereign states, namely Brunei, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.An estimated US$3.37 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea annually, which accounts for a third of the global . Economic and Political Studies: Vol. AFP Photo. Image: Council on Foreign Relations What happened next? A military conflict in the South China Sea would force most shipping from Europe, the Middle East and Africa destined for Asia and the US west coast to be diverted around the south of Australia. 8The third reason why the South China Sea dispute is significant is that increasingly it has become an issue of contention between the United States and China. This thesis will also study possible solutions and effects on both the region and the international community. Waters in the South China Sea could remain calm in the short term as countries . Singaporean defence analyst Andy Wong argues that the city-state should lead ASEAN in aligning with the US on the issue, warding off Beijing's growing influence. The South China Sea is a critical commercial gateway for a significant portion of the world's merchant shipping, and hence is an important economic and strategic sub-region of the Indo-Pacific. Pictured: Activists protest China's actions at a park in Manila on June 18 . By. The preferred way to solve these issues has so far been multilateral, through organizations such as ASEAN. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative . The first phase comprised of expanding into the region by the creation of "artificial islands.". If disputes in the South China Sea area aren't resolved peacefully, military action or war could be the result. 14. Kao, Shih-Ming. "The South China Sea: Preventing the Tyranny of the Commons." The Diplomat, A satellite photo from March 2018 shows the Fiery Cross Reef, one of China's artificial island military bases in the South China Sea. 173-178 SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE AND INDIA'S CONCERNS Ganesh Malhotra SUBJECT TERMS People's Republic of China, PRC, South China Sea, political economy, coercive economics, soft power 15. In the South China Sea, asymmetry between China and its neighbors in Southeast Asia exists not only in terms of capabilities but also in the degree of significance attached to the disputes. The South China Sea And The End Of A Stable . Moreover, the area is rich in fishery resources and is expected to have oil and gas reserves. GDP impact of South China Sea disputes. This $5.3 trillion figure has been used regularly since late 2010, despite significant changes in world trade over the last five-plus years. The additional shipping cost would bring reductions in economic . The biggest impact of this downward spiral of the US-China relations has been the growing military exercises and deployments in the South China Sea. Neither will the election transform the country's policy towards China in the foreseeable term. China has repeatedly sought to overcome concerns about its rising power and influence, particularly its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea that overlaps with the claims of ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines. They believe that venturing into the South China Sea will serve only to mar . Economic aspects The South China Sea is rich in marine life. China's strategic assertion in the South China Sea has caused concern for Southeast Asia, but most states in the region cannot overlook their economic engagements with Beijing. Yesterday, July 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced an important shift in U.S. declaratory policy on the South China Sea. The South China Sea - or West Philippine Sea - dispute does not play as important of a role in the Philippine presidential election on May 9 as some analysts have suggested. 164-188 . A barrage of medium range missiles was fired by China across "considerable distances in the South China Sea." 94-95; Chi-Kin Lo, China's Policy towards Territorial Disputes: The Case of the South China Sea Islands (London: Routledge, 1989); and Chen Jie, "China's Spratly Policy: With Special Reference to the Philippines and Malaysia," Asian Survey . 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