Tag: geopolitics

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South China Sea: Solving the Dispute

 

Reading this article along with the previous two on the same subject provide a more comprehensive picture.

  1. SCS: Importance and Disputes.
  2. SCS: Aspects related to SCS Dispute.

 

 

Solving the Disputes

 

Considering the complicated nature of the SCS dispute, finding a solution is easier said than done.

 

Even the leaders from the claimant states and subject experts have differing opinions about its resolution. Some of these opinions are as follows:

 

  • Manage the dispute and keep the claimants engaged in negotiations. Keep on talking and engaging each other at different levels through bilateral and multilateral forums.

 

  • Follow the law of the sea and honour the International laws. Take legal recourse or a third party intervention.

 

  • Follow collective effort through ASEAN to manage the dispute and to prevent major conflicts.

 

  • Show restraint in order not to provoke one another, either through statements or actions, stop reclamation activities and militarization of the features in the SCS.

 

  • Maintain the status quo and wait for a good time to deal with the issue.

 

  • Cooperate on the non-contentious soft areas in order to build confidence and trust, such as marine environment protection, search and rescue, safety of navigation, and combating transnational crimes. Later on, other contentious issues could be dealt with.

 

  • Resort to joint explorations and sharing of resources like oil and gas.

 

Suggested Approach

 

The answer lies in the claimants abandoning their confrontational attitude and agreeing to find some common ground, even at the cost of sacrificing certain portions of their claims.

 

One possible approach to the peaceful solution could be for all claimants to limit their claim to the areas of 200 nautical miles of the EEZ and continental shelf in accordance with the UNCLOS, leaving international waters for free navigation and overt flight.

 

Another approach could be the parties concerned to establish a common ownership of the disputed areas, whereby all the revenues from the SCS are equitably or proportionately shared among the littoral states.

 

In SCS dispute, China is the key player and future of the dispute depends on the China’s attitude and actions in future.

 

India and the SCS

India is a vital player and has interests in the SCS as a major portion of its trade passes through the region. India’s interests also include the energy contracts that its public sector giant Oil and Natural Gas Commission’s Videshi Limited (OVL) had acquired through legal and global norms in the South China Sea.

India has, on several occasions, called upon all parties to avoid unilateral action that leads to tensions in the region and called for peaceful resolution of disputes without the threat of use of force.

India must continue to actively pursue its defense diplomacy outreach in the Indo-Pacific region including military training and  exercises and exchanges, extend Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief activities and share patrolling of the Malacca Strait with the littoral countries, etc.

 

Comments and value additions are most welcome

For regular updates please register here –

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References:

  1. https://scroll.in/article/968918/how-did-the-south-china-sea-dispute-begin-and-where-is-it-headed
  2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53397673
  3. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/issues/south-china-sea
  4. https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/library-special/south-china-sea-territorial-disputes/
  5. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/south-china-sea-dispute
  6. https://www.straight.com/news/khalid-zaka-a-summary-of-south-china-sea-conflict

  7. The Politics of South China Sea Disputes, book by Nehginpao Kipgen

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South China Sea: Some Aspects related to SCS Disputes

 

 

The SCS dispute took root in pre-colonial era and has changed form in the colonial times, decolonization period, Cold War era, and then in more recent times.

 

Over the years, the dispute has become more complicated by the competing and overlapping claims of several littoral states and involvement and interest of other members of the international community.

 

Several efforts have been made by regional and global players to resolve the issue bilaterally and / or multilaterally.

 

China Factor

 

China uses folklore, myths and legends as well as distorted history to support its territorial and maritime claims in the SCS.

 

China’s territorial and sovereignty claims have a high degree of ambiguity. Under this umbrella of ambiguity China has been using different methods to pursue its objectives in the SCS following strategy of increased assertiveness while delaying resolution to bid time.

 

China has been engaging littoral states in bilateral negotiations and holding dialogue with ASEAN but with no breakthrough. At the same time Beijing is increasing its presence in the SCS through naval exercises and physical installations, such as land reclamations and building artificial islands.

 

China is following its tactics of salami slicing in SCS as well, i.e. making gains without resorting to direct military engagement or confrontation.

 

Other Claimants

 

Other claimant states besides China are Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei. Indonesia is also getting sucked into the dispute.

 

The claims and stance by these claimant states depends upon factors like identity crisis (Taiwan), rising China and individual political and economic ties with China.

 

ASEAN

 

ASEAN has been involved in the conflict management with China to find an amicable solution.

 

So far ASEAN has been unable to achieve an amicable agreement. Possible reasons are China’s insistence on a bilateral solution and competing claims among claimant states.

 

July 2016 Arbitration

 

Status quo on the SCS has not changed significantly after the July 2016 Arbitration, and is not likely to bring any significant change in the near future.

 

China ignores the arbitral ruling and continues to maintain its intransigence behaviour with no intention to fulfil its international obligation.

 

Other Players

 

There are other regional and global players, which are not direct claimants in the SCS dispute but are involved.

 

Like any other security issue the international community is divided on the question of the SCS disputes. While some countries support one of the sides, others remain neutral.

 

USA. Role of US is important for the dispute and the region, because it is the only power that is capable of standing up to and counterbalancing the increasing assertiveness of China. US maintains that it does not support the sovereignty claim of any particular state while demanding freedom of navigation and over flight in international waters.

 

QUAD. The US concern is shared by some of the countries such as Australia, Japan and India giving rise to Quad, which has the potential to bring stability in the region. While the Quad demands peaceful resolution of the SCS dispute and respect for international law, it still remains a dialogue forum rather than a security alliance.

 

Coming UP: Solving SCS Disputes

 

Comments and value additions are most welcome

For regular updates please register here –

https://55nda.com/blogs/anil-khosla/subscribe/

References:

  1. https://scroll.in/article/968918/how-did-the-south-china-sea-dispute-begin-and-where-is-it-headed
  2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53397673
  3. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/issues/south-china-sea
  4. https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/library-special/south-china-sea-territorial-disputes/
  5. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/south-china-sea-dispute
  6. https://www.straight.com/news/khalid-zaka-a-summary-of-south-china-sea-conflict

  7. The Politics of South China Sea Disputes, book by Nehginpao Kipgen

Posted on

South China Sea: Importance and Disputes

 

South China Sea.

 

The South China Sea is a semi-enclosed area measuring 3.6 million square kilometer in the Pacific Ocean.

 

It spreads from Straits of Malacca and Karimata to Taiwan straits and is bordered in the north by China and Taiwan, the Philippines in the east, Brunei and Malaysia in the south, and Vietnam in the west.

 

It contains numerous islands, rocks and reefs. Major ones being Spartley islands, Paracel islands, Pratas and Natuna islands and the Scarborough shoal.

 

SCS: Importance

 

The area is believed to contain rich reserves of oil, natural gas, minerals and fishery stocks.

 

The region is considered to be a centre of future economic growth in East Asia and is also sometimes called a “second Persian Gulf”.

 

Major sea routes of shipping pass through this area.

 

The strategic location and the abundant resources make it a subject of interest and concern for littoral states and the international community.

 

SCS: Disputes

 

The security issues around it always remain in focus and it is considered to be one of the flashpoints.

 

The South China Sea disputes are regarded as one of the most complex and challenging ocean-related maritime disputes in East Asia, involving both islands and maritime claims among sovereign states.

 

The underlying problem is the claim of overlapping areas by different countries, involving China, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Taiwan. They all claim that they own the sovereignty of the islands or islets, reefs and / or resources.

 

The traditional high seas freedoms of navigation and over flights are also at stake in the dynamics of SCS, making the issue even more complex with involvement of extra regional and other major powers including United States.

 

Due to the number of claimants and the complexity of claims, it is   called the “mother of all territorial disputes”.

 

China is by far the biggest country in the region and claims sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea. The region has become a flashpoint for tensions between China and other nations which claim sovereignty over two largely uninhabited island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys. China claims the largest portion of territory, saying its rights go back to centuries.

 

SCS Disputes: Recent Status

 

Recently it has become the locus of disputes that have the potential of escalating into serious international conflicts. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, tensions in the South China Sea (SCS) have been on the rise. This is mainly for China’s continued assertive actions and for the sharp deterioration in US-China relations over China’s massive territorial claims in the SCS. 

 

Coming UP: Analysis of various aspects related to SCS Disputes

 

Comments and value additions are most welcome

 

For regular updates please register here –

https://55nda.com/blogs/anil-khosla/subscribe/

References:

  1. https://scroll.in/article/968918/how-did-the-south-china-sea-dispute-begin-and-where-is-it-headed
  2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53397673
  3. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/issues/south-china-sea
  4. https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/library-special/south-china-sea-territorial-disputes/
  5. https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/south-china-sea-dispute
  6. https://www.straight.com/news/khalid-zaka-a-summary-of-south-china-sea-conflict

  7. The Politics of South China Sea Disputes, book by Nehginpao Kipgen