SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE

USA demands immediate halt to South China Sea reclamations

• United States called for an immediate halt to reclamation works in disputed waters in the South China Sea. It also warned China to not expand its militarization in South China Sea.

What is South China Sea dispute?

• It is a dispute over territory (Paracels and the Spratlys islands) and sovereignty over ocean areas.
• Paracels & Spratlys are uninhabited. But they have reserves of natural resources around them. The sea is also a major shipping route and home to fishing grounds that supply livelihoods to many people.

Who claims what?

• China claims largest portion of territory which stretches hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan. China says its right to the area goes back centuries to when the Paracel and Spratly island chains were regarded as integral parts of the Chinese nation in 1947.
• Those claims are countered by Taiwan& Vietnam. They say China had never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s.
• Philippines also says major portion belongs to it as it is near to these islands.
• Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys.
• But Brunei does not claim any of the disputed islands.

Recent stand off:

• The most serious trouble in recent times is between Vietnam and China. Next was between Philippines and China.
• 1974 – the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops.
• 1988 – the two sides clashed in the Spratlys. Vietnam lost about 60 sailors.
• 2012 – China and the Philippines engaged in a lengthy maritime stand-off accusing each other
• 2014 – the introduction by China of a drilling rig into waters near the Paracel Islands led to multiple collisions between Vietnamese and Chinese ships.
• April 2015 – satellite images showed China building an airstrip on reclaimed land in the Spratlys.

What does the rest of the world say?

• China has tended to favour bilateral negotiations behind closed doors. But other countries want international mediation.
• Recent attempts by regional grouping Asean to discuss new ideas for resolving the dispute appear to have left the bloc divided.
• The US has warned China not to “elbow aside” the countries it is in conflict with over the islands.