Topics Covered: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
South China sea:
Context:
The Philippine military has ordered the deployment of more navy ships to the South China Sea amid a growing diplomatic row over a fleet of Chinese boats parked near a disputed reef- Reed Bank.
About the South China sea dispute:
It is a dispute over territory and sovereignty over ocean areas, and the Paracels and the Spratlys – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries.
- Alongside the fully fledged islands, there are dozens of rocky outcrops, atolls, sandbanks and reefs, such as the Scarborough Shoal.
- Beijing often invokes the so-called nine-dash line to justify its apparent historic rights over most of the South China Sea, parts of which are also claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
- China has ignored a 2016 international tribunal decision that declared its assertion as without basis.
Who Claims What?
China:
claims by far the largest portion of territory – an area defined by the “nine-dash line” which stretches hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.
Vietnam:
hotly disputes China’s historical account, saying China had never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s. Vietnam says it has actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century – and has the documents to prove it.
Philippines:
both the Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China) – a little more than 100 miles (160km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China.
Malaysia and Brunei:
They lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their economic exclusion zones, as defined by UNCLOS – the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Brunei does not claim any of the disputed islands, but Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Countries involved in the dispute.
- What is nine dash line?
- Disputed islands and their locations?
- Important straits, passes and seas in the region.
- What is UNCLOS?
- Locate Taiwan strait and Luzon Strait.
Mains Link:
Write a note on South China Sea dispute.
Sources: the Hindu.
