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Mahesh

27/08/24 13:01 PM IST

South China Sea dispute

In News
  • Recently,Philippine government accused China of carrying out “repeated aggressive, unprofessional and illegal” actions in the South China Sea. 
About Dispute
  • The South China Sea is situated just south of the Chinese mainland and is bordered by the countries of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
  • The countries have bickered over territorial control in the sea for centuries, but in recent years tensions have soared to new heights.
  • That is mainly due to China’s rise as a global power.
  • The South China Sea is one of the most strategically critical maritime areas and China eyes its control to assert more power over the region.
  • In 1947, the country, under the rule of the nationalist Kuomintang party, issued a map with the so-called “nine-dash line” (for a detailed explanation, scroll down).
  • The line essentially encircles Beijing’s claimed waters and islands of the South China Sea — as much as 90% of the sea has been claimed by China.
  • The line continued to appear in the official maps even after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power.
  • In the past few years, the country has also tried to stop other nations from conducting any military or economic operation without its consent, saying the sea falls under its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
  • China’s sweeping claims, however, have been widely contested by other countries.
  • In response, China has physically increased the size of islands or created new islands altogether in the sea
  •  China has constructed ports, military installations, and airstrips—particularly in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, where it has twenty and seven outposts, respectively.
  • China has militarised Woody Island by deploying fighter jets, cruise missiles, and a radar system.
Importance of South China Sea
  • There are 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in deposits under the South China Sea, according to the estimates of the United States Energy Information Agency.
  • Moreover, the sea is home to rich fishing grounds — a major source of income for millions of people across the region.
  • The BBC reported that more than half of the world’s fishing vessels operate in this area.
  • Most significantly, the sea is a crucial trade route. “The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that over 21% of global trade, amounting to $3.37 trillion, transited through these waters in 2016.
Nine Dash Line
  • The nine-dash line demarcates China’s territorial claims in the sea on Chinese maps.
  • It was initially the “eleven-dash line” but in 1953, the CCP-led government removed “the portion encompassing the Gulf of Tonkin, simplifying the border to nine dashes.
  • The line runs as far as 2,000 km from the Chinese mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.
  • China says it has centuries-old ties with the Paracel and Spratly island chains as they were once an integral part of the Chinese nation. But Vietnam disputes the claim, saying it has actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century — and has the documents to prove it.
Source- Indian Express

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