Malaysia's Claims and Positions Over Maritime Features in the South
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Dual and Multiple Naming in the South China Sea: the Cases of the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Shoal
Dual and multiple naming in the South China Sea: The cases of the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Shoal Peter KANG* This paper mainly discusses the naming of islets, rocks and shoals in the South China Sea by looking at the cases of the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Shoal. The naming of places in the South China Sea has been a symbolic extension of territorial claims of the neighboring countries that have displayed great interest in the said areas. The Pratas Islands are currently under the jurisdiction of Taiwan but are claimed both by China and Taiwan. China and Taiwan name the Pratas Island as Dongsha Qundao and Tungsha Islands respectively. Both nomenclatures share the same literal meaning, “eastern sandy archipelago”, but in different Romanized spellings. Scarborough Shoal is presently under Chinese military occupation, but is claimed by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan, which named it Huangyan Dao (meaning “Yellow Rock Island”), Kulumpol ng Panatag (meaning “Panatag Shoal”), and Minzhu Reef (meaning “Democracy Reef”) respectively. The paper explores both the history of naming and the usage of nomenclatures of the aforementioned cases in the international arena. INTRODUCTION Both the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Shoal are two named geographical features in the South China Sea. The Pratas Islands are located about 310 km southeast of Hong Kong with coordinates of 20°43’ N 116°42’ E. The Islands consist of three atolls, namely, Pratas Atoll, North Vereker Atoll and South Vereker Atoll. Pratas Atoll is circular in shape, and Pratas Island is in the west of the atoll. The North Vereker Bank and South Vereker Bank are adjacent to each other and are about 74 km to the northwest of the Pratas Atoll. -
China's Unpredictable Maritime Security Actors
China’s unpredictable maritime Linda Jakobson security actors December 2014 CHINA’S UNPREDICTABLE MARITIME SECURITY ACTORS The Lowy Institute for International Policy is an independent policy think tank. Its mandate ranges across all the dimensions of international policy debate in Australia – economic, political and strategic – and it is not limited to a particular geographic region. Its two core tasks are to: • produce distinctive research and fresh policy options for Australia’s international policy and to contribute to the wider international debate. • promote discussion of Australia’s role in the world by providing an accessible and high-quality forum for discussion of Australian international relations through debates, seminars, lectures, dialogues and conferences. The views expressed in this paper are entirely the author’s own and not those of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. CHINA’S UNPREDICTABLE MARITIME SECURITY ACTORS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In recent years China’s good-neighbourly pledges of increased trade and investment have stood in stark contrast with its provocative actions in its near seas. In part this reflects contradictions in China’s core interests. On the one hand, economic growth — vital for China’s political stability — requires cooperative relations with neighbours. On the other hand, defending sovereignty causes friction with neighbours who are rival claimants to contested islands and seas on China’s periphery. China’s claims in the East and South China Seas have not changed in decades. What has changed is China’s capacity and desire to defend its maritime claims. Moreover, since becoming leader, Xi Jinping has placed greater emphasis on defending China’s sovereignty. -
China Versus Vietnam: an Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea Raul (Pete) Pedrozo
A CNA Occasional Paper China versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea Raul (Pete) Pedrozo With a Foreword by CNA Senior Fellow Michael McDevitt August 2014 Unlimited distribution Distribution unlimited. for public release This document contains the best opinion of the authors at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor. Cover Photo: South China Sea Claims and Agreements. Source: U.S. Department of Defense’s Annual Report on China to Congress, 2012. Distribution Distribution unlimited. Specific authority contracting number: E13PC00009. Copyright © 2014 CNA This work was created in the performance of Contract Number 2013-9114. Any copyright in this work is subject to the Government's Unlimited Rights license as defined in FAR 52-227.14. The reproduction of this work for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Nongovernmental users may copy and distribute this document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this copyright notice is reproduced in all copies. Nongovernmental users may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies they make or distribute. Nongovernmental users may not accept compensation of any manner in exchange for copies. All other rights reserved. This project was made possible by a generous grant from the Smith Richardson Foundation Approved by: August 2014 Ken E. Gause, Director International Affairs Group Center for Strategic Studies Copyright © 2014 CNA FOREWORD This legal analysis was commissioned as part of a project entitled, “U.S. policy options in the South China Sea.” The objective in asking experienced U.S international lawyers, such as Captain Raul “Pete” Pedrozo, USN, Judge Advocate Corps (ret.),1 the author of this analysis, is to provide U.S. -
The South China Sea Arbitration Case Filed by the Philippines Against China: Arguments Concerning Low Tide Elevations, Rocks, and Islands
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Xiamen University Institutional Repository 322 China Oceans Law Review (Vol. 2015 No. 1) The South China Sea Arbitration Case Filed by the Philippines against China: Arguments concerning Low Tide Elevations, Rocks, and Islands Yann-huei SONG* Abstract: On March 30, 2014, the Philippines submitted its Memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal, which presents the country’s case on the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and the merits of its claims. In the Memorial, the Philippines argues that Mischief Reef, Second Thomas Shoal, Subi Reef, Gaven Reef, McKennan Reef, Hughes Reef are low-tide elevations, and that Scarborough Shoal, Johnson Reef, Cuarteron Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef are “rocks”, therefore these land features cannot generate entitlement to a 200-nautical-mile EEZ or continental shelf. This paper discusses if the claims made by the Philippines are well founded in fact and law. It concludes that it would be difficult for the Tribunal to rule in favor of the Philippines’ claims. Key Words: Arbitration; South China Sea; China; The Philippines; Low tide elevation; Island; Rock; UNCLOS I. Introduction On January 22, 2013, the Republic of the Philippines (hereinafter “the Philippines”) initiated arbitral proceedings against the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter “China” or “PRC”) when it presented a Note Verbale1 to the Chinese * Yann-huie Song, Professor, Institute of Marine Affairs, College of Marine Sciences, Sun- yet Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan and Research Fellow, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. E-mail: [email protected]. -
The Spratly Islands Administered by the Individual States of the Region and the Boundaries of Claims Versus the Exclusive Econom
The Spratly Islands administered by the individual states of the region and the boundaries of claims versus the exclusive economic zones and the boundaries of the continental shelf 0 25 50 75 100 km 0 25 50 75 100 NM 2009 VIETNAM 1974 Northeast Cay Southwest Cay Block Claim Vietnam Petroleum South Reef West York Island Thitu Island Subi Reef Irving Reef Flat Island Loaita Cay Nanshan Island Lankiam Cay Loaita Island a e Centre Cay Petley Reef S Itu Aba Island Sand Cay Gaven Reef a Namyit Island n i Discovery Great Reef 1979 Hughes Reef Mischief Reef h Sin Cowe Island C (Union Banks) Grierson Reef Collins Reef Higgens Reef Second Lansdowne Reef Thomas Shoal h Johnson South Reef t u Fiery Cross Reef First o Bombay Castle S Thomas Shoal 2009 2009 (London Reefs) PHILIPPINES Central Reef Pearson Reef Pigeon Reef 1979 West Reef Cuarteron Reef East Reef Alison Reef Ladd Reef Cornwallis South Reef Spratly Island Commodore Reef Prince of Wales Bank Barque Canada Reef Erica Reef Investigator Shoal Alexandra Bank Mariveles Reef Prince Consort Bank Amboyna Cay Grainger Bank Rifleman Bank Ardasier Reef Vanguard Bank Swallow Reef 1979 1979 The boundaries of the claims in the South China Sea have not been precisely delimited. This is their approximate location, presented for illustrative purposes only. for illustrative location, presented delimited. This is their approximate precisely not been Sea have the claims in the South China The boundaries of : MALAYSIA © / Reservation LEGEND Areas of land (islands, cays, reefs, rocks): Submerged areas and areas only partly above water: Boundaries of claims submitted by: Boundaries of the exclusive economic zones delimited pursuant to the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued in 2016 (case number 2013–19) and in line with the UNCLOS, i.e. -
What Does Vietnam Want from the US in the South China Sea?
DIPLOMAT 4 January 2021 What Does Vietnam Want from the US in the South China Sea? Despite seeking a balance between the superpowers, Vietnam desires more robust security ties with Washington. By Derek Grossman As the incoming Biden administration formulates its South China Sea strategy, one regional partner that looms large is Vietnam. Over the last few years, tensions between China and Vietnam in the South China Sea have remained high, impacting fishing and natural resource exploration in disputed waters. While the Biden administration is likely to continue the positive momentum in bilateral ties, it is less clear what specifically Hanoi seeks from Washington to help it effectively deter Beijing. This is wholly understandable. As I have recently examined at length in a RAND research report, Vietnam is doubling-down on its delicate balancing act as U.S.-China competition throughout the Indo-Pacific dramatically heats up. Although Hanoi feels compelled to counter China’s bad behavior in the South China Sea, it also understands that its future is inextricably tied to peaceful relations with Beijing. Thus, Hanoi typically avoids publicly airing policy preferences, and even privately, the Vietnamese are notoriously subtle and difficult to read. That leaves Washington in the dark most of the time. But through my research and discussions with Vietnamese interlocutors over the years, a few policy preferences have become apparent. First, Vietnam was quite pleased with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement on July 13 in which he announced the U.S. would not respect Beijing’s maritime claims derived from disputed features in the Spratly Islands, Scarborough Shoal, Luconia Shoals, and Natuna Besar. -
Maritime Issues in the East and South China Seas
Maritime Issues in the East and South China Seas Summary of a Conference Held January 12–13, 2016 Volume Editors: Rafiq Dossani, Scott Warren Harold Contributing Authors: Michael S. Chase, Chun-i Chen, Tetsuo Kotani, Cheng-yi Lin, Chunhao Lou, Mira Rapp-Hooper, Yann-huei Song, Joanna Yu Taylor C O R P O R A T I O N For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/CF358 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2016 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Cover image: Detailed look at Eastern China and Taiwan (Anton Balazh/Fotolia). Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface Disputes over land features and maritime zones in the East China Sea and South China Sea have been growing in prominence over the past decade and could lead to serious conflict among the claimant countries. -
US-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas
U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Background and Issues for Congress Updated September 8, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R42784 U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas Summary Over the past several years, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. China’s actions in the SCS—including extensive island-building and base- construction activities at sites that it occupies in the Spratly Islands, as well as actions by its maritime forces to assert China’s claims against competing claims by regional neighbors such as the Philippines and Vietnam—have heightened concerns among U.S. observers that China is gaining effective control of the SCS, an area of strategic, political, and economic importance to the United States and its allies and partners. Actions by China’s maritime forces at the Japan- administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea (ECS) are another concern for U.S. observers. Chinese domination of China’s near-seas region—meaning the SCS and ECS, along with the Yellow Sea—could substantially affect U.S. strategic, political, and economic interests in the Indo-Pacific region and elsewhere. Potential general U.S. goals for U.S.-China strategic competition in the SCS and ECS include but are not necessarily limited to the following: fulfilling U.S. security commitments in the Western Pacific, including treaty commitments to Japan and the Philippines; maintaining and enhancing the U.S.-led security architecture in the Western Pacific, including U.S. -
Letter from Ambassador Kelly Craft to Secretary-General António Guterres
Ambassador Kelly Craft THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE UNITED NATIONS 799 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA NEW YORK, NY 10017 June 1, 2020 His Excellency António Guterres Secretary-General United Nations New York, New York, 10017 Excellency: I have the honor to convey a letter to you regarding Note Verbale No. CML/14/2019 sent by the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to you on December 12, 2019 in response to the submission by Malaysia to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) dated December 12, 2019. The United States rejects these maritime claims as inconsistent with international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. I request that you circulate the enclosed letter to all UN Member States as a document of the General Assembly under Agenda Item 74(a) and of the Security Council, and that you post it on the web page of the Office of Legal Affairs, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. Please accept, Excellency, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. Sincerely, Kelly Craft Ambassador United States Representative to the United Nations Enclosure: As stated. His Excellency António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations, New York June 1, 2020 His Excellency António Guterres Secretary-General United Nations New York, New York, 10017 Excellency: I have honor to refer to the Note Verbale No. CML/14/2019 sent by the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to you on December 12, 2019 in response to the submission by Malaysia to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) dated December 12, 2019. -
Malaysia and Brunei: an Analysis of Their Claims in the South China Sea J
A CNA Occasional Paper Malaysia and Brunei: An Analysis of their Claims in the South China Sea J. Ashley Roach With a Foreword by CNA Senior Fellow Michael McDevitt August 2014 Unlimited distribution Cleared for public release This document contains the best opinion of the authors at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor. Cover Photo: South China Sea Claims and Agreements. Source: U.S. Department of Defense’s Annual Report on China to Congress, 2012. Distribution Distribution unlimited. Specific authority contracting number: E13PC00009. Copyright © 2014 CNA This work was created in the performance of Contract Number 2013-9114. Any copyright in this work is subject to the Government's Unlimited Rights license as defined in FAR 52-227.14. The reproduction of this work for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. Nongovernmental users may copy and distribute this document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this copyright notice is reproduced in all copies. Nongovernmental users may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies they make or distribute. Nongovernmental users may not accept compensation of any manner in exchange for copies. All other rights reserved. This project was made possible by a generous grant from the Smith Richardson Foundation Approved by: August 2014 Ken E. Gause, Director International Affairs Group Center for Strategic Studies Copyright © 2014 CNA Foreword This is the second of three legal analyses commissioned as part of a project entitled, “U.S. Policy Options in the South China Sea.” The objective in asking experienced U.S international lawyers, such as Captain J. -
The South China Sea Dispute in 2020-2021
ISSUE: 2020 No. 97 ISSN 2335-6677 RESEARCHERS AT ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE ANALYSE CURRENT EVENTS Singapore | 3 September 2020 The South China Sea Dispute in 2020-2021 Ian Storey* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • Tensions in the South China Sea have surged since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. China has pressed its jurisdictional claims prompting the United States to increase its criticism of Beijing’s actions and its military presence in the South China Sea. • In response to China’s activities, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have rejected Beijing’s nine-dash line claims and invoked international law and the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling in support of their maritime sovereign rights. • As US-China relations spiral downwards, tensions in the South China Sea will intensify. China will double down on its claims and the United States will harden its position no matter which candidate wins the November 2020 US presidential election. • Southeast Asian countries will continue to emphasize international law to protect their rights and interests and try to avoid being drawn into the US-China war of words over the dispute. The ASEAN-China Code of Conduct for the South China Sea will not be signed in 2021. • China is unlikely to terraform Scarborough Shoal into artificial island or establish an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea. Vietnam will refrain from legally challenging China’s claims or actions. * Ian Storey is Senior Fellow and co-editor of Contemporary Southeast Asia at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. 1 ISSUE: 2020 No. 97 ISSN 2335-6677 INTRODUCTION Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March, tensions in the South China Sea have surged. -
Spratly Islands
R i 120 110 u T4-Y5 o Ganzhou Fuqing n h Chenzhou g Haitan S T2- J o Dao Daojiang g T3 S i a n Putian a i a n X g i Chi-lung- Chuxiong g n J 21 T6 D Kunming a i Xingyi Chang’an o Licheng Xiuyu Sha Lung shih O J a T n Guilin T O N pa Longyan T7 Keelung n Qinglanshan H Na N Lecheng T8 T1 - S A an A p Quanzhou 22 T'ao-yüan Taipei M an T22 I L Ji S H Zhongshu a * h South China Sea ng Hechi Lo-tung Yonaguni- I MIYAKO-RETTO S K Hsin-chu- m c Yuxi Shaoguan i jima S A T21 a I n shih Suao l ) Zhangzhou Xiamen c e T20 n r g e Liuzhou Babu s a n U T Taichung e a Quemoy p i Meizhou n i Y o J YAEYAMA-RETTO a h J t n J i Taiwan C L Yingcheng K China a a Sui'an ( o i 23 n g u H U h g n g Fuxing T'ai- a s e i n Strait Claimed Straight Baselines Kaiyuan H ia Hua-lien Y - Claims in the Paracel and Spratly Islands Bose J Mai-Liao chung-shih i Q J R i Maritime Lines u i g T9 Y h e n e o s ia o Dongshan CHINA u g B D s Tropic of Cancer J Hon n Qingyuan Tropic of Cancer Established maritime boundary ian J Chaozhou Makung n Declaration of the People’s Republic of China on the Baseline of the Territorial Sea, May 15, 1996 g i Pingnan Heyuan PESCADORES Taiwan a Xicheng an Wuzhou 21 25° 25.8' 00" N 119° 56.3' 00" E 31 21° 27.7' 00" N 112° 21.5' 00" E 41 18° 14.6' 00" N 109° 07.6' 00" E While Bandar Seri Begawan has not articulated claims to reefs in the South g Jieyang Chaozhou 24 T19 N BRUNEI Claim line Kaihua T10- Hsi-yü-p’ing Chia-i 22 24° 58.6' 00" N 119° 28.7' 00" E 32 19° 58.5' 00" N 111° 16.4' 00" E 42 18° 19.3' 00" N 108° 57.1' 00" E China Sea (SCS), since 1985 the Sultanate has claimed a continental shelf Xinjing Guiping Xu Shantou T11 Yü Luxu n Jiang T12 23 24° 09.7' 00" N 118° 14.2' 00" E 33 19° 53.0' 00" N 111° 12.8' 00" E 43 18° 30.2' 00" N 108° 41.3' 00" E X Puning T13 that extends beyond these features to a hypothetical median with Vietnam.