History of the South China Sea

History of the South China Sea

Zheng made trips to Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa between 1905 to 1943. He then drafted the 6^th edition mao Kun map, popularly referred to as “Zheng He’s navigation map” by the Chinese. His map included the South China Sea Islands. China and Vietnam have the most extensive activity on southeast China island. The islands in the South China Sea were all occupied by Japan during World War II. The Japanese used the islands for military purposes. The Imperial  Japanese navy was in charge of the South China Seas island. Some historical records reveal that France dominated some features throughout the 1930s. France owned the  Spratlys and shared a few areas with the British. In 1951 the treaty of San Francisco made the imperial Japanese withdraw their ownership of the South China Sea islands; this left the islands without postulated owners.  China’s Communist Party captured mainland China in 1949 and established the People’s Republic of China. During the Treaty talks of 1951 and the First Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1958, various claims were made to the islands by the newly formed People’s Republic of China. In 1958, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) presented a resolution specifying its territorial waters on what is known as the Spratly Islands Nine-Dash Line. Zhou Enlai developed and approved the nine-dash line from the previously recognized eleven dash line initially suggested by the Republic of China’s Kuomintang Government

In 1954 Geneva accords which terminated the First Indochina war handed over dominion to  South Vietnam over the Vietnamese territories of the south, including Paracels and Spratlys, which are part of the South China Islands. During the Vietnam war in 1974, to prevent the Paracel islands from being controlled by North Vietnam, the People’s Republic of China used the military force found in the Paracel islands. North Vietnam was majorly associated with the Soviet Union at that time. In 1969 the People’s Republic of China  (PRC)  had a brief border conflict with the Soviet Union and did not want to see a Soviet appearance on its coast. Hence China decided to turn to a “self-defense counterattack.”The People’s Liberation Army took control of the South Vietnamese islands (the Paracels and Spratlys) after the United States made a non-involvement promise to the People’s Republic of China.

In the late 1970s, the Philippines and Malaysians started making claims of ownership of the Spratlys Islands. President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines issued Presidential Decree No. 1596 on 11 June 1978, declaring the northwestern portion of the Spratly Islands (here referred to as the Kalayaan Island Group) to be Philippine territory.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Vietnam battled each other near the Johnson Reef around 1988. The PRC received authorization from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission to establish five observation posts for the implementation of ocean surveys and designated one of the observation posts to be developed in the Spratly Islands region. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) instead chose to build their observation post at The Fiery Cross Reef, secluded from the other islands of the area and inhabited by no State at the time. Immediately after the Chinese began construction at the Fiery Cross Reef, Vietnam directed its navy to the area to examine the situation. Consequently, the two states (China and Vietnam ) clashed near the Johnson Reef, and China occupied the Johnson Reef following the clash.

The first military confrontation over the South China Seas between the  People’s Republic of China and the Philippines occurred in 1994. The Chinese had decided to occupy the Mischief Reef located 250 miles away from Philippine’s coast. The Mischief Reef had some energy resources, and the Chinese government desperately wanted to embark on an oil exploration business like other countries.

The ownership or otherwise management of most parts of the Spratly and Paracel Islands has not dramatically changed since the mid-1990s. The People’s Republic of China regulates all features in the Paracels.  Vietnam controls the highest number of elements in the Spratlys (twenty-nine), while the Philippines controls eight features, Malaysia five, the PRC five, and the Republic of China three. The People’s Republic of China adopted the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 as a response to the decision made by the Philippine navy to halt Chinese fishing boats in the region.

It was historical to note that in 2011 on July,  the People’s Republic of China, the Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam resolved on a set of provisional guidelines on the application of the DOC (South China Sea Group Declaration of Conduct) that would help to settle conflicts. The Declaration aimed to lay down a basis for the eventual negotiation of a South China Sea Code of Conduct. The parties agreed that they would exercise self-restraint in undertaking activities that would exacerbate or intensify conflicts and affect peace and stability, including, but not limited to, living on the already uninhabited islands, reefs, and shoals. This document was an essential milestone for the cooperation of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states. While the question of oil and gas exploration remains unresolved, some of the early drafts recognized aspects such as’ marine environmental conservation, scientific studies, the safety of navigation and communication, search and rescue, and the battle against transnational crime.

The Declaration seemed to have kept dispute in check for some time. Beijing conducted a charm offensive across Southeast Asia, and by taking on additional features, the claimants refrained from offending each other. Nevertheless, instead of fighting battles at sea, the plaintiffs began to taunt each other through demarches and verbal notes.  China responded to the joint submission with complaints that had been sent by Malaysia and Vietnam to the Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf, by sending a map featuring the notorious “nine-dash” line. The nine-dash line wraps along the borders of the South China Sea and contains all the territorial features of the sea, and also the majority of its waters. Beijing never officially explained, however, what the line is supposed to mean. Alternatively, it retained “strategic uncertainty” and said that only China has unquestionable jurisdiction over the South China Sea islands and neighboring waters.