What’s behind the South China Sea dispute? | Start Here
Summary
TLDRThe South China Sea dispute is a complex issue driven by rich resources and strategic shipping lanes. China's historical claim, marked by the nine-dash line, faces opposition from ASEAN nations and the US, who protect trade routes and regional stability. China's naval expansion and militarization of islands have heightened tensions, while international law and ASEAN's Code of Conduct attempts to mediate the conflict. The region's future hinges on navigating these competing interests without escalating to war.
Takeaways
- 🌏 The South China Sea is a region rich in resources such as oil, gas, and fisheries, and it hosts some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
- 🇨🇳 China claims control over the South China Sea to secure its trade routes and access to resources necessary for its economy, aiming to be a naval force in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
- 🏝️ Multiple countries, including Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, claim rights to parts of the South China Sea, leading to territorial disputes.
- 🛳️ The US has a vested interest in the region due to the significant value of trade that passes through its shipping lanes, amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.
- 📜 China's historical claim is based on the 'nine-dash line' drawn in 1929, which was later expanded in 2013 to include Taiwan, indicating an increasing territorial appetite.
- 🚢 Around 40% of the world's liquefied natural gas and $3 trillion worth of annual trade pass through the South China Sea, highlighting its strategic importance.
- ⚖️ The Philippines took China to court over territorial claims, and in 2016, an international tribunal ruled China's nine-dash line claim invalid.
- 🛡️ China has been militarizing the region by building outposts and military bases on contested islands to strengthen its territorial claims.
- 🇺🇸 The US asserts its navigational rights and presence in the South China Sea through naval patrols and military exercises with allies.
- 🤝 ASEAN countries have been attempting to establish a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea to manage territorial disputes, but progress has been slow due to China's influence and differing interests among member states.
- 🕊️ Despite the potential for conflict, the South China Sea dispute often remains under the radar, with China viewing it as essential to its survival and playing a long-term strategy in the region.
Q & A
Why is the South China Sea a point of contention among various countries?
-The South China Sea is rich in oil and gas, has abundant fish stocks, and features some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, making it a strategic and economically significant area.
What is China's strategic interest in the South China Sea?
-China seeks to be a naval force across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to ensure its trade with the world and access to oil and gas to drive its economy, thus it wants to control the South China Sea.
What are the 'nine dash line' and 'tenth line' mentioned in the script?
-The 'nine dash line' is a territorial claim by China based on old British sailing charts from 1929, which they used to outline their borders around the South China Sea. The 'tenth line' was added in 2013 to include Taiwan in China's territorial claims.
What is the significance of the South China Sea to global trade?
-Approximately 40% of the world's liquefied natural gas passes through the South China Sea, and the trade that sails through there is worth $3 trillion a year, representing one-third of the global total.
How has China been asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea?
-China has been planting its flag on contested islands, building outposts in the Paracels, and reclaiming over 13 square kilometers of land in the Spratlys since 2013 to turn them into military bases.
What is the role of the United States in the South China Sea disputes?
-The U.S. aims to protect valuable shipping lanes and assert navigational rights and freedoms by having its navy sail through the South China Sea and conducting military exercises in the region with allies.
What was the outcome of the Philippines' case against China at The Hague?
-The international tribunal at The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, concluding that China's territorial claim based on the nine dash line is invalid and that it had no right to the Scarborough Shoal.
What is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and how does it relate to the South China Sea disputes?
-The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes exclusive economic zones extending 200 nautical miles from a country's coastline. China has signed up to this law, but its claims in the South China Sea have been challenged for not adhering to it.
What is the ASEAN's attempt to address the South China Sea disputes?
-Since the 1990s, ASEAN has been trying to develop a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea to control China's ambitions and manage disputes among member states, although progress has been slow.
Why has the dispute over the South China Sea remained unresolved?
-The dispute remains unresolved due to the vastness of the area, high stakes involved, heavily armed nations defending their interests, and China's long-term strategic approach to the issue.
How does China view the South China Sea in terms of its national interests?
-China sees the South China Sea as essential to its survival and national interests, which is why it has been persistent in its claims and actions in the region.
Outlines
🌏 South China Sea: A Strategic Naval Confrontation
The South China Sea is a region of significant geopolitical importance due to its rich natural resources and critical shipping lanes. This paragraph delves into the complex territorial disputes involving China's desire for control, the interests of other nations such as Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, and the strategic involvement of the United States. China's historical land-based power stance is contrasted with its recent naval ambitions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, driven by economic needs for trade and resources. The narrative also touches on the nine-dash line, a territorial claim by China that has been contested and deemed invalid by international courts. The paragraph concludes with the current state of affairs, highlighting the military and strategic moves by China to assert its claims, the limited success of diplomatic efforts, and the ongoing tension that could potentially escalate into conflict.
📜 Legal and Diplomatic Efforts in the South China Sea Dispute
This paragraph examines the legal and diplomatic dimensions of the South China Sea dispute. It discusses the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines exclusive economic zones and to which China is a signatory. The Philippines' legal challenge to China's claims, resulting in a ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague favoring the Philippines, is highlighted. The paragraph also explores ASEAN's attempts to establish a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea and the challenges therein, including China's initial disinterest and subsequent push for such a code after its legal setback. The influence of ASEAN members' reluctance to antagonize China is noted, as is the ongoing tension between Vietnam and China. The paragraph concludes with an overview of the current diplomatic and military dynamics in the region, emphasizing the high stakes and the potential for confrontation, yet also noting the dispute's relative obscurity from mainstream attention.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡South China Sea
💡Territorial Claim
💡Nine Dash Line
💡Naval Power
💡ASEAN
💡Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
💡International Tribunal
💡Reclamation
💡Military Base
💡Naval Exercises
💡Code of Conduct
Highlights
The South China Sea is a contested area rich in oil, gas, and fish with some of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
China's desire for control over the South China Sea is driven by its ambition to be a naval force across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Other countries, including Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei, claim rights to parts of the South China Sea.
The US is involved due to its trade routes worth hundreds of billions of dollars passing through the region.
China's historical claim to the South China Sea is based on the 'nine dash line' dating back to 1929.
In 2013, China added a tenth line to its claim to include Taiwan, indicating an expanding appetite for territory.
Approximately 40% of the world's liquefied natural gas and $3 trillion worth of trade pass through the South China Sea annually.
China has been asserting its territorial claims by building military bases on contested islands in the Paracels and Spratlys.
The US asserts navigational rights by sailing its navy through the South China Sea and conducting military exercises.
China's territorial claims have been challenged, with the Philippines taking the issue to an international tribunal at The Hague.
The international tribunal ruled China's 'nine dash line' claim as invalid in 2016.
ASEAN has been attempting to establish a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea to manage territorial disputes.
China's push for a Code of Conduct came after losing the case with the Philippines, raising questions about its motives.
Not all ASEAN members are willing to confront China due to its significant power and influence.
Vietnam has had recurring disputes with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
The South China Sea dispute is complex due to the vast area and high stakes involved, with heavily armed nations defending their interests.
China views the South China Sea as essential to its survival and is known for playing the long game in geopolitical strategies.
Transcripts
Let’s talk about the fight over the South China Sea.
It’s rich in oil and gas, there are loads of fish
and the shipping lanes are some of the busiest
in the world.
China wants control of it.
But other countries say they have rights to it too.
And the Americans — well they have trade routes
through there worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
So what’s behind China’s claim over these waters?
Why won’t it share?
And could it all lead to war?
China has been a land-based power for millennia
so it’s never had much of a navy
so it’s never had much of a navy
until now.
Today China wants to be a naval force across two oceans
the Indian and the Pacific.
That’s to make sure it can trade
with the rest of the world and get enough oil and gas
to drive its economy.
And to do that
Beijing wants to control the South China Sea.
But there’s a lot of competition.
Taiwan, for one, claims many of the same rights
that China does.
Then there’s Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia
and Brunei
they want to protect their turf
whether it’s rights to islands, seabed oil or fishing grounds.
Indonesia’s in there too.
And the Americans
they want to protect those valuable shipping lanes.
So no shortage of players.
The question is how is this all going to be resolved?
And then there’s the third option which involves
pushing some kind of compromise between
China and its neighbours.
Countries like Taiwan and others
that are members of ASEAN have tried.
But no one expects that to go anywhere anytime soon
because China knows what it wants.
And it’s been working towards that for a long time.
We’re talking about China’s nine dash line.
Back in 1929 the Chinese took a bunch of old British
sailing charts and told cartographers to draw
China’s borders.
One of them drew nine dashes
around the entire South China Sea.
And as far as the Chinese were concerned that was that.
So then in 2013 China added a tenth line to take in Taiwan.
So then in 2013 China added a tenth line to take in Taiwan.
Its appetite seems to be growing.
It’s easy enough to understand why China
wants control when you look at the numbers.
Around 40% of the world’s liquefied natural gas
passes through the South China Sea — from the Gulf
through the Indian Ocean and on to places like China.
The amount of trade that sails through there
is worth $3 trillion a year — one-third of the world total.
So there’s an expression in Latin that goes:
If you want peace prepare for war.
Now China has no immediate interest in war
but it wants to ensure its access to the South China Sea
if it comes to that.
In the west the main shipping lane
from the Indian Ocean narrows to just 3 km.
And it’s surrounded by American allies.
In the east there’s Taiwan
which has tonnes of American weapons
and could block China from getting to the Pacific.
So to help stake its territorial claim
China has planted its flag on contested islands
that are in those waterways.
In the Paracels China’s built a bunch of outposts
while in the Spratlys it’s added over 13 sq km
of reclaimed land since 2013
and turned them into military bases.
It may be unacceptable to the Americans
but neither the Obama nor the Trump administrations
are seen to have accomplished much.
The US’ main way of asserting navigational rights
and freedoms is having its navy sail
through the South China Sea.
It also conducts military exercises in the region
sometimes with warships from France, Japan
and Australia in the Bay of Bengal.
In July things got a bit hairy.
The Chinese and Americans both held naval exercises
in the South China Sea.
The US sailed in with two aircraft carrier strike groups.
And the Chinese accused the Americans
of escalating things.
Before the US elections the Trump team
gave it one last shot — with mixed results.
What everyone’s been trying to do is get China
to obey the law — namely the UN Convention
on the Law of the Sea.
The law establishes what are called
exclusive economic zones.
These extend 200 nautical miles
out from a country’s coastline
regardless of whether it’s the mainland or an island.
And China signed up to that law.
So the Philippines did the only thing it could.
It took China to court.
One of the big issues was fishing rights.
In 2013 the Philippines argued that China had no right
to the Scarborough Shoal.
It filed a case against the Chinese
with an international tribunal at The Hague.
Judges ended up siding with the Philippines.
Remember China’s territorial claim based
on that nine dash line?
Well in 2016 the court concluded that it’s invalid.
Since the 1990s ASEAN
that association of South Asian countries
has tried to cobble together a Code of Conduct
for the South China Sea.
The idea was to control China’s ambitions.
China hadn’t shown much interest in a code back then.
But after losing the case with the Philippines
the Chinese started to push for one.
Though some in ASEAN questioned their motives.
There’s another problem.
Not everyone in ASEAN is eager to offend a country
as powerful as China.
Vietnam has repeatedly butted heads with China
over their competing claims.
This year’s ASEAN summit was hosted by Vietnam
and a lot of it by video because of the pandemic.
But the social distancing wasn’t expected to help
delegates reach any agreements
on the South China Sea.
The problem with the South China Sea
is that it’s vast and the stakes are high.
There are a lot of heavily armed countries
defending their interests there.
And China’s coastguard as well as Chinese militia
using fishing boats often cause confrontations
on the open sea.
Many analysts worry about all of that provoking
a military response from someone.
But strangely enough the whole dispute
also sort of just bubbles away under the radar.
The Chinese see the South China Sea
as essential to their survival.
Thing is it’s important to everyone there.
That’s why this whole dispute isn’t going away.
But China’s been around for thousands of years.
If anyone is good at playing the long game, it’s China.
As with all our Start Here episodes this primer
is to get us started.
But there’s a lot more information out there to help
us understand what’s going on in the South China Sea.
As always subscribe wherever you’re watching this video
and I’ll see you next week.
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