South China Sea

Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The South China Sea is a sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It lies south of China, between Vietnam (west), the Philippines (east) and Borneo (south). Seven parties border it: China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam.

It is one of the world's most disputed seas. China's "nine-dash line" claim clashes with the claims of its neighbours. A 2016 arbitral tribunal under UNCLOS ruled against China's claim, but China does not accept the ruling. India has a stake because of freedom of navigation and its oil blocks off Vietnam.

Explanation

Physical setting

• What kind of water body it is: a sea (a large body of salt water that is part of an ocean and partly closed in by land). Here, the land around it is the Asian mainland and a ring of islands.
• The land around it:
• North: southern China and Taiwan.
• West: Vietnam, along the Indochina coast.
• East: the Philippine islands.

• South: Borneo (shared by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia).

• Links to other waters: in the south-west, the Strait of Malacca joins it to the Indian Ocean. This is the main sea route between the Indian Ocean and East Asia.

• Island groups inside it: mostly small islets, reefs (rock or coral ridges near the water surface) and shoals (shallow banks of sand or coral). The two main groups are:
• Spratly Islands in the south.
• Paracel Islands in the north-west, off Vietnam.

Why there is a dispute

• China's claim: the "nine-dash line"
• China uses a line of nine dashes on its maps to claim most of the sea.

• This claim overlaps with the waters that neighbouring countries say are theirs.

• Claims on the island groups:

Feature	Location	Who claims or holds it
Spratly Islands	South	Claimed wholly by China, Taiwan and Vietnam; partly by the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei (six claimants)
Paracel Islands	North-west, off Vietnam	Held by China since 1974; claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

• Artificial islands: China has built artificial islands on some reefs. It does this by piling sand and rock onto reefs until they rise above the sea.
• Flashpoints: Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal are sites of China–Philippines clashes (verify current).

The law: UNCLOS and the 2016 award

• UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982): the world treaty that sets the rules of the sea. It covers the territorial sea, the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and freedom of navigation (the right of ships of every country to sail through international waters).
• Philippines v. China (July 2016):
• The Philippines took the case to an arbitral tribunal set up under UNCLOS.
• The tribunal ruled against China's "nine-dash line" claim.
• An MEA-hosted lecture says the tribunal found that China's historic claims had no legal basis [2].

• China does not accept the ruling. It goes on building and patrolling in the area.

• Code of Conduct (COC): a set of agreed rules of behaviour at sea. India and ASEAN call for an early Code of Conduct in the South China Sea [2].

Where it occurs

• Ocean: the western Pacific Ocean, in South-East and East Asia.
• Bordering parties: China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Vietnam.
• Key features inside the sea:
• Spratly Islands: the southern part of the sea.
• Paracel Islands: the north-western part, off Vietnam.

• Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal: sites of China–Philippines clashes.

• India's link:

• ONGC Videsh has oil blocks off Vietnam.

• India supports freedom of navigation. It says disputes should be settled peacefully by the countries involved, under international law including UNCLOS 1982 [1].

• Nearby seas in the same region: the East China Sea (to the north-east, beyond Taiwan) and the Coral Sea (north-east of Australia).

Don't confuse with

• East China Sea: this sea lies between China, Taiwan and Japan. The Senkaku/Diaoyu islands (held by Japan, claimed by China) are here, not in the South China Sea.
• Spratly vs Paracel: the Spratlys are in the south and have six claimants. The Paracels are in the north-west, off Vietnam, and have been held by China since 1974.
• Nine-dash line vs UNCLOS zones: the nine-dash line is China's own map line based on "historic" claims. The territorial sea and EEZ are zones set by UNCLOS 1982. The 2016 tribunal applied UNCLOS and rejected the nine-dash line.
• Arbitral award vs Code of Conduct: the 2016 award is a legal ruling in the Philippines' case against China. The Code of Conduct is a set of rules that India and ASEAN want agreed in the future [2].

Prelims Hooks

• The South China Sea is part of the Pacific Ocean. It lies between Vietnam (west), the Philippines (east) and Borneo (south).
• Bordering parties (7): China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam. Trap: Japan and South Korea do not border it.
• Philippines v. China (July 2016): an UNCLOS arbitral tribunal ruled against the nine-dash line. China rejects the award.
• Paracels: north-west, off Vietnam, held by China since 1974. Spratlys: south, six claimants (China, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all of them; the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei claim part).
• Senkaku/Diaoyu is in the East China Sea. Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal are in the South China Sea.
• India and ASEAN call for an early Code of Conduct [2]. ONGC Videsh has oil blocks off Vietnam.

Mains Points

• Maritime disputes and the rules-based order (GS-II link):
• China ignores the 2016 UNCLOS award.
• It builds artificial islands on reefs.
• It clashes with the Philippines at Scarborough and Second Thomas Shoal.

• Result: the rules of UNCLOS are weakened, and tension grows in a busy sea lane.

• India's stake and position:

• India backs freedom of navigation and peaceful settlement under UNCLOS 1982 [1].
• It supports an early ASEAN Code of Conduct [2].
• Its interests include ONGC Videsh oil blocks off Vietnam and its Act East policy.

• Its trade with East Asia passes through this sea from the Strait of Malacca.

• How geography shapes the dispute (GS-I):

• A semi-enclosed sea with many small reefs and shoals means the zones of different countries overlap.
• Small features matter because they can be used to claim the sea around them. This is why rivals fight over even tiny rocks.

Related concepts

• Persian Gulf
• Red Sea
• Gulf of Aden
• Horn of Africa
• Black Sea
• Spratly and Paracel Islands
• Gulf of Guinea

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