On 5 June 2010, American Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Shangri-La Dialogue Conference in Singapore that the USA had growing concerned about the South China Sea and the effect competing claims could have on stability. This follows reports of recent Chinese naval activity in the area and political comments about the disputed territories.
“This sea is not only vital to those directly bordering it, but to all nations with economic and security interests in Asia, said Mr Gates. “We do not take sides on any competing sovereignty claims, but we oppose the use of force and actions that hinder freedom of navigation.”
Last December, Vietnam's Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh said that disputes over territory were increasing. "The situation with regard to disputes over sovereignty in the East Sea causes certain concerns for Vietnam's national defence and creates new challenges," Vinh was reported by Reuter’s John Ruwitch as saying. East Sea is Vietnam’s name for the South China Sea.
China Claims the Spratly and Paracel Islands
The South China Sea is dotted with more than 200 small coral islets, reefs and rocky outcrops, members of two small island groups the Spratlys and the Paracels. Both groups are claimed by China, while bordering nations also demand various sovereignty rights. This issue of territorial ownership is a complicated international affair. The presence of major oil and gas reserves makes it a potentially dangerous one too, particularly considering world’s second largest shipping lane runs through the general area, servicing the giant economies of China and Japan.
Physically insignificant thought they are, in many cases nothing more than navigation hazards, these geographical features are the basis on which claims to the surrounding seas and their resources can be asserted. There have been skirmishes in the past, most notably China’s invasion of the Vietnam-held Paracels in 1976 and a naval clash between the same two countries in 1988 in the Spratly Islands, when more than 70 Vietnamese sailors died.
Chinese Navy Exercises in South China Sea
There is evidence that China is reasserting itself in the South China Sea. In a Jakarta Post piece entitled “Is China failing SE Asia’s test?” Evan A. Laksmana commented on recent Chinese naval activities. “According to a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a flotilla of six ships from the North Sea Fleet sailed on March 18 on a training exercise in the vicinity of the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands”, Mr Laksmana, a researcher with Jakarta’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said.
“These developments signify China’s growing naval capability — and its intention of possibly using them in territorial disputes. Studies have shown that while Chinese leaders clearly view China as a defensive power, Beijing has been willing to use “calibrated force” in the past, especially when it comes to territorial disputes.”
Mr Laksmana’s report goes on to point out that China has resolved 17 of its 23 border disputes since 1949 peacefully, and that Chinese leaders believe that a diplomatic approach is necessary for economic development objectives and to show that China can be a responsible world leader. The commentator suggests that it is “difficult to fully assess under what conditions China would today use force to defend what it sees as its ‘undisputed sovereignty’.”
At the Singapore conference, Mr Gates warned the region over any possible threat to US interests. “We object to any effort to intimidate U.S. corporations or those of any nation engaged in legitimate economic activity,” Mr Gates said, referring to government agency reports of Exxon, Mobil and BP putting South China Sea projects on hold because of objections from China.
Seeking A Peaceful Outcome to the Spratly Dispute
Reports out of Vietnam, China and the Philippines suggest that progress over the last two decades trending towards a peaceful outcome to territorial disputes in the South China Sea is continuing.
On 7 June 2010 Businessmirror.com’s Estrella Torres reported Chinese envoy to the Philippines Liu Jianchao as saying that “nonintrusive and discreet” policies were the best way of dealing with those two countries’ disputes over the Spratleys. “I am convinced that, with our principled flexibility and creativity, the South China Sea will at last become the sea that nurtures peace and invites cooperation,” Ambassador Liu said.
In an earlier report dated 4 June, the same journalist wrote that in late April the Philippines and China had pledged to ensure security and stability in the Spratly Islands region, to transform it from “an area of conflict to a zone of peace.” The two countries celebrate 35 years of bilateral relations on 9 June 2010 “with commitments to strengthen economic, political, and security relations.”
Bloomberg’s Daniel Ten Kate wrote 6 June on Vietnam’s concern for a peaceful outcome. “We still have disputes but we must solve them completely in line with international law,” Defense Minister General Phung Quang Thanh said at the Singapore conference. “More or less we can maintain stability in this part of the sea.”
With the smaller nations of the South China Sea inextricably tied to China through trade, investment and aid deals, they have a delicate situation on their hands.
Reference
Globalsecurity.org, South China Sea / Spratly Islands, Accessed 7 June 2010
Brian Cross - Brian is a feelance writer specialising in content for the corporate sector, based in Wellington, New Zealand.
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