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Economic and Social Council
Topic: ​Political and territorial disputes concerning the South China Sea
Director:​ Richard Husemann
Moderator:​ Balbina Morales
I. Committee Background
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six primary organs of the
United Nations. Its main purpose is to coordinate the diverse economic, social, cultural,
educational, and health programs of the UN. To do this, the council works close together with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), occasionally inviting them to their meetings in order
to gain insight on pending problems occurring across the world. Additionally, in order to
properly address every single topic, this council divides itself into a series of commissions that
specializes on specific areas of social development. The commissions on Human Rights,
Sustainable Development, and Narcotic Drugs are all examples of the agencies that ECOSOC
counts with. Contrary to how many organs function, ECOSOC has no binding resolution;
meaning that they are passed on to the General Assembly to serve as recommendations for all
countries to adopt. Member countries are elected to serve in three-year terms by the General
Assembly, and are chosen strategically to achieve full regional representation. The Council
meets once a year, during a six week long session held in either Geneva or New York. During
these meetings, voting procedures are done by a simple majority of votes, each state having a
single one.
II. Introduction
Description and Definition of the Topic
The South China Sea is a conflictive yet large territory. Its surrounding sovereign states
such as Brunei, the Republic of China, People’s Republic of China, and Vietnam, have been
involved in island and maritime territorial disputes due to the large proportion of World Trade
passing through the territory. There’s also large amounts of natural gas and oil located at the
sea’s floor and consequently, the territory has great potential for generating large amounts of
income for a country as they extract resources to their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). An EEZ
is an area of coastal water and seabed with a certain distance of a country’s coastline, to which
the country claims exclusive rights for economic activities.
Reclamation works and the construction of structures in South China Sea provision have
been made by the surrounding countries and have in the Spratly Islands. China believes it has
sovereignty over these waters since it is consistent with its maps in which nine-line segments
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circle most of the South China Sea—also known as the “nine-dash line”. This situation goes
against The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s (UNCLOS) principle that claims
a coastal state can only claim maritime zones over which it has sovereignty. Also, countries such
as the United States want the South China Sea to remain as international waters. However, the
U.S sent military ships and planes near disputed islands to ensure access to key shipping and air
routes, they believe countries should have the freedom to navigate through the EEZs in the sea,
thus creating more tensions between countries who want to claim the territory and those who
want it to remain as international waters.
The Problem
Disputes over territory in the South China Sea have caused a series of ongoing conflicts.
50% of global oil tanker shipments pass through the South China Sea, making it one of the
world’s busiest international sea lanes. (Xu, 2014). The chances of China inciting a traffic
interruption are slim, seeing as important factors centered around this country are highly
dependent on the freedom of navigation. Since it is China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei,
and the Philippines who are competing over the territorial claims of the South China Sea,
tensions have risen heavily between these bordering countries. Be as it may, China claims the
largest portion of territory by far.
It’s unclear if China claims territory outside the nine dash line. Vietnam argues that
China never claimed sovereignty over these islands before the 1940’s and claims they have ruled
the Paracels and Spratly Islands since the 17th century. Both Philippines and China claim to the
Scarborough Shoal, a large island at the South China Sea which is closer to the Philippines than
it is to China. Despite some nations creating more conflicts than others, all countries want to
exploit these waters for their oil and gas reserves which have proven to be some of the world's
most lucrative substances. The immense amounts of oil reserves found in this region can offer
tremendous economic opportunity for the smaller nations such as Malaysia, Vietnam, or the
Philippines. It has been estimated that roughly 17.8 billion tons of oil are available in the South
China Sea.
Furthermore, there has been an increase in the possibility of an armed conflict between
the sea’s surrounding nations. There have been regional military buildups in Vietnam and
Malaysia as well as an increased arms trade with Russia and India. The Philippines have
doubled their defense budget while also pledging a five-year joint military exercise with the
United States. They also invested $1 billion on modernizing a program that will rely on the U.S.
sales of cutters and fighter jets. (Xu, 2014).
Typically, overlapping claims regarding territorial sovereignty or maritime boundaries
would be settled through “adjudication before the International Court of Justice of the
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International Tribunal for the Low of the Sea” (Malik, 2013). Another way to resolve the conflict
would be by applying the judicial methods of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea, Annex VII. Although China has ratified this UNCLOS treaty—rejecting the
historically-based claims which they are making—they still state there is evidence proving their
sovereignty over islands in the South China Sea. However, international legal experts state that
China’s claims of ownership over the 9-dash line is invalid.
III. History of the Topic
Chronological History of the Topic
Pre-modern Asian empires were characterized by their undefined and constantly
changing frontiers; their borders were more like regions or zones as opposed to an actual
divisory line. However, although Beijing’s claims that their land territories were never properly
determined, their maritime boundaries have always been clearly defined and delimited.
In 1947, Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist government was inspired by German fascism and
the Nazi concept of an expanded living space, or ​lebensraum. For this reason, China ‘drew’ an
eleven-dash line enclosing the Spratly and Paracel Islands. Then, in 1949, the Chinese
Communist Party achieved success in the civil war. After a cartographic coup, the People’s
Republic of China revised Chiang’s notion into a nine-dash line by eliminating two of the dashes
that enclosed the Gulf of Tonkin by 1953.
Dozens of small disputes have arisen since 1947 regarding territorial claims by countries,
some resulting in considerable death tolls. Since 1956, the Paracel islands had been peacefully
shared by troops from The People's Republic of China and the Republic of Vietnam until China
became determined to completely seize them from Vietnam and take control over the island in
1974. This resulted in the Battle of the Paracel Islands which resulted in 20 Vietnamese soldiers
losing their lives. Afterwards, in 1988, Vietnam decided to try once again to seize the territories,
which was an utter failure; this resulted in the deaths of 60 more sailors. Vietnam has since
retreated from their attempts to recoup the Paracel Islands territory, but has remained a
constant force with other territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Aside from small battles and disputes among these countries, these territorial issues
were relatively unknown to the rest of the world. Nonetheless, this conflict received
international recognition in April 2012, when a Philippine warship and two Chinese
surveillance vessels were involved in a standoff in the Scarborough Shoal. This area had been
claimed by both countries and it began with the Philippine Navy attempting to arrest Chinese
fishermen for allegedly fishing in their territory. In 2012 the gravity of these territorial disputes
increased exponentially, countries kept officially declaring that certain waters and islands
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belonged to their countries, while another of those countries also had a legal claim for that same
territory.
September 1, 2012 marked the day when the Taiwanese military preformed exercise
drills on the island of Taiping. Vietnam was allegedly named the “imaginary enemy” of those
simulations. Upon gaining knowledge of this, the citizens of Vietnam protested against this,
justifying that they were violating their territory and demanded that they immediately stop the
drills. The country of Taiwan defended itself by saying that it was a part of China's territory,
which would make it acceptable for them to carry out with said exercises. However, Vietnam and
Taiwan were “sovereign states” and all of their military activities and deployments were
absolutely legal.
In December 2012, China submitted to the United Nations their official claim to the East
China Sea, following the purchase by the Japanese Government of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Inevitably, the countries that also held claims for some of those territories were tenaciously
against these claims. The delegation of Manila then challenged China’s claim by taking it to a
United Nations tribunal with the protection of the UN convention of the Laws of the Sea — an
international agreement that outlines nation’s responsibilities regarding ocean use. Since then,
China has still maintained a strong conviction and claims to have sovereignty over the lands,
and even set up “fishing permits” in the area restricting fishermen to strictly be from Chinese
descent.
In May of 2014, China introduced a new oil drilling rig into the waters surrounding the
Paracel Islands. This led to multiple clashes between the Vietnamese and Chinese navies since
both countries had claims to the area. These clashes caused a Vietnamese fishing boat to sink
near the oil rig after colliding with a Chinese vessel. Both delegations blamed each other for the
crash. However, the Vietnamese Government released video footage that shows the Chinese
vessel purposely crashing into the fishing boat before sinking. The Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), which had previously strayed from the topic to avoid causing economic
tensions with China, grew serious concerns over the friction between these two countries, urging
both nations to self-restraint and have more peaceful interactions between each other.
Historical Case Studies
The South China Sea Arbitration
In January 22 of 2013, the Philippines acted against the People’s Republic of China
under Annex VII to UNCLOS. In the Notification and Statement of Claim, the Philippines
outlined its objections against China’s legality of their claims. In it, they requested a trial in an
effort to potentially invalidate the nine-dash line to which China responded with a Note Verbale
rejecting Philippines’ claims. They also called for a bilateral negotiation to resolve their disputes.
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After this, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague intervened by issuing a press
release outlining the rules of procedure and the initial timetable. The Philippines later replied to
China with a Memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal; a ten volume memorial that included their legal
analysis and evidence of their claims. Three months later, a second press release was issued by
the Permanent Court of Arbitration to establish December 15, 2014 as China’s deadline to
respond to Philippines’ Memorial. When the day came, China decided not to submit a
Counter-Memorial and instead requested an expanded argument from the Philippines. The
Philippines then provided a supplemental submission to respond 26 questions yet after another
press release date was established, China failed to submit any final statements in response. This
was followed by numerous Tribunal Convenes that lead to the disapproval of several legal
arguments previously made by China.
Mischief Reef
50 nautical miles east of Union Banks in the center of the Spratly Islands, lies the
Mischief Reef. Since 1997, the territory has been occupied by the People’s Republic of China, yet
claims still persist from the Philippines and Vietnam. The reefs do not hold any arable land or
indigenous inhabitants, but the value lies in what ​could be beneath. Countries have the belief
that the surrounding area is rich in unexplored oil and gas fields, so whoever lays claim to the
Reefs, could lay claim to the resources as well.
China began building structures on stilts in the area in 1994, claiming that they were to
be used as shelter by fishermen working in the area. The Philippine government rejected these
constructions, but the Chinese Government paid no attention to them and continued building
more structures up until 1999. The Philippines claimed that those new structures were part of a
plan to lay their claim on the reef. Their suspicions only became stronger with the
implementation of buoys, and the construction of concrete markers. The Philippines claimed
they would destroy these structures before China would build more substantial structures, yet
did not, so as to avoid the strong Chinese military.
Since then, China has continued building increasingly bigger constructions in the
Mischief Reef; the most significant being the artificial island built between 2014 and 2016.
Despite the Philippines’ adamant efforts and diplomatic protests against China, in January
2016, it was unveiled that China was working on the development of a military base with an area
of 5.58 square kilometers, and even equipped with a 2.6 kilometer runway.
Past UN Actions
In the early 20th century some nations expressed their desire to extend territorial claims
to do economic-related activities at the sea’s floor such as fishing, transportation, tourism, and
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trade. Multiple conferences were held between 1930 and 1967. Some agreements were
established in the conventions in 1956, however many issues such as the breadth territorial
waters remained unresolved.
Finally, in 1973 the UN created a treaty called UNCLOS (United Nations Convention of
Law and Sea) which specified the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use
of the world's oceans. It also establishes business guidelines, predominantly focusing on the
environment and use of natural resources. It also talks about EEZs which marked an area where
countries can use up all of the natural resources that the seas floor provide. It also stated that
out to 12 nautical miles from the coast, the coastal state is free to set laws. The treaty has been
revised multiple times since then, but it hasn’t had any major changes. However, something
notable included the addition of industrialized countries like the United States, which were
accepted into the treaty during 1994.
In July 2016, a tribunal constituted for UNCLOS. This has been ruled against China
maritime claims, yet it is not enforceable. China does not acknowledge the treaty nor has it
signed it, and therefore the rules coming from the policy haven’t been very consequential to
them. However, this is causing pressure from countries that have signed the treaty in order to
reach a common agreement on how the South China Sea can be used.
China vs Philippines
Also known as the South China Arbitration, the case was brought up by the Philippines at
The-Hague-based temporary tribunal under annex 7 to the UNCLOS against China concerning
issues about the South China Sea. This case included the legality of the nine-dash line. On
February 19th of 2013 China refused to participate in the arbitration. On December 7 2014, a
position paper was made by China to elaborate on their country's then-current standing on the
issue. On the 29th of October 2015, the arbitral tribunal ruled that they have jurisdiction over
the case, taking up seven of Philippines’ submissions, and ruling against China’s wishes.
On July 12 2016, the tribunal ruled in favor 7 of those submissions (made by the
Philippines). They also said they could not make a decision on all seven submissions, asking the
Philippines to clarify and narrow them down. The tribunal also ruled that China has no
historical rights on these territories where they claimed to due to the historical value it holds in
its country.
IV. Key Players and Points of View
China
China’s claimed area has been represented by the 9, 10, and 11-dashed lines. These lines
enclose the territories over which China believes to have sovereignty over, such as Xisha,
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Nansha, Zhongsha and many more, amounting to a near total of a hundred and more islands.
Such claims are based on the historically held sovereignty by its nation in past generations,
dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. China’s territorial claims in 1950 were opposed by
other territorial claimants who had not demanded sovereignty within their 9-dash line until the
1970s. China believes that the recent claims against their ‘owned’ territories are politically
motivated and driven by other countries’ needs for resource extraction, as opposed to rightful
ownership.
United States
The United States supports the rule of law — a legal principle in which law should govern
a nation as opposed to arbitrary decisions. After the Tribunal in the Philippines-China
arbitration they support any effort to resolve the territorial and maritime disputes in a peaceful
manner. They believe that by joining the Law of the Sea Convention, countries are complying to
the convention’s ways in solving disputes such as these. For this reason the United States
supports the Phillippines, seeing as they have been following the aforementioned process. The
United States encourages both China and the Philippines to respect their obligations, as well as
to work together in solving the feud, while also urging other countries to abstain from any
provocative actions that could disrupt the effort to settle the disputes peacefully.
Vietnam
On July 12, 2016, Vietnam confirmed their persistent position after the tribunal issued
its award between the Philippines’ and China’s arbitration. Before this however, in the statement
made by the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Vietnam, the tribunal had presented strong support of
peaceful settlements of disputes in the East Sea as well as withholding from any use of force.
Their attitude towards the issue did not change after the Tribunal’s decision. Nevertheless,
Vietnam continues to affirm its sovereignty over the Paracel and the Spratly islands as well as its
territorial sea based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The country
is currently extending a runway onto the Spratly islands in an effort to allow surveillance
aircrafts to accommodate there; this is one out of the five bases Vietnam has on the region. The
new facilities have the ability to hold Vietnamese air forces such as light cargo planes used for
maritime surveillance. This caused China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Gen Shuang to interfere
and urge Vietnam to stop building on “China’s territory” despite them having enough space for
twenty four jets on each of their three largest man-man islands.
Philippines
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The Philippines contested that the nine dotted line claim by China is invalid because it
violates the UNCLOS agreements regarding EEZs and territorial seas. The Philippines say that
because of the numerous features of the South China Sea, most of the Spratly Islands cannot
sustain life which are part of the nine dashed line. Due to the islands not sustaining life, they
can’t be given their own continental shelf, or ownership as defined in the convention. China on
the other hand, has refused to participate in the arbitration, stating that several treaties with the
Philippines point to bilateral negotiations to resolve their treaties They also accuse the
Philippines of violating the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
V. Possible Solutions
Due to the violent actions that these disputes has caused, it is of extreme importance that
a peaceful solution is reached before tensions between the countries involved escalate even
further. China and the Philippines attempted to solve this problem when they gathered in the
Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague on July 2012 where it is said that tensions between the countries
were eased. It was decided that “China’s nine-dash line had no foundation under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and that China has supported activities
that infringe on the Philippines’ rights to fish stocks” (Rothwell 2016). Therefore, it was ruled
that none of the two countries could lay an official claim over the Spratly Islands.
With so many countries involved, it is extremely difficult to get all islands to comply and
give up some of the territory they all claim as theirs in order to prevent any further conflict.
However, all countries must agree to cooperate by giving up some of their territorial claims for
the greater good of their nations, and to protect the rights of the local fishermen in the area. The
marine area could be divided among the countries, depending on the rule of the 12-nautical
miles from their land area. Regarding China´s approach of building land in islands in order to
gain more territories, regulations and divisions of land maintained by the United Nations or a
Non Governmental Organization to ensure that a peaceful agreement is made.
VI. Current Status
Ater Philippines’ claims against China, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The
Hague, Netherlands, ruled in favor of the Philippines on July 12, 2016. China still rejects the
court’s authority despite being a UN Convention signatory on the Law of the Sea. The tension
amongst the Southeast Asian countries over territorial disputes increase the risk of military
involvement. Due to China’s efforts to recover sea territory in the South China Sea by
constructing ports, installations, or airstrips in the surrounding islands, countries such as the
United States have taken action against it by challenging their believed authority over it.
Meanwhile, the Philippines and Vietnam are conforming to China’s proposal of dealing with
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disputes in a joint development after the failed attempts to approach the situation in a
confrontational way. Other recent developments involves Philippine Defense Chief puting joint
patrols and naval exercises on hold. Furthermore, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte made
the first break in its defence corporation with the United States after it paused the twenty-eight
military exercises they carry out each year (CFR, 2016).
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Mazza, M., Rines, S., Smith, J., & Pérez-Stable, M. (2016, September). To Fix the South China
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