ESCOREL, Gay-Ann L.

Philippine Government w/ New Constitution

2nd year/BSED-Major in MAPE

I. INTRODUCTION

 Historical background of the dispute.

On 12 July this year, an arbitration panel in The Hague issued a ruling in the long-running
dispute between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea. The panel ruled in
favour of the Philippines.
As part of the larger South China Sea dispute, the long-standing Spratly Islands dispute is an
ongoing territorial dispute regarding ocean areas and the Spratly Islands and the Paracel
Islands to the north – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of
countries.
The Spratly Islands consist of hundreds of islands and reefs. The 750 spits of lands that make
up the Spratly Islands are small and largely uninhabited. However it is their strategic
location in the middle of several major trade routes, being the home to fishing grounds
which supply people across the region, as well as the possibility of their containing natural
resources which have made the islands an extremely valuable commodity. It is worth
noting that there has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely
extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighboring areas.
By mid 2015, China had built at least seven artificial islands in the South China Sea. China
has been building runways on its artificial islands for over 12 months and the recent
landing of its first plane is said to have raised tension and threaten regional stability. As
well as China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei lay claim to some part
of the Spratly Islands.

 Claimants of the territory.

The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute between China, Taiwan, Malaysia,
brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam, concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of
islands and associated "maritime features" (reefs, banks, cays, etc.) located in the South China Sea.
The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of military pressure
techniques (such as military occupation of disputed territory) in the advancement of national
territorial claims.
  Location on the globe.

II. DISCUSSIONS

 How did this dispute began?

In the modern era in 1945 but before that there were some disputes between the
Tonkin Viet State and Qing China and between colonial France and Quing/ ROC Pre
1949 China Govt. The current dispute has its genisis in Zhou En Lai`s formation of the
9 dash claim prosecuted by the PRC. This was formulated in the early 1950s and
based on the ROC 1945 11 dash claim prior to the 1949 Revolution and the birth of
ROC Taiwan. In 1918/19 at the treaty that settled the first World War China an ally of
the victors was bitterly betrayed by the “Victorious Powers”. Hard for current
Europeans to admit but if was bad, bad and maybe racist. German and Italian colonial
possessions were not returned to China ROC an ally but in the case of German lands
given to Japan. Ironically Japan too felt betrayed and slighted by the Western Powers
and this then drove Japans momentum to start WW2 in Asia 30 years later. The ROC
China which suffered incredible casualties in WW2 in the fight against Imperial Japan,
laid the 1945/46 11 dash claim to guard against further betrayal at the peace table
and to avoid are run of 1918. How ever things did not go to plan for China ROC or
PRC. France re conquered her colonial possession inc the Islands, China disappeared
into civil war, famine, communism, the invasion of Tibet, The Korean war, the Sino
Soviet boarder war, a series of great leap forwards and the cultural revolution, so it
parked the very minor SCS claim. Meanwhile the cold war broke out and the French
collapsed in Indo China, conflict occured all over SE Asia with the Malay Emergency,
the NPA and the Kompassi , wars between Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia
followed by the Vietnam War, The liberation of East Pakistan, 3 Pakistan India wars
and the Kashmir embroglio and a Sino India boarder war, in Asia we were a mess,
that is with out mentioning Afghanistan. The SCS and Spratly Islands disputes re-
emerged after the Sino Vietnam War and Vietnamese invasion and toppling of the
Beijing backed Pol Pot Khmer Rouge regime in Kampuchia. The PLA got a schlacking in
 a weight for age based fight but the PLAN went pretty well. Beijing then entered a
low intensity conflict in the SCS and along the Sino Viet boarder until 1992 when a
secret Hanoi Beijing rapprochement occured. However it fired up again in 2014/15 as
China lanched its blue water navy, its first island chain defense strategy and its string
of pearls strategy, now complimented by the one belt road. This happened ( look
away Americans) cause the US announced a tilt to Asia with a stated reasserting of
the USA place in Asia the most economically dynamic region on the planet. The USA
dropped the ball and China ran the whole pitch and rearmed, re engaged and re
positioned,“ the Whitehouse fiddled while Asia policy burned,” when the
Anglosphere looked up from their American bromance the Spratly Island dispute had
kicked off and they did even know where it was , yet alone 9 dash or 11 dash , no one
had read the San Francisco declarations in decades except strategists in Beijing.

 What are the reasons for the dispute?

There are multiple reasons why the neighboring nations in particular, and the rest of
the world in general, would be interested in the Spratly Islands.

1st is the hydrocarbon in 1968, oil was discovered in the region.[8] The Geology and
Mineral Resources Ministry of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has estimated
that the Spratly area holds oil and natural gas reserves of 17.7 billion tons compared
to the 13 billion tons held by Kuwait, placing it as, potentially, the fourth largest
reserve bed in the world. The United States Energy Information
Administration contests this, estimating almost no oil and less than 100 billion cubic
feet of natural gas exists in fields near the Spratly Islands. Still, these large potential
reserves have assisted in intensifying the territorial claims of the neighboring
countries.

2nd reasons is commercial fishing The region is one of the world's most productive
areas for commercial fishing. In 2010, the Western Central Pacific (excluding the
northernmost reaches of the South China Sea closest to the PRC coast) accounted for
14% of the total world catch at 11.7 million tons. This was up from less than 4 million
tons in 1970.[16] The PRC has predicted that the South China Sea holds combined
fishing and oil and gas resources worth one trillion dollars. There have already been
numerous clashes between the PRC and the Philippines, PRC and Vietnam, and
between other nations over "foreign" fishing vessels in Exclusive Economic
Zones (EEZs), and the media regularly report the arrest of Chinese fishermen. In 1984,
Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone encompassing Louisa Reef in the
southeastern Spratly Islands

And the 3rd reasons is Commercial shipping is The region is one of the busiest
shipping lanes in the world. During the 1980s, at least 270 ships passed through the
Spratly Islands region each day. More than half of the world's supertanker traffic, by
tonnage, passes through the region's waters every year. Tanker traffic through the
South China Sea is over three times greater than through the Suez Canal and five
times more than through the Panama Canal; 25% of the world's crude oil passes
through the South China Sea
  How did UN respond to the issue?
The United Nations (UN) tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, has given China another
chance to respond to the arbitration case filed by the Philippines over the West
Philippine Sea dispute despite Beijing’s repeated refusal to participate.

 What are the Philippine government’s arguments claiming some part of the
island?

Oil and Gas.

III. RESOLUTION
 Recent development.
BEIJING – A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is
pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and
lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and
gas reserves.

[US CONCERNED OVER CHINESE SHIPS NEAR PHILIPPINE ISLANDS]

A senior U.S. official says the presence of large numbers of Chinese vessels near
islands and islets occupied by the Philippines is "a concern."
The Philippine government protested the Chinese ship movements Thursday after its
military monitored more than 200 Chinese vessels from January to March in a
disputed area named Sandy Cay, which is near the Philippine-occupied island of Pag-
asa. Asked about the situation while on a visit to Bangkok, Joseph Felter, deputy
assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, told reporters Friday
that the U.S. is troubled "by any aggressive activity by any country in the South
China Sea, in this case China. We see that as of concern." "In this case, China's
activities are of concern. It seems to be somewhat aggressive and provocative and
we feel that they're unnecessary and unwarranted," said Felter, who was in Thailand
to attend a meeting of defense officials of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, or ASEAN. The Philippines regards a chain of islands and islets, nine of
which it occupies, in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea as a municipality
it calls Kalayaan under its western province of Palawan. That claim conflicts with the
larger territorial claims of China, Vietnam, and three other governments in a long-
simmering Asian dispute.

[PHILIPPINE PROTESTS CHINESE VESSELS NEAR ISLANDS]

The Philippine government has protested the presence of large numbers of Chinese
vessels near islands and islets occupied by the Philippines as illegal and vowed to
take "appropriate action." The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday issued the
rare public rebuke of the Chinese presence after the Philippine military monitored
more than 200 Chinese vessels from January to March in a disputed area named
Sandy Cay near a Philippine-occupied island called Pag-asa by Filipinos. The
statement said the presence of the Chinese vessels there was illegal. "Such actions
are a clear violation of Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction as
defined under international law."

The department said it has lodged diplomatic protests and raised concerns in
meetings with Chinese officials, and that the presence of Chinese military, fishing or
other vessels in the area would "continue to be the subject of appropriate action by
the Philippines." "We call on the Chinese government to adhere to this consensus
reached at the highest levels, down to its agencies and its military," the Philippine
foreign affairs department said.

[DUTERTE TALKS OF 'SUICIDE MISSIONS' TO DEFEND TERRITORY]

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he has few options other than to order
troops to "prepare for suicide missions" if a Philippine-occupied island comes under
threat from China. Duterte reminded China in a speech Thursday night of its closer
ties with the Philippines under his leadership, but said if an island occupied by
Filipinos in the disputed waters is threatened, "things would be different." Duterte
has adopted a non-confrontational approach in territorial spats with Beijing while
seeking Chinese infrastructure funds, trade and investment. He has often lashed
out at the security policies of the United States, a treaty ally, while praising China
and Russia. The Philippine military has monitored Chinese vessels in a disputed area
named Sandy Cay near the island Filipinos call Pag-asa. "I'm trying to tell China, Pag-
asa is ours ... so let us be friends but do not touch Pag-asa Island and the rest.
 Otherwise, things would be different," Duterte said. "This is not a warning, this is
just a word of advice to my friends, because China is our friend." "I will not plead or
beg, but I'm just telling you (to) lay off (of) Pag-asa because I have soldiers there,"
he said. "If you touch it, that's another story. Then I will tell my soldiers 'prepare for
suicide missions.'"

 What is your stand regarding this issue? Do we continue to claim the

territory even in the provocation of a war?

Yes, If the Island is part of our country We have right to continue claim territory even
though it is causes of war. Don't let other countries stole of natural resources of the
Philippines even though the Filipinos are poor but we are really hardworking and
neat. this kind of attitudes is one of proud of in our own country not just only of
amazing views and places.

About Spratly Island, it should belong to the Philippines because is 100km near to the
Palawan. When I look at the map of Spratly Island is apparently away from China so
how they can tell that Spratly Island is their part too. Is really obvious and you see the
Island is so close and part of the Philippine territory, but too bad President Duterte
already gives up the Spratly Island to China.