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The South China Sea security problem: towards regional cooperation

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Abstract

The year 2009 marked many dynamic developments in the South China Sea which attracted the attention of the international community. The main objective of this paper is to analyze these recent security developments by examining the following questions: why tensions are rising in the South China Sea, how challenging is the problem, and what can be done to promote regional cooperation among the countries involved? The paper argues that in order to preserve regional stability, a comprehensive approach must be developed, beginning with confidence-building measures through cooperation in solving non-traditional security problems.

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Notes

  1. Article 121, paragraph 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea says that “rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf”. The question arises whether certain small islands in the South China have such sustainability.

  2. China’s argument for its sovereignty is based mostly on the claim of prior discovery and the decision made by the 1951 San Francisco Conference to require Japan to turn islands back to the PRC. Vietnam bases its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea on two pillars. The claim on the Paracel Islands is based on historical documents issued by the Nguyen Dynasty in the nineteenth century (see. Tim thay Sac chi co ve Hoang Sa 2009), while its claims over the Spratlys have been seen as a continuation of a claim held by the French colonial regime after 1933. The Philippines’ claim was strengthened by two facts: prior discovery by Tomas Cloma in the 1950s, and the declaration made by Carlos Garcia and Ferdinand Marcos in 1957 and 1971, respectively. Malaysia bases its claim on the basis of its continental shelf. Taiwan claimed the whole South China Sea and stated that this is its “historical maritime territory.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Studies, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Quang Minh Pham

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  1. Quang Minh Pham
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Pham, Q.M. The South China Sea security problem: towards regional cooperation. Asia Eur J 8, 427–434 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-010-0283-6

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