High Value Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Prelims, 19th May 2017

SOUTH CHINA SEA

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres (1,400,000 sq mi). The area's importance largely results from one-third of the world's shipping sailing through its waters and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

Location:

It is located:

• south of China;
• east of Vietnam and Cambodia;
• northwest of the Philippines;
• east of the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, up to the Strait of Malacca in the western, and
• north of the Bangka–Belitung Islands and Borneo

The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

Territorial disputes:

• The dispute is over who owns hundreds of small islands and atolls that stretch over some 3.5 million square kilometres of ocean-maritime territories that are thought to be rich in gas and oil, as well as fish.
• The real significance of this maritime territory, though, is strategic. Located at the crossroads of South, Southeast and Northern Asia, the sea lanes that pass through the South China Sea provide the shortest route between the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, and function as vital arteries of world trade and energy shipments.

Why South China Sea is so important:

• Central and strategic location:
  • An estimated US$5 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea.
  • Instability or conflict in the area could threaten the free flow of maritime commerce with serious repercussions for the global economy
  • Whoever controls this territory has the power to choke that trade.
• Natural Resource:
  • It has huge reserve of natural oil and gas. South China Sea is alleged to have 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
  • According to U.S. estimates, the oil and gas deposits, are at least equal to Mexico’s and, by some contested Chinese estimates, might be second only to Saudi Arabia’s.
  • Very productive fishing areas. Thus, it also affects the livelihood of the people of coastal areas.

Hague Tribunal Verdict:

• In July, a five-judge panel in The Hague unanimously rejected the legal basis of nearly all of China’s maritime claims. Within weeks, China’s Supreme People’s Court issued a regulation stating a “clear legal basis for China to safeguard maritime order,” in which Beijing vowed to prosecute any foreigners found fishing or prospecting in disputed waters.

• Other means of settling complex territorial disputes also appear ineffective.
  • The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ long-delayed code of conduct for the South China Sea, which Beijing officials said they would finalize in 2017, would do little to resolve conflicting claims of sovereignty. Much like The Hague-based tribunal’s ruling, any legally binding ASEAN declaration would lack meaningful mechanisms of enforcement.

Stand of USA:

While the United States has long said it does not take an official position on South China Sea disputes, it steadily criticizes China’s behaviour there and plans to expand defense alliances with countries that have overlapping claims. By 2021, U.S. Navy officials plan to expand the Pacific Fleet’s overseas assigned forces by approximately 30 percent.

why South China Sea matters to India:

For following reasons, Southeast Asia and its contested littorals matter to Indian interests.

• Indian trade and economic linkages in the Pacific are becoming stronger and deeper.
  • Not only are ASEAN and the far-eastern Pacific key target areas of the "Act East" policy, Asia’s Eastern commons are increasingly a vital facilitator of India’s economic development.
  • With growing dependence on the Malacca Strait for the flow of goods and services, economics is increasingly a factor in India’s Pacific policy.
  • China must know that territorial conflicts in the SCS threaten the future trajectory of India’s economic development, creating an unacceptable hindrance for regional trade and commerce.
  • India is involved in the exploration of oil and gas field in the south china sea.
• India believes that the disputes in the Southeast Asian littorals are a litmus test for international maritime law. In the aftermath of The Hague Tribunal’s verdict on the South China Sea, New Delhi feels obligated to take a principled stand on the issue of freedom of navigation and commercial access as enshrined in the UNCLOS. Beijing must know that regardless of the guarantees it seeks from India about staying neutral on the SCS, New Delhi cannot be seen to be condoning the aggression of armed Chinese naval ships, aircraft and submarines in the region.

India’s stand:

• Though India’s has not openly taken stand in against or favour of any party. But India has asked the countries to ensure freedom of navigation and abide to international laws and regulation.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the (UNCLOS)

• The UNCLOS, also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982.
• UNCLOS defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
• UNCLOS cam­e into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th nation to ratify the treaty. As of June 2016, 167 countries and the European Union have joined in the convention. It is uncertain as to what extent the Convention codifies customary international law.
• UNCLOS replaces the older 'freedom of the seas' concept, dating from the 17th century: national rights were limited to a specified belt of water extending from a nation's coastlines, usually 3 nautical miles (5.6 km), according to the 'cannon shot' rule developed by the Dutch jurist Cornelius. All waters beyond national boundaries were considered international waters: free to all nations, but belonging to none of them
• Demarcations as per UNCLOS:
  • Territorial waters – Exclusive enforcement jurisdiction for security and all other matters.
  • Contiguous Zone – Security jurisdiction for customs, immigration and sanitary measures.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone – Limited enforcement jurisdiction, reserved for pollution, marine natural resources, other issues which affect national security. Note that, EEZ can go up to 300nm in case the country can prove that there is an extension of continental shelf.
  • High Seas – Beyond EEZ. No jurisdiction of home country.

Source: Indian Express, Internet, IDSA.