Exploring the Timeline of the South China Sea Dispute and the Arbitration

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The South China Sea Dispute is a dispute claiming partial and total ownership over territorial and sovereign waters in the South China Sea, which are ongoing for hundreds of years. Many countries have claimed ownership of the area’s Paracel and Spratly Islands. These countries are including China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and also Taiwan.

Latest on 23 Aug 2020, the Philippine’s Defense Minister came out accusing China of fabricated ‘9-dash maps’ to claim the majority of the South China Sea and illegally occupying Philippines’ maritime territory.

That area is within our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Lorenzana told reporters in a text message

Their so-called historical rights over an area enclosed by their nine-dash line don’t exist except in their imaginations

Our fishermen are within our EEZ and likewise, our ships and planes conduct patrol sorties within our area. They (China) are the ones who have been doing provocations by illegally occupying some features within our EEZ. Hence they have no right to claim they are enforcing their laws.

China often invokes 9-dash line map as the historical basis for its territorial claim over the South China Sea , causing conflict with its neighboring countries like Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Brunei which also claimed over the area.

China still rejected a 2016 ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague, that China’s claim over the South China Sea was without legal basis.

Timeline of the South China Sea Dispute
Since the islands dispute in the South China Sea between China and South East Asia countries has been around for a long time, this can be roughly sort out in order as follows;

1947 : China has claimed sovereignty over the South China Sea.

1950 : After Chiang Kai-shek’s government was defeated by Mao Tse-tung’s Chinese Communist Party, the military, including the army immobilized in these two islands, was forced to move to Taiwan. Mr. Tomas Cloma, a Filipino businessman, then entered the Spratly Islands and claimed to be the discoverer of the islands.

1954 : French stated that the claim over the Paracel Island belongs to Vietnam.

1958 : North Vietnam acknowledge China’s sovereignty over the Paracel Island and Spratly Island.

1971 : Philippine announced a claim to part of the Spratly Islands, known in Pilipino as the Kalayann, as a part of their Palawan Province.

1975 : After South Vietnam lost to North Vietnam and were merged as a country, Vietnam has again proclaimed theirs right over the two islands.

1979 : Sino-Vietnamese War.

1991 : The confrontation at the border between China and Vietnam has ended. The trade began to expand.

1992 : China pass the law which lays claim to the entire of the South China Sea.

1999 : Taiwan and China proclaim that the two islands rightfully belong to Taiwan.

2011 : China survey natural resources in the disputed area while Vietnam and United States strengthen their relationship.

2012 : China and Philippines each mobilized in the area of the Spratly Island, each claim the other country’s violation of territory.

2013 : Philippine filed to the Permanent Court of Arbitration to invalidate China’s claim and alleged that various proactive actions of China in the South China Sea is violated to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), which has ratified by both China and Philippines. However, China rejects the arbitration process.

2016 : The Court rules in favor of the Philippines in July.

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Exploring the Timeline of the South China Sea Dispute and the Arbitration