South China Sea
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The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans |
The
South China Sea is a
marginal sea south of
China. It is a part of the
Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from
Singapore to the
Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five
oceans. The minute
South China Sea Islands, collectively an
archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to several competing claims of
sovereignty by neighboring nations. These competing claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.
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South China Sea, natural resources and competing national interests. |
The
International Hydrographic Organization defines the sea as stretching in a southwest to northeast direction, whose southern border is 3 degrees South latitude between South
Sumatra and
Kalimantan (
Karimata Strait), and whose northern border is the
Strait of Taiwan from the northern tip of
Taiwan to the
Fujian coast of
mainland China. The
Gulf of Thailand covers the western portion of the South China Sea.
The sea lies above a drowned
continental shelf; during recent
ice ages global sea level was hundreds of meters lower, and
Borneo was part of the Asian mainland.
States and territories with borders on the sea (clockwise from north) include: the
mainland China,
Macao,
Hong Kong,
Taiwan, the
Philippines,
Malaysia,
Brunei,
Indonesia,
Singapore,
Thailand,
Cambodia, and
Vietnam.
Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the
Pearl,
Min,
Jiulong,
Red,
Mekong,
Rajang,
Pahang, and
Pasig Rivers.
Islands and seamounts
Within the sea, there are over 200 identified islands and reefs, most of them within the
Spratly Islands. The Spratly Islands spread over an 810 by 900 km area covering some 175 identified insular features, the largest being
Taiping Island (Itu Aba) at just over 1.3 km long and with its highest elevation at 3.8 metres.
There is a 100-
km wide
seamount called
Reed Tablemount in NE Spratlys, separated from
Palawan Island of the
Philippines by the Palawan Trench. Now about 20m under the sea level it was an island until it sunk about 7,000 years ago due to the increasing sea level after the last
ice age.
It is an extremely significant body of water in a geopolitical sense. It is the second most used
sea lane in the world, while in terms of world annual merchant fleet tonnage, over 50% passes through the
Straits of Malacca, the
Sunda Strait, and the
Lombok Strait. Over 1.6 million m³ (10 million barrels) of
crude oil a day are shipped through the Strait of
Malacca, where there are regular reports of
piracy, but much less frequently than before the mid-
20th century.
The region has proven
oil reserves of around 1.2 km³ (7.7 billion
barrels), with an estimate of 4.5 km³ (28 billion barrels) in total.
Natural gas reserves are estimated to total around 7,500 km³ (266 trillion cubic feet).
According to studies made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, this body of water holds one third of the all world's marine biodiversity, thereby making it a vey important area for the ecosystem.
Competing territorial claims over the South China Sea and its resources are numerous. Because the
1982 United Nations Law of the Sea allows for a country's
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to extend 200 nm (370.6 km) beyond territorial waters, all the nations surrounding the sea can lay claim to great portions of it. The
People's Republic of China (PRC) has stated its claim to almost the entire body. Recent reports indicate the PRC is building an
aircraft carrier battle group to secure energy lines in the South China Sea. Areas with potential problems include:
*Indonesia and the PRC over waters NE of the Natuna Islands.
*The Philippines and the PRC over the
Malampaya and
Camago gas fields.
*The Philippines and the PRC over
Scarborough Shoal.
*Vietnam and the PRC over waters west of the
Spratly Islands. Some or all of the islands themselves are also disputed between Vietnam, the PRC, the ROC, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
*The
Paracel Islands are disputed between the PRC/ROC and Vietnam.
*Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam over areas in the
Gulf of Thailand.
*Singapore and Malaysia along the Straits of Johore and the Straits of Singapore.
The PRC and Vietnam have both been vigorous in prosecuting their claims. The Paracel Islands was seized by China in
1974 and 18 soldiers were killed. The
Spratly Islands have been the site of a naval clash, in which over seventy Vietnamese sailors were killed just south of
Chigua Reef in March
1988. Disputing claimants regularly report clashes between naval vessels.
ASEAN in general, and Malaysia in particular, has been keen to ensure that the territorial disputes within the South China Sea do not escalate into armed conflict. As such,
Joint Development Authorities have been setup in areas of overlapping claims to jointly develop the area and dividing the profits equally without settling the issue of sovereignty over the area. This is true, particularly in the Gulf of Thailand.
The overlapping claims over Pulau
Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Putih by both Singapore and Malaysia has been brought to the
International Court of Justice and the case is expected to be heard in 2007.
South China Sea is the dominant term used in
English for the sea, and the name in most European languages is equivalent, but it is sometimes called by different names in neighboring countries, often reflecting historical claims to hegemony over the sea.
The English name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from
Europe and
South Asia to the trading opportunities of
China. In the sixteenth century
Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (
Mare da China); later needs to differentiate it from nearby bodies of water lead to calling it the South China Sea.
[Tønnesson, Stein (2005). Locating the South China Sea. In Kratoska, Paul et al., eds. Locating Southeast Asia: geographies of knowledge and politics of space. Singapore: Singapore University Press. p. 203-233.]In
China, the traditional name for the sea is
Southern Sea (南海; Nánhǎi). In contemporary Chinese publications, it is commonly called
South China Sea (南中國海, Nán Zhōnggúo Hǎi), and this name is often used in English-language maps published by China. In Vietnam, it is sometimes called the
Eastern Sea (Biển Đông); this name is sometimes used by Vietnamese mapmakers in foreign-language publications.
In the Philippines, it is sometimes called the
Luzon Sea, after the major Philippine island of
Luzon. In Southeast Asia, it was once called the
Champa Sea or Sea of Cham, after the Malayo-Polynesian maritime kingdom that flourished before the sixteenth century.
*
List of islands in the South China Sea*
South China Sea Islands*
East China Sea*Zou, Keyan (2005).
Law of the sea in East Asia: issues and prospects. London/New York: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0415350743
*
South China Sea Virtual Library*
Weekly Piracy Report*
South China Newszh-yue:南中國海
