Who controls South China Sea?

MANILA, Philippines — Recent incidents involving the Philippines and China in the South China Sea in which Chinese patrol boats harassed Philippine exploration vessels, have highlighted the competing claims to the territory.

Twenty-five percent of the world’s trade passes through the South China Sea which is claimed in whole or part, by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines.

The Aquino administration has formalized its claim with the United Nations as required by the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, declaring Reed Bank as indisputable Philippine territory, and called for dialogue to discuss the incidents.

The US which has “a national interest in preserving freedom of navigation,” according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, has taken the position that ships of all nations should have access to this important waterway, which provides passage of goods and people to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.

The US clearly wants to remain an Asia-Pacific power, and according to the US Commander in the Pacific, Admiral Robert Willard, the US Navy expects to maintain a “continuous presence” in this area.

In 2002, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to a code of conduct for the South China Sea but it has never been translated into a set of rules.

Now that the area is known to have oil and natural gas reserves, new binding rules for access to the South China Sea need to be made. China has already unloaded materials to build an oil rig on one of the uninhabited reefs, and Vietnam has carried out live-fire naval drills nearby.

The lack of an agreement stems from the fact that China is holding out for individual bilateral agreements, with each claimant, while ASEAN prefers a multilateral agreement among all parties.

In an effort to help all claimants arrive at an equable solution, the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development has announced that it is organizing a symposium on the South China Sea issue this October, in conjunction with Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian studies, to provide an avenue for “Track II” diplomacy, in which non-officials (academics, retired military officials, public figures) can engage in dialogue with the aim of resolving the current dispute.