1. Spratly Islands Done by: Ang Ray Yan (4S102) Dominic Cheong (4S108) Johnny Yeung (4S134)

2. Contents • Fact file • Early conflict • Contesting countries • Key events in the fight for sovereignty

3. Fact file • Made up of 750 reefs • South China Sea • Between Philippines, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei • <5km2 • Rich in oil, gas, seafood and coral reef resources

4. Early conflict

5. Contesting countries

6. China

7. China Primary motive • Harness hydrocarbon resources on Spratly Island to generate oil

8. China Source: http://www.worldwatch.org/brain/images/press/news/vs05-china_oil.jpg

9. China Secondary motive • Increase its territory by drawing territorial lines to Spratly Islands • Observed in China producing such a map in 1958.

10. Philippines • Owns 60 islands and 7 wells • Nearest proximity to Spratly Islands • Reason for ownership: • At 1956, Tomas Cloma and crew ‘discovered’ Spratly Islands • Unoccupied, abandoned • Fought for ownership based on res nullis principle: • Res nullis: Any island uninhabited/abandoned belongs to the discoverer • Renamed islands as Freedomland

11. Philippines • Motive for ownership: • Integral step in improving security in Philippines • Increase its oil production more revenue

12. Philippines • Motive for ownership: • Integral step in improving security in Philippines • Increase its oil production more revenue

13. Brunei • Claims Louisa Reef Motive:

14. Brunei • Focus not on oil and gas, already main producer • Southern part of Spratly Islands: Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Brunei • Established by UNCLOS (law of the seas) by UN • In 1984, Brunei declared an EEZ that includes Louisa Reef.

15. Vietnam

16. Vietnam • As early as the 17th century, Vietnamese maps record Spratly Islands as her territory • Vietnam had conducted many geographical and resource surveys of the islands • China did not declare sovereignty over the Spratlys until after World War II

17. Taiwan • Taiwan currently occupies ItuAba island (Taiping Island) • Claims sovereignty over all Spratly Islands • Taiwan’s claims are similar to that of PRC’s • After WWII, Japan renounced control of Spratlys to China, but after separation in 1949, Taiwan retained control of military there

18. Taiwan • Built an airstrip on ItuAba Island • In 2008, Taiwan's president Chen Shui-bian personally visited the island

19. Malaysia • Started its claim in 1979 • Malaysia occupied three islands that it considers to be within its continental shelf.  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea states: “A coastal nation has control of all resources on or under its continental shelf, living or not”

20. Malaysia

21. Uninvolved countries

22. Key events • Sino-Vietnam conflict • 1992 Declaration of the South China Sea • China’s defiance • 2002 Declaration of conduct of parties of the South China Sea

23. Sino-Vietnam conflict Background

24. Sino-Vietnam conflict

25. Sino-Vietnam conflict

26. ASEAN declaration of the South China Sea

27. China’s defiance • Despite signing the declaration… China passed “Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zones" Law, laying hands on all of Spratly Islands Enhanced fortifications on the island in 2000

28. Mischief Reef dispute

29. Declaration of the conduct of parties in the South China Sea • Signed in 2002 • More specific steps to maintain peace while competing for Spratly Islands

30. Declaration of the conduct of parties in the South China Sea • Almost resolved the Spratly Islands problem peacefully • Not legal binding, fell short of a final step

31. Peaceful resolution • During Asian Association of Parliaments for Peace (AAPP) conference in the Philippines, • Claimant countries of Spratly Islands signed another declaration to promote joint development of resources on Spratly Islands

32. Peaceful resolution • 2005: National oil companies of China, Vietnam and Philippines signed joint accord • Promote joint seismic experiments on Spratly Islands for economic purposes

33. Conclusion

34. References • http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/05/world/rival-claims-to-island-chain-bring-edginess-to-asia-s-rim.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spratly_islands • http://thepinoy.net/?p=1184 • http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=623 • http://web.mit.edu/cascon/cases/case_spi.html • http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/spratly-diplomacy.htm • http://www1.american.edu/TED/SPRATLY.htm • http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/spratly.htm

35. Thank you