India urges adherence to 2016 ruling favouring the Philippines in the South China Sea

India urges adherence to 2016 ruling favouring the Philippines in the South China Sea

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• India called for adherence to the 2016 arbitration decision in favour of the Philippines, which has been rejected by China.

Details:

• The negotiations are continuing between China and the ASEAN bloc for a code of conduct in the South China Sea — which diplomatic sources described as a “complex exercise” involving 11 countries.

Conflict over South China Sea:

• The Philippines instituted an arbitration proceeding against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration under UNCLOS on January 22, 2013.
• The court ruled in favour of Manila on July 12, 2016, but this was rejected by China, which had called it “null and void.”
  • China does not recognise the ruling and did not participate in the deliberations at The Hague.
• China, which claims rights to most of the resource-rich South China Sea up to the nine-dash line, has become more assertive in recent years.

South China Sea:

• Location: South China Sea is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia. It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.
  • It is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea.
• Bordering states & territories (clockwise from north): the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
• Strategic Importance: This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean (Strait of Malacca).
  • According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body.

Reasons For Dispute in the South China Sea:

• Contesting Claims Over Islands:
  • The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
  • The Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei and the Philippines.
  • The Scarborough Shoal is claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan.
• China’s Assertion:
  • Since 2010, China has been converting uninhabited islets into artificial islets to bring them under UNCLOS (examples would include Haven Reef, Johnson South Reef and Fiery Cross Reef).
  • China has been changing the size and structure of the reefs by modifying their physical land features. It has also established airstrips on Parcel and Spratly.
  • Chinese fishing fleets are engaged in paramilitary work on behalf of the state rather than the commercial enterprise of fishing.
  • The US is very critical of this building of artificial islands and terms these actions of China as building a ‘great wall of sand’.
• Other Issues:
  • The undefined geographic scope of the South China Sea.
  • Disagreement over dispute settlement mechanisms.
  • The undefined legal status of the Code of Conduct (COC) adds to it.
  • The different histories of distant, largely uninhabited archipelagos of the sea make the matter more complicated and multifaceted.