The South China Sea Dispute

Rival countries have wrangled over territory in the South China Sea for centuries - but a
recent upsurge in tension has sparked concern that the area is becoming a flashpoint
with global consequences.
The area in the south china sea is potentially rich in oil and natural gas deposits. Which
Should have caused most of the disputes. The Ministry of Geological Resources and
Mining of the People's Republic of China estimate that the South China Sea may
contain 17.7 billion tons of crude oil (compared to Kuwait with 13 billion tons). In the
years following the announcement by the ministry, the claims regarding the South China
Sea islands intensified.
There are several disputes in the area, each involving a collection of different countries.


1. Maritime boundary in the waters north of the Natuna Islands between Indonesia,
China, and Taiwan
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2. Maritime boundary north of Borneo between Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Philippines, and Brunei
3. Islands in the southern reaches of the South China Sea, including the Spratly
Islands between Vietnam, Malaysia, The Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan, and China
4. Maritime boundary off the coast of Palawan and Luzon between the Philippines,
China, and Taiwan
5. Maritime boundary along the Vietnamese coast between Vietnam, China, and
Taiwan
6. Islands in the northern reaches of the South China Sea, including the Paracel
Islands between Vietnam, China, and Taiwan
7. Maritime boundary in the Luzon Strait between the Philippines and Taiwan,
including islands.
8. The nine-dash line area claimed by China which covers most of the South China
sea and overlaps Exclusive Economic Zone claims of Brunei, Malaysia, the
Philippines and Vietnam
As of now, All of the paracel islands are in chinese control.
The United States could be drawn into a China-Philippines conflict because of its 1951
Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. The treaty states, "Each Party recognizes
that an armed attack in the Pacific Area on either of the Parties would be dangerous to
its own peace and safety and declares that it would act to meet the common dangers in
accordance with its constitutional processes." American officials insist that Washington
does not take sides in the territorial dispute in the South China Sea and refuse to
comment on how the United States might respond to Chinese aggression in contested
waters. Nevertheless, an apparent gap exists between American views of U.S.
obligations and Manila's expectations. This treaty will help to reduce chances of china
taking severe military actions to take over the region.

In my view, this conflict and disrupt can be resolved by china, togeather with other
countries that are affected, could joine hands with each other to explore oil and gas in
the south china sea. The agreement has been working well for Thailand. The Joint
Development Authority that manages the exploration had by the end of 2007 discovered
approximately 8.5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas reserves from 22 fields in the area.
With such a track record, Malaysia should perhaps take the lead and push for an
ASEAN-China forum on the South China Sea.