Spratly Islands dispute In addition to economic incentives, the ‘PH can’t have its Kalayaan

The overlapping territorial claims in Spratly Spratlys sit astride major maritime trade
Island Group’ – arbitral
Islands routes to Northeast Asia, giving them
added significance as positions from tribunal
which to monitor maritime activity in the BY: RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO
The Spratly Islands dispute is an
ongoing territorial South China Sea and to potentially base
and project military force from. IN the second case* where we shot
dispute between China, Taiwan, Malaysia,
ourselves in the foot in the arbitration
the Philippines and Vietnam, concerning In 2014, China drew increased case against China brought by
"ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group international attention due to its President Benigno Aquino 3rd and his
of islands and associated "maritime dredging activities within the Spratlys, Foreign secretary Albert del Rosario,
features" (reefs, banks, cays, etc.) located in amidst speculation it is planning to the tribunal in effect ruled that we
the South China Sea. The dispute is further develop its military presence in can’t have our Kalayaan Island Group
characterised by diplomatic stalemate and the area. In 2015 satellite imagery (KIG), since this would violate
the employment of military pressure revealed that China was rapidly provisions of the United Nations
techniques (such as military occupation of constructing an airfield on Fiery Cross Convention of the Law of the Sea
disputed territory) in the advancement of Reef within the Spratlys whilst continuing (Unclos).
national territorial claims. All except Brunei its land reclamation activities at other The episode would be really hilarious
occupy some of the maritime features. sites. Only China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), if not for its very serious impact on
and Vietnam have made claims based on our Republic’s territory. The bungling
There has been a sharp rise in media historical sovereignty of the islands. The duo thought they could force China
coverage owing mainly to China's Philippines, however, claims part of the out of our exclusive economic zone
increasingly vocal objection to the presence area as its territory under UNCLOS, an (EEZ) by filing the arbitration case,
of American naval vessels transiting the area agreement parts of which have been invoking the Unclos. Instead, one
in order to assert the right to freedom of ratified by the countries involved in the consequence is that if we comply with
navigation within international waters. Spratly islands dispute. the arbitral ruling, we’d have to give
Most of the "maritime features" in this area
up our KIG. And we are the only ones
have at least six names: The "International Reasons for the dispute who have to comply with it, as China
name", usually in English; the "Chinese
refused to recognize the tribunal, and
name", sometimes different for PRC and ROC There are multiple reasons why the its ruling doesn’t apply to any other
(and also in different character-sets); the neighboring nations in particular, and the nation.
Vietnamese, Philippine and Malaysian rest of the world in general, would be
names, and also, there are alternate names interested in the Spratly Islands. The KIG is the only addition to our
(e.g. Spratly Island is also known as Storm
territory since the 1898 Treaty of Paris
Island), and sometimes names with colonial
(by which Spain sold us to the US)
origins (French, Portuguese, Spanish, British,
established the archipelago’s
etc.).
boundaries. It was Marcos, through
Source: WIKIPIDEA
his Presidential Decree (PD) 1596 in
The Spratly Islands are important for
1978, who annexed a hexagonal
economic and strategic reasons. The Spratly
territory covering most of the Spratly
area holds potentially significant, but largely
islands — which China and Vietnam
unexplored, reserves of oil and natural gas, it
had claimed several decades earlier.
is a productive area for world fishing, it is
Other than Bajo de Masinloc, the KIG
one of the busiest areas of commercial
is the only thing really that has
shipping traffic, and surrounding countries
involved us in the South China Sea
would get an extended continental shelf if
territorial dispute.
their claims were recognised.
In his decree, Marcos claimed these areas The tribunal pointed this out in the If Duterte and Beijing fail to agree on
“do not legally belong to any state or nation course of its discussion to reject one of a mutually acceptable modus vivendi,
but, by reason of history, indispensable China’s arguments in rejecting the the two neighbours may once again
need, and effective occupation and control, arbitration, that it has sovereignty over find themselves in troubled waters.
established in accordance with international the Nansha Island (sic) group, considered
law, such areas must now be deemed to a whole, which it defined as an area
belong and subject to the sovereignty of the nearly exactly in the way Marcos’ PD If Duterte and Beijing fail to agree on
Philippines.” 1596 did, i.e., as a territory covering both terms for the Scarborough Shoal, the
waters and geological features. For the two neighbours may once again find
He ordered the KIG to become a tribunal, a nation can only claim themselves in troubled waters. Photo:
municipality of Palawan Island. Republic Act sovereignty over individual islands and AFP
2009, or the so-called “Baselines Law,” reefs, not the entire area that contains
declared that the Philippines “exercises those islands and reefs — which the KIG From Manila’s standpoint, the shoal is
sovereignty and jurisdiction” over the KIG, is. part of the Philippines’ national
and described it as a “regime of islands,” territory. Philippine maritime law
Source: http://www.manilatimes.net
consistent with Article 121 of the Unclos. experts argue that the country has
Scarborough Shoal came back exercised continuous and effective
The US and many other nations, however, sovereignty over the shoal since the
have not officially recognized the KIG as part
to haunt China-Philippines Spanish colonial era.
of Philippine territory, since China, Vietnam, relations
and Taiwan and Malaysia in part, also claim Under the Philippine Baselines Law of
it. China and Vietnam had passed laws Richard Heydarian writes that Filipinos 2009 (Republic Act 9522), the
categorically claiming it as part of their remain sceptical of Duterte’s Philippine government classified the
territories, small archipelagos, Nánshā reassurances that the disputed shoal will Scarborough Shoal as part of a group
Qúndǎo for the former and Quần đảo see no Chinese reclamation projects. of islands under the Republic of the
Trường Sa for the latter. Malaysia occupied Philippines.
an island and several reefs on the ground By: Richard Heydarian
that these were within its EEZ. Published: 6:32pm, 23 Jun, 2018 SOURCE: https://www.scmp.com
One provision in the arbitral tribunal’s ruling Updated: 9:13pm, 23 Jun, 2018
drastically weakens our — and those of
China and Vietnam’s — claim to the KIG as Two years into Rodrigo Duterte’s
part of our territory. presidency, the Philippines has once
again found itself embroiled in maritime
Paragraph 574 of the arbitral ruling pointed tensions with China.
out that “the Philippines could not declare
archipelagic baselines surrounding the Despite the Philippine president’s best
Spratly Islands.” It explained: “Article 47 of efforts to place bilateral relations on an
the Convention limits the use of archipelagic even keel, the long-simmering dispute
baselines to circumstances where ‘within over the Scarborough Shoal is once again
such baselines are included the main islands threatening to torpedo an otherwise
and an area in which the ratio of the area of blossoming partnership.
the water to the area of the land, including
atolls, is between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1.” And
paragraph 599: “The ratio of water to land The renewed tensions underscore the
in the Spratly Islands would greatly exceed persistent sensitivity of the maritime
9:1 under any conceivable system of spats to the Filipino public, which still
baselines.” i remains largely sceptical of Duterte’s
China-friendly approach.