THE SPRATLY ISLAND

DISPUTE

China Taiwan Vietnam Malaysia BruneiPhilippines

Trivia

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea

Was not occupied until France in the 1930 and later by Japan in WW2

comprise more than 30,000 islands and reefs which complicate governance

There are no native islanders but there are, at least for now, rich fishing grounds; the islands may contain significant reserves of oil and natural gas.

About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia and the Philippines.

after WW2 Japan and 49 other countries sign the treaty of peace in san Francisco on September 8 1951 . Japan renounces all right title and claim to the spratly islands and the paracel island.

However treaty does not say which of the nations is to have the right of title or claim to those islands

Again on April 28 1952 Japan and republic of china signed a separate treaty of peace in Taipei the two parties recognized that Japan had renounced all right title and claim to Taiwan and Penghu as well as the spratly and paracel islands again without specifying to which the two island belong

The claim of the Philippines Tomás Cloma (18 September 1904–1996) was a

Filipino lawyer and businessman from the province of Bohol. Cloma was born in Panglao to Ciriaco Cloma, a Spanish settler, and Irena Arbolente, a native of Bohol.

Tomas cloma= a marine educator , started visiting the islands of the south china sea that are the closes to the Philippine around 1947

On May 11, 1956, together with 40 men, Tomas and his brother Filemon took formal possession of the islands, lying some 380 miles west of the southern end of Palawan and named it Freedomland ( FREE TERRITORY AND PROTECTED STATE OF THE PHILIPPINES )

On July 6 1956 cloma cited strategic reasons behind his claim to freedom land ( an independent state) . He warned that red china could be recognized by the U.N by the end of the year he also pointed the resurgence of Japan U.K and France ( which used to have a claim on the islands ) and the rise of the Vietnams , which could pose a potential threat to the Philippines

There claim would also help avert the threats while at the same time sparing the Philippines legal complications of annexing new territory

The response of the government ( under Ramon

Magsaysay ) was cautious ( although it accepted it ) limited to the use of the department of foreign affairs as to the use of government

At first the policy of our government was that the spratly island was under the trusteeship of the allied power

Later in the late 50s up to the 60s the policy shifted to RES NULLIUS

But by 1971 under Marcos our policy changed it became more forceful and aggressive in its claims on spratly island Tomas cloma was jailed and under extreme duress cloma ceded all his rights to freedomland to the government in exchange for his freedom

Freedomland became the KALAYAAN ISLAND as a 6th class municipality in the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 114 people in 12 households.

After the marcos era are claimed became ore passive and reserve even as are neighbors were plunge into Meany wars

On May 23, 2011, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III warned the Chinese defense minister of a possible arms race in the region if tensions worsened over disputes in the South China Sea. Aquino said he told visiting Chinese Defense Minister in their meeting that such an arms race could result if there were more encounters in the disputed and potentially oil-rich Spratly islands

In June 2011, the Philippines renamed the South China Sea and the Reed Bank as the West Philippine Sea and the Recto Bank partly because of renewed American interest in Asia and support for the treaty between the Philippines and America

THE CLAIM OF CHINA

At first it was nationalist china ( A.K.A TAIWAN) AFTER WW2 claim the spratly island

As early as 1946 after the defeat of Japan it established a garrison itu aba spratly island west York islands apparently to forestall French attempt to return to the area

But abandoned it in 1950 because of two things 1. the fall of Hainan province to communist 2. all nationalist forces were deemed necessary for the defense of Taiwan itself

It later retun its forces in 1956 partly because of tomas claims on freedomland

The PRC and ROC base their claims on the belief that the islands have been an integral part of China for nearly two thousand years and that neighboring countries and European Powers took advantage of China's poor condition and diversity to impinge on its sovereignty.

There out look on spratly goes all the way back to the han dynasty (206 B.C to 220 A.D) reflect contact of Chinese in the south china seas reflected in literature travel reports and local chronicles also cited was the maps drawn in the tang dynasty (618-907) and standardization of the island names under the song (1271-1368) an d the record of zheng he on voyages during the Ming (1368-1644) AND ALSO ! The permanent chinese fishermen in south china sea as early as the jin dynasty (265-420)

china has been figthing for the spratlys as early as the late 19th century in 1883 china protested the German surveys of the paracel and spratly in 1902 to preempt France ambitions on the spratly sent a naval task force to inspect the south china sea island planting its flags and marker, in 1911 the new republic put the parecel islands and the spratly on its Hainan province and in December 1947 even as the Chinese civil war was going the communist incorporated the two island into Guangdong province

As the international acceptance of western concept of jurisdiction over fixed territories gained momentum like the UNCLOS which thus not consider historical claim to open seas china was forces to look for contemporary ways like protest official statements and agreements up until recent events rather than fully annexing it as it could do if it wanted

Vietnams claim Vietnam's response to China's claim is that

Chinese records on Qianli Changsha and Wanli Shitang are in fact records about non-Chinese territories

Vietnamese claims that it has occupied the Spratley and the Paracel islands at least since the 17th century, when they were not under the sovereignty of any state, and that they exercised sovereignty over the two archipelagos continuously and peacefully until they were invaded by Chinese armed forces

an atlas of Vietnam completed in 1838, Trường Sa was shown as Vietnamese territory Vietnam had conducted many geographical and resource surveys of the islandsThe results of these surveys have been recorded in Vietnamese literature and history published since the 17th century. After the treaty signed with the Nguyễn Dynasty, France represented Vietnam in international affairs and exercised sovereignty over the islands

Under France. from the late 1920s upto WW2 the French too actively maintained a claim on spratly and annexing parts of it in 1930s claim that Vietnam continued after independence, and also becaue of cloams claim of the freedom land

In September 1973 veitnam award an off-shore oil exploration to multinational; companies and annex 11 other island 4 month later Chinese and south Vietnam naval clash in the parecel islands china won. Reunified Vietnam still increase its presence in the spratly by 1987 in had 15 land feature in 1988 china and reunified Vietnam engaged in Johnson reef in spratly Vietnam lose in geopolitical term this enabled china to firm up and expand there military presence they set up there fist military on the same year

an atlas of Vietnam completed in 1838, Trường Sa

Vietnam soldiers marching on Spratly island

malaysia and brunei’s claim

on 1977 Malaysia places sovereignty markers on eleven land features an by 1979 a Malaysia published NEW MAP depicting its territorial waters and continental shelf that is projected from sabah and sarawak which is composed of southern spratlys claimed also by china Vietnam and Philippines EX AMBOYANA BAY ( VIETNA MBY

VIRTUE OF FRENCH CLAIM ), COMMODORE REEF ( RIZAL REEF) IN PHILIPINES , AND IN 1983 ESTABLISHED A PERMANENT PRESENCE IN TEREMBU LAYANG LAYANG WHICH IT OPENED FOR TOURISM IN 1991

BRUNEI SINCE 1984 HAS CLAIMED EXCLUSIVE FISHING ZONE from its coasline to the south china sea. But since 2003 both countries has hold talk over ther conflicting claim. And on march 16 2009 Brunei sultan hassanal bolkiah and Malaysian priminister announced the establishment of commercial arrangement area (CAA) on oil and gas land demarcation and the unsupendable rights of maritime access between the two countries

Occupied by China (PRC)

Johnson South Reef · Chigua Reef

Mischief Reef · Meiji Reef Subi Reef · Zhubi Reef

Occupied by Taiwan (ROC

Itu Aba Island · Taiping Island

Occupied by Malaysia

Ardasier Reef · Ubi Reef Dallas Reef · Laya Reef Erica Reef · Siput Reef Investigator Shoal ·

Peninjau Shoal Louisa Reef ·

Semarang Barat Kecil Reef

Mariveles Reef · Mantanani Reef

Swallow Reef · Layang-Layang Island

Occupied by Vietnam

Spratly Island · Truong Sa Island

Southwest Cay · Song Tu Tay Island

Sincowe Island · Sinh Ton Island

Sandcay · Son Ca Island Namyit Island ·

Nam Yet Island Amboyna Cay ·

An Bang Island

Occupied by the Philippines

Thitu Island · Pagasa Island

West York Island · Likas Island

Northeast Cay · Parola Island

Nanshan Island · Lawak Island

Loaita Island · Kota Island

Flat Island · Patag Island

Lankiam Cay · Panata Island