China claims a strangely-shaped swath
of the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea as its territorial waters; which,
naturally, interfere with the territorial waters and occasionally islands and
atolls of surrounding nations.
Last
year, China and the Philippines have had a stand off over the
Scarborough Shoal… and by stand off, it mean nearly went to war. China
claims that the Philippines were occupying Chinese territory while the
Philippines wouldn’t back down from their claim to their land, even
in the face of the Chinese Navy… until a bad storm came through giving the
Philippines an excuse to de-escalate the situation without losing face (the
strange thing in this comfrontation is that it looked like a runt trying to
hold off a tiger’s advances).
However, tensions have remained high since,
especially for Manila who rightly believes China is invading its territorial
waters (Scarborough shoal is only about
219 KM away from Philippine shores, well within her EEZ and 857 km away from
China’s shores).
What is so important
in this spits of rocky islands? Well, for the Philippines, the waters
around Scarborough Shoal are an excellent fishing area. It is
also believed to be rich in natural resources, like oil and natural gas below
the bottom of the sea.
For China, in
addition to the natural resources, occupying Scarborough Shoal and surrounding
waters is a peaceful way to expand their reach and further intimidate the
Asian-Pacific allies of the United States.
Unlike Japan;
which is defending the Senkaku Islands with their defense forces and a promise
of help from the United States; the Philippines decided to rely on a United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) tribunal decide.
You are
reading it right, the United Nations will now host a tribunal to resolve the
Scarborough Shoal dispute between China and the Philippines. This can end
one of three ways.
1. The UN
tribunal gives water rights and Scarborough Shoal to China (this would be unthinkable
for the Philippines).
2. The UN
tribunal gives water rights and Scarborough Shoal to the Philippines; and
China ignores the ruling, continuing to occupy the area and claim it as its
own.
3. The UN
tribunal recognizes the area as international waters or divides the waters and
rights to Scarborough Shoal between the two countries; and China still
ignores the ruling, continuing to occupy the Scarborough Shoal area
and claim it as its own.
The wild card
that may prevent the last two options from turning out, and it is predictableb
that the US Pacific Fleet sends some vessels to the Scarborough Shoal to
enforce the UN Law of the Sea tribunal’s ruling with Philippine approval. (The
US is also eyeing the area as it will ensure its inclusion to her sphere of
influence and control the commercial and military routes in the area.)
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