Transcript Introduction

The Spratly Islands Territorial
Dispute Between China and
Vietnam
Short History of Relations
• Histories of Vietnam and China have long been intertwined
• Chinese conquests of the Vietnamese kingdom have occurred often
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and resulted in some integration of Chinese culture
Following US-Vietnam War, relations deteriorated and led to a
military conflict in 1979
Normalization processes began in mid-1980s and were fully
normalized by the end of 1991
Since then, relationship has been characterized by two trends:
positive and negative
However, in recent years, there have been improved cooperation
between two nations in settling territorial disputes
Geography
• Consists of 100 islands with a total land area of about
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two kilometers
Lay dead center across major sea-lanes in South China
Sea
Significant resources that include rich fishing grounds
and oil & gas resources
Largely unexplored until recently
Due to location and potential for energy and food
resources, 45 islands are occupied by small numbers of
military forces from five countries
Claims to Islands
• China, Taiwan, and Vietnam’s claims:
historical
• Philippines: first country to establish itself
on islands
• Malaysia and Brunei: based on Law of the
Sea
History of Fighting
• Islands remained mostly unoccupied until 1980s
• China began to establish physical presence in
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1987
Clashes between China and Vietnam in the
Spratlys would continue until 1994
November 1994: both countries agreed to
enlisted a joint committee to resolve dispute
Minor attacks still continue as China and
Vietnam seek to control the region
Bilateral Means to Solution
• China’s preferred method of resolution
• PRC and Vietnam border dispute
– Led to Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979
– Low-Level conflict continued until normal relations
resumed in the 1990s
– Land Border Treaty (1999)
• Paracel Islands Dispute
– Vietnamese attempt to control islands led to complete
Chinese takeover of the islands
Law of Sea
• Stop nations from undermining “freedom of the
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seas” concept
Adopted by Vietnam in 1994 and by China in
1996
200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) created overlapping claims
In the event of disputes over maritime
possessions, three means may be used: the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,
International Court of Justice, or Arbitration
International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea
• Made up of 21 independent members
• Since inception in 1996, it has seen
thirteen cases
• Lack of financial support in 2000
• Has support from leaders around the world
• Hard to say whether it will be effective
since it is relatively new
International Court of Justice
• Has seen territorial disputes before and
will see a Southeast Asian territorial
dispute in 2006
• Ability to use compulsory jurisdiction has
pushed nations to withdraw from the Court
• Impartiality of judges has been questioned
• Only decides a few cases a year and is
considered inefficient
Permanent Court of Arbitration
• Oldest in the field of international dispute
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settlement
International Court of Justice has overshadowed
it and reduced to a few cases a year
Since early 1990s it has reinvented itself and
now offers flexible rules of procedures
Has succeeded in settling other Asian disputes
ASEAN
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Established on August 8, 1967
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) created in 1994
Declaration on the South China Sea (1995)
Code of Conduct (1996)
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea (2002)
Conclusion
• Potentially valuable to any Southeast Asian country that
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claims them
China: striving for good relations and stability in the
region; wishes to avoid economic upheaval
Vietnam: has weak military and seeks to create good
relations with its neighbors
Trends indicate territorial disputes in the South China
Sea are slowly getting resolved
Seems likely that any resolution will have to be achieved
through either the Permanent Court of Arbitration or the
International Tribunal
However if no action is taken by either nation then
situation will linger at its current state