Position and Stance of Nations that Claim Sovereignty and Non-regional Major Powers in the South China Sea Disputes

Ming-Hsien Wong

《Prospect Journal》 15期 (2016/04) Pp. 85-114

並列摘要

Since 2013 the South China Sea disputes have become a hot spot in the Asia-Pacific area. On the one hand, China has sped up the construction of its artificial island in the Spratly Islands and militarized its man-made islands. On the other hand, the U.S. has acted on its principle of Freedom of Navigation Operations and deployed warships and aircraft in the 12 nautical mile zone around the manmade islands leading to military confrontation between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea. Furthermore, the Philippines has submitted the sovereignty dispute regarding the Spratly Islands to the UN Permanent Court of Justice and after hearings in October 2015 and according to the de jure procedure of this case the verdict will be released in May 2016. But China has already stated that the Court of Justice has no right to handle Chinese sovereignty issues and China will refuse to accept the outcome according to the UN Law of the Sea. Although China did not want to join the arbitration and was absent during the hearings, the outcome of this arbitration will set a precedent for the claimant nations around the South China Sea. In addition, non-regional major powers, such as Japan, India and Australia have their own purposes to engage with different claimant nations in order to counter China’s changing the status-quo and increase their interest in the South China Sea. Firstly, this paper describes the current situation in the South China Sea and points out three factors which impact development in the South China Sea. The paper also presents the policy and stance of states which claim sovereignty and those that do not in the South China Sea. Finally, this paper sums up previous descriptions and points out Taiwan’s strategy and policy in the South China Sea disputes.

並列關鍵字

Militarization ； Maintain Status-Quo ； Freedom of Navigation ； Changing the Status-Quo ； Artificial Island