Southeast Asian countries wary of China in South China Sea

A buoy, posts and building materials on an inhabited outcrop sound unremarkable, but they mark an escalation of a dispute over one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and potentially rich resources—and how Southeast Asia manages China’s rise as a regional power.

Harsh rhetoric and an occasional standoff have long been part of the jousting over the contested South China Sea, but recently the incidents have become more frequent and the complaints from Southeast Asian capitals about China’s actions have become louder.

The region cannot take on China militarily, nor do the Southeast Asian countries want to roll over and lose territories near their coastlines.

Internationalizing the dispute, including encouraging a US presence in the sea, is one way the smaller claimants may protect their interests.

“I am increasingly favoring the word aggressive over assertive in describing China’s behavior in the South China Sea. And that is a fairly important distinction,” said Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

In recent weeks, China and Vietnam have traded accusations of violating each other’s sovereignty at sea, prompting a second rare demonstration against China in Hanoi on Sunday.

Code of conduct

But it is the Philippine claims that China had erected poles, placed a buoy and left building materials near the Amy Douglas Bank that is most serious of recent incidents, amounting to an accusation that Beijing has breached the 2002 Declaration of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

The DOC is a nonbinding agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). It calls for restraint and avoidance of actions that might escalate tensions, including the occupation of uninhabited land—a provision that Manila says has been “aggressively violated.”

Beijing, which has accused Manila of violating its sovereignty, says the materials were for scientific purposes on its territory and there was no intention to occupy or seize the reef.

“Whether it is military or not … I think if there is new building on a previously unoccupied feature, that would be a fairly clear breach of the DOC,” said Euan Graham, a senior fellow in the Military Studies Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

The Philippines and Vietnam have both said they would increase their naval capabilities to protect their interests in the South China Sea. Hanoi has announced live-fire naval exercises on Monday.

Competing claims

The South China Sea covers more than 1.7 million square kilometers (648,000 square miles), including more than 200 mostly uninhabitable islands, rocks and reefs, the ownership of which confer rights to the surrounding waters—and the oil and gas they are thought to contain, as well as fishing rights.

Although there are six claimants to parts or all of the sea—China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei—and many claims overlap, the dispute is often seen as China, which has the largest claim, against the rest.

The problem is how to determine ownership. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) gives a country sovereignty over seas up to 22 km (12 nautical miles) from its coast, including of islands.

There is also the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that gives jurisdiction over natural resources, scientific research and building structures. The EEZ extends to 370 km (200 nautical miles).

Recent incidents have been inside the EEZ’s of Vietnam and the Philippines.

Historical claim

China says its historical sovereignty dates back to the 7th century and supersedes any modern claims to the sea, but says it is ready to cooperate with others on joint exploration.

“We are firm on our territorial claims and at the same time we are firm on our formula and proposal of shelving the differences and having cooperation,” Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao said last week.

Even how to negotiate has become an issue. China wants bilateral talks, but the Southeast Asian states favor going through the 10-member Asean, which also opens a door to a role for the United States.

“The South China Sea has caused most Southeast Asian states to press for the US to remain engaged in Southeast Asia,” said Carlyle Thayer, a professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy.

Sensitivities

The risk is that too great a US role would antagonize China, which reacted angrily when the United States was among the parties to raise the issue at an Asean forum last year. As a result, Washington is not expected to be directly involved in any talks.

“Southeast Asia wants US support, but does not want the US to complicate the issue or take actions that would isolate China and force them to take sides,” Thayer said.

Another issue for Asean is that the dispute does not affect all of its 10 members. Only the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have claims.

Other Asean members have no claims, and they have less incentive to challenge China—which has become an increasingly important trading partner for all countries in the region.

Tang Siew Mun, director of foreign policy and security studies at Malaysia’s Institute of Strategic and International Studies, said all the Asean members need not be involved as only the claimant states would have to negotiate and agree to a deal.

“To do otherwise may hamper progress as China may perceive this act as provocative with Asean ‘ganging up’ on China,” he said.

“Just as the Asean states frequently ask China to be sensitive to our positions, we too have to be attuned to Chinese sensitivities as well.”

Mischief Reef

Manila and Hanoi have their own sensitivities. As the monsoon and typhoon season starts, Manila is worried about a repeat of the incident on Mischief Reef, 250 km (135 nautical miles) west of the southwestern island of Palawan.

In February 1995, the Philippines found a Chinese structure on the reef, which it said was a military installation but which Beijing said was a shelter for fisherman. The structure had been built when the Philippine Navy was unable to patrol due to the bad weather.

The Amy Douglas Bank is about 231 km (125 nautical miles) off Palawan. The Philippines says there have also been a number of provocative incidents this year near Reed Bank—157 km (85 nautical miles) from Palawan and nearly 1,110 km (600 nautical miles) from China.

Those three territories form a line up the Palawan coast, well inside the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

“China has upped the ante in the past several months and by doing so is undermining its ‘peaceful rise’ rhetoric, draining away goodwill and pushing countries in the region closer to the US,” Storey said. Reuters