Spratly Island Case Study

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Spratly Islands: Vietnam sending tourists on a cruise to disputed region The main problem of this article is the land dispute of Vietnam, China and other Southeast Asian countries (the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei) to the numerous Spratly Islands. All of the countries have the Spratly Islands in their old territorial map that leads to overlapping of autonomy right to the islands. Since 1974, there are several military incidents and exploration by the countries with the help of foreign companies in the area. The Spratly Islands is rich in various sea jewels such as seafood and sea creatures. It also has beautiful scenery that’s why Vietnam currently made it as a part of their country’s tourist spot. Researchers also believed that…show more content…
ASEAN members are concerned that the U.S. withdrawal of military troops from the region and the Soviet Union's disintegration will leave the region without a counterbalance to China. Although many western analysts view China's military capabilities as obsolete, China's military might in the ASEAN region is still superior, both quantitatively and qualitatively. To discuss peaceful resolutions about this land ownership problem, there are international forums about this dispute which are made like the International Court hearing and UNCLOS (United Nation Convention on the Law Of the Sea) wherein they base on the Article 56 of the treaty outlines parameters for the establishment of a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200 nautical miles from the country’s coastline. UNCLO also based its decision in the article 77 which contains parameters for a country’s continental shelf. But the third most important part of the UNCLOS is Part VI, which justifies claims by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Justification is based on proximity, not history; hence, China's and Taiwan's historical claims would not likely win arbitrated cases because its location is too far from the Spratly Islands. But just like any other hearings or proposals, China wouldn’t back down. Most of the solutions made are about having a joint ownership/exploration of the Spratly Islands but China is aggressive in both military and exploration activities for teir own country. They said to agree any proposals but their actions say another thing. In short, they want the islands for themselves. According to James Kiras cites four motives driving China's resistance to international arbitration: (1) land-based resource scarcity; (2) population growth; (3) aspirations to become a regional naval power; and,
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