Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
plural	yes
name	Spratly Islands
image name	Spratly_Islands-CIA_WFB_Map.png
image caption	Spratly Islands
image size	250px
location	South China Sea
coordinates	(Itu Aba Island)
total islands	over 750
major islands	Itu Aba IslandNamyit IslandNortheast CaySin Cowe IslandSouthwest CaySpratly IslandSwallow ReefThitu IslandWest York Island
area	less than
coastline
highest mount	on Southwest Cay
elevation
country claim	Brunei
country claim divisions title	EEZ
country claim divisions	Brunei zone
country 2 claim	Malaysia
country 2 claim divisions title	State
country 2 claim divisions	Sabah
country 3 claim	Philippines
country 3 claim divisions title	Municipality
country 3 claim divisions	Kalayaan
country 4 claim	People's Republic of China
country 4 claim divisions title	County
country 4 claim divisions	Administration Office for Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands
country 5 claim	Republic of China (Taiwan)
country 5 claim divisions title	Municipality
country 5 claim divisions	Kaohsiung
country 6 claim	Vietnam
country 6 claim divisions title	Province
country 6 claim divisions	Khanh Hoa
country	none
population	no indigenous population
ethnic groups	various
additional info	}}

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia (Sabah), about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land area spread over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea. The Spratlys are one of three archipelagos of the South China Sea which comprise more than 30,000 islands and reefs and which complicate governance and economics in that region of Southeast Asia. Such small and remote islands have little economic value in themselves, but are important in establishing international boundaries. There are no native islanders but there are rich fishing grounds and initial surveys indicate the islands may contain significant reserves of oil and natural gas.

About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from Vietnam, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia and the Philippines. Brunei has also claimed an EEZ in the southeastern part of the Spratlys encompassing just one area of small islands above mean high water (on Louisa Reef.)

Geographic and economic overview

Coordinates:

Area (land based): less than 5 km² - includes 148 or so islets, coral reefs, and seamounts.

::(sea surface): 410,000 km² of the central South China Sea

Coastline: 926 km

Political divisions: (in alphabetic order of claimants)

Brunei: Part of Brunei's Exclusive Economic Zone;

* People's Republic of China: Part of Hainan province;

* Malaysia: Part of the state of Sabah;

* Philippines: Part of Palawan province;

* Republic of China (Taiwan): Part of Kaohsiung municipality;

* Vietnam: Part of Khánh Hòa Province.

Climate: tropical

Terrain: flat

Elevation extremes:

*lowest point: South China Sea (0 m)

*highest point: unnamed location on Southwest Cay (4 m)

Natural hazards: serious maritime hazards because of numerous banks, reefs and shoals

The islands are most likely volcanic in origin. The islands themselves contain almost no significant arable land and have no indigenous inhabitants, although twenty of the islands, including Itu Aba, the largest, are considered to be able to sustain human life. Natural resources include fish, guano, undetermined oil and natural gas potential. Economic activity includes commercial fishing, shipping, and tourism. The proximity to nearby oil- and gas-producing sedimentary basins suggests the potential for oil and gas deposits, but the region is largely unexplored, and there are no reliable estimates of potential reserves. Commercial exploitation of hydrocarbons has yet to be developed. The Spratly Islands have at least three fishing ports, several docks and harbors, at least three heliports, at least four territorial rigging style outposts (especially due west of Namyit Island), and six to eight airstrips.These islands are strategically located near several primary shipping lanes.

Ecology

Coral reefs

Coral reefs are the predominant structure of these islands; the Spratly group contains over 600 coral reefs in total.

Vegetation

Little vegetation grows on these islands, which are subject to intense monsoons. Larger islands are capable of supporting tropical forest, scrub forest, coastal scrub and grasses. It is difficult to determine which species have been introduced or cultivated by humans. Itu Aba Island was reportedly covered with shrubs, coconut, and mangroves in 1938; pineapple was also cultivated here when it was profitable. Other accounts mention papaya, banana, palm, and even white peach trees growing on one island. A few islands which have been developed as small tourist resorts have had soil and trees brought in and planted where there were none.

Wildlife

The islands that do have vegetation provide important habitats for many seabirds and sea turtles.

Both the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas, endangered) and the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata, critically endangered) formerly occurred in numbers sufficient to support commercial exploitation. These species reportedly continue to nest even on islands inhabited by military personnel (such as Pratas) to some extent, though it is believed that their numbers have declined.

Seabirds use the islands for resting, breeding, and wintering sites. Species found here include Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris Leucomelas), Brown Booby (Sula Leucogaster), Red-Footed Booby (S. sula), Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii), and White Tern (Gygis Alba). Little information is available regarding current status of the islands’ seabird populations, though it is likely that birds may divert nesting site to smaller, less disturbed islands. Bird eggs cover the majority of Song Tu, a small island in the eastern Danger Zone.

Unfortunately, this ecoregion is still largely a mystery. Scientists have focused their research on the marine environment, while the ecology of the terrestrial environment remains relatively unknown.

Ecological hazards

Political instability, tourism and the increasing industrialization of neighboring countries has led to serious disruption of native flora and fauna, over-exploitation of natural resources, and environmental pollution. Disruption of nesting areas by human activity or by introduced animals, such as dogs, has reduced the number of turtles nesting on the islands. Sea turtles are also slaughtered for food on a significant scale. The sea turtle is a symbol of longevity in Chinese customs and at times the military personnel are given orders to protect the turtles.

Heavy commercial fishing in the region incurs other problems. Though it has been outlawed, fishing methods continue to include the use of bottom trawls fitted with chain rollers. In addition, during a recent routine patrol, more than 200 kg of Potassium cyanide solution was confiscated from fishermen who had been using it for fish poisoning. These activities have a devastating impact on local marine organisms and coral reefs.

Some interest has been taken in regard to conservation of these island ecosystems. J.W. McManus has explored the possibilities of designating portions of the Spratly Islands as a marine park. One region of the Spratly Archipelago, called Truong Sa, was proposed by Vietnam’s Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (MOSTE) as a future protected area. The 160 km² site is currently managed by the Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee of Vietnam.

Military groups in the Spratlys have engaged in environmentally damaging activities such as shooting turtles and seabirds, raiding nests, and fishing with explosives. The collection of rare medicinal plants, collecting of wood and hunting for the wildlife trade are common threats to the biodiversity of the entire region, including these islands. Coral habitats are threatened by pollution, over-exploitation of fish and invertebrates, and the use of explosives and poisons as fishing techniques.

History

Early cartography

The first possible human interaction with the Spratly Islands dates back between 600 BCE to 3 BCE. This is based on the theoretical migration patterns of the people of Nanyue (southern China and northern Vietnam) and Old Champa kingdom who may have migrated from Borneo, which may have led them through the Spratly Islands.

Ancient Chinese maps record the "Thousand Li Stretch of Sands"; ''Qianli Changsha'' (千里長沙) and the "Ten-Thousand Li of Stone Pools"; ''Wanli Shitang'' (萬里石塘), which China today claims refers to the Spratly Islands. The Wanli Shitang have been explored by the Chinese since the Yuan Dynasty and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries. They are also referenced in the 13th century, followed by the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Qing Dynasty continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724, 1755, 1767, 1810, and 1817. A Vietnamese map from 1834 also includes the Spratly Islands clumped in with the Paracels (a common occurrence on maps of that time) labeled as "Wanli Changsha".

According to Hanoi, old Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (''Golden Sandbanks'', referring to both Paracels and the Spratly Islands) which lay near the Coast of the central Vietnam as early as 1838. In ''Phủ Biên Tạp Lục'' (Frontier Chronicles) by the scholar Le Quy Don, Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa were defined as belonging to Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the Le Dynasty, 200 years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.

Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that their neighbor had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.

The islands were sporadically visited throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by mariners from different European powers (including Richard Spratly, after whom the island group derives its most recognizable English name). However, these nations showed little interest in the islands. In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and Paracel Islands but withdrew the survey eventually after receiving protests from the Nguyen Dynasty. Many European maps before the 20th century do not even make mention of this region.

Military conflict and diplomatic dialogues

In 1933, France asserted its claims from 1887 to the Spratly and Paracel Islands on behalf of its then-colony Vietnam. It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including Itu Aba, built weather stations on two, and administered them as part of French Indochina. This occupation was protested by the Republic of China government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited the nine islands. In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. Japan occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and used the islands as a submarine base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the occupation, these islands were called ''Shinnan Shoto'' (新南諸島), literally the New Southern Islands, and put under the governance of Taiwan together with the Paracel Islands (西沙群岛). In 1945, The Republic of China sent its Naval ships to take control of the islands after the surrender of Japan. It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, Itu Aba Island, as its base, and renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. The KMT force of Republic Of China briefly abandoned the islands after its defeat in China's civil war in 1949, but re-established the base in 1956. Today, Itu Aba Island is still administrated by the Republic of China,

Following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, China re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Itu Aba), accepting the Japanese surrender on the islands based on the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations. The ROC government withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing Communist Party of China, which founded the People's Republic of China in 1949. ROC quietly withdrew troops from Itu Aba in 1950, but reinstated them in 1956 in response to Tomas Cloma's sudden claim to the island as part of Freedomland.

Japan renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, together with the Paracels, Pratas & other islands captured from China, upon which China reasserted its claim to the islands.

It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after WWII, since none of the islands other than Itu Aba is habitable. The South Vietnamese government took over the Trường Sa administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the First Indochina War. In 1958, the People's Republic of China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters, which encompassed the Spratly Islands. North Vietnam's prime minister, Pham Van Dong, sent a formal note to Zhou Enlai, stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam respects the decision by China regarding the 12 nautical mile limit of territorial waters. Regarding this letter, there have been many arguments on its true meaning and the reason why Phạm Văn Đồng decided to send it to Zhou Enlai. One important fact is that the letter while accepting the 12 nautical mile principal for the limit of territorial waters of China, has never mentioned a word about how the territorial boundary was defined and thus leaving the dispute on South China Sea islands as its status quo for later settlement. In an interview with BBC, Dr. Balazs Szalontai provided an insight into this issue: "The general context of the Chinese declaration was the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in 1956, and the resulting treaties signed in 1958, such as the Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone. Understandably, the PRC government, though not being a member of the U.N., also wanted to have a say in how these issues were dealt with. Hence the Chinese declaration of September 1958. In these years, North Vietnam could hardly afford to alienate Communist comrad China. The Soviet Union did not give any substantial support to Vietnamese reunification, and neither South Vietnamese leader Ngo Dinh Diem nor the U.S. government showed readiness to give consent to the holding of all-Vietnamese elections as stipulated by the Geneva Agreements. On the contrary, Diem did his best to suppress the Communist movement in the South. This is why Pham Van Dong felt it necessary to take sides with China, whose tough attitude toward the Asian policies of the U.S. offered some hope. And yet he seems to have been cautious enough to make a statement that supported only the principle that China was entitled for 12-mile territorial seas along its territory but evaded the issue of defining this territory. While the preceding Chinese statement was very specific, enumerating all the islands (including the Paracels and the Spratlys) for which the PRC laid claim, the DRV statement did not say a word about the concrete territories to which this rule was applicable. Still, it is true that in this bilateral territorial dispute between Chinese and Vietnamese interests, the DRV standpoint, more in a diplomatic than a legal sense, was incomparably closer to that of China than to that of South Vietnam". Some international scholars argued that, Pham Van Dong who represented North Vietnam at that time has no legal right to comment on a territorial part which belonged to the South Vietnam represented by Ngo Dinh Diem. Therefore, the letter has no legal value and is considered as a diplomatic document to show the support of the government of North Vietnam to the PRC at that time. In 2004, Vietnam issued a white paper saying, in part, }}

On May 23, 2011, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III warned the Chinese defense minister of a possible arms race in the region if tensions worsened over disputes in the South China Sea. Aquino said he told visiting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in their meeting that such an arms race could result if there were more encounters in the disputed and potentially oil-rich Spratly islands.

In May 2011, Chinese naval vessels opened fire on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating off East London Reef (Da Dong Island). Three military vessels were numbered 989, 27 and 28. They showed up with a small group of Chinese fishing vessels. Another Vietnamese fishing vessel was fired on near Cross (Chu Thap) Island. The Chief Commander of Border Guards in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam reports that a total of four Vietnamese vessels were fired upon by Chinese naval vessels.

In June 2011, the Philippines renamed the South China Sea and the Reed Bank as the West Philippine Sea and the Recto Bank.

Telecommunications

In 2005, a cellular phone base station was erected by the Philippines' Smart Communications on Pag-asa Island.

On 18 May 2011, China Mobile announced that its mobile phone coverage has expanded to the Spratly Islands, under the rationale that it can allow soldiers stationed on the islands, fishermen and merchant vessels within the area to use mobile services, and can also provide assistance during storms and sea rescues. The deployment of China Mobile's support over the islands took roughly one year to fulfil.

Gallery

File:Cây phong ba.JPG|An ancient ''Heliotropium foertherianum'' on Spratly Island File:Truong Sa lon.JPG|Spratly Island File:Truong Sa Đông.JPG|Military cemetery on Central London Reef File:Đảo An Bang.JPG|View from Amboyna Cay File:Đảo Phan Vinh.JPG|The dock on Pearson Reef

See also

Kingdom of Humanity

South China Sea Islands

Paracel Islands

Junk Keying

Policies, activities and history of the Philippines in Spratly Islands

Kalayaan, Palawan, Philippines

Zheng He

Crysis, a computer game set on the Spratly Islands.

SSN, a computer game set during a conflict over the Spratly Islands.

List of islands in the South China Sea

Administration Office for Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands

References

Further reading

Dzurek, Daniel J. and Clive H.Schofield. ''The Spratly Islands dispute: who's on first?''. IBRU; 1996. ISBN 9781897643235

C.Michael Hogan (2011) ''South China Sea'' Topic ed. P.Saundry. Ed.-in-chief C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC

Mike Spick. ''Dangerous Ground!'', ''Air Forces Monthly'', December 1993

External links

Mariner's page of the Spratly Islands

Taiwanese List with ~170 entries

List of atolls with areas

Satellite images of all islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands.

Flags of the World (FOTW) entry with various micronations on the Spratly Islands.

Map showing the claims

A tabular summary about the Spratly and Paracel Islands

Another overview table of the Spratly Islands

CIA World Factbook for Spratly Islands

, from Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Third Party Summary of the Dispute

Google Map of Spratly Islands

A collection of documents on Spratly and Paracel Islands by Nguyen Thai Hoc Foundation

Category:Disputed islands Category:Disputed territories in Asia Category:Spratly Islands Category:Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China Category:Territorial disputes of Malaysia Category:Territorial disputes of the Philippines Category:Territorial disputes of Vietnam Category:Territorial disputes of the Republic of China

ceb:Kapupud-ang Kagawasan cs:Spratlyovy ostrovy de:Spratly-Inseln es:Islas Spratly fo:Spratly oyggjar fr:Îles Spratleys ga:Oileáin Spratly ko:스프래틀리 군도 hr:Otočje Spratly id:Kepulauan Spratly it:Isole Spratly lt:Spratlio salos mk:Острови Спретли ms:Kepulauan Spratly nl:Spratly-eilanden ja:南沙諸島 no:Spratlyøyene pl:Wyspy Spratly pt:Ilhas Spratly ru:Острова Спратли simple:Spratly Islands sh:Otočje Spratly fi:Spratlysaaret sv:Spratlyöarna tl:Kapuluan ng Kalayaan th:หมู่เกาะสแปรตลีย์ vec:Ìxołe Spratly vi:Quần đảo Trường Sa yo:Spratly Islands zh:南沙群岛

West Philippine Sea or Western Philippine Sea may refer to:

The western portion of the Philippine Sea to the east of the Philippines

A neologistic synonym for the South China Sea to the west of the Philippines

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around . The area's importance largely results from one-third of the world's shipping transiting through its waters, and that it is believed to hold huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed.

It is located

south of mainland China and the island of Taiwan,

west of the Philippines,

north west of Sabah (Malaysia), Sarawak (Malaysia) and Brunei,

north of Indonesia,

north east of the Malay peninsula (Malaysia) and Singapore, and

east of Vietnam.

The minute South China Sea Islands, collectively an archipelago, number in the hundreds. The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

Names

''South China Sea'' is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and the name in most European languages is equivalent, but it is sometimes called by different names in neighboring countries, often reflecting historical claims to hegemony over the sea.

The English name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (''Mar da China''); later needs to differentiate it from nearby bodies of water led to calling it the South China Sea. The International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as "South China Sea (Nan Hai)".

In Southeast Asia it was once called the ''Champa Sea'' ''Sea of Cham'', after the maritime kingdom of Champa that flourished there before the sixteenth century. The majority of the sea came under Japanese naval control during World War II following the military acquisition of many surrounding South East Asian territories in 1941. Japan calls the sea ''Minami Shina Kai'' "South China Sea". This was written 南支那海 until 2004, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry and other departments switched the spelling 南シナ海, which has become the standard usage in Japan.

In China, it is called the "South Sea", 南海 ''Nánhǎi'', and in Vietnam the "East Sea", ''Biển Đông''. In the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia it was long called the "South China Sea" (''Dagat Timog Tsina'' in Tagalog, ''Laut China Selatan'' in Malay), with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the "Luzon Sea", ''Dagat Luzon'', by the Philippines. However, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, various Philippine government agencies started using the neologism "West Philippine Sea". A Pagasa spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea.

Geography

States and territories with borders on the sea (clockwise from north) include: the People's Republic of China (including Macau and Hong Kong), the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Pampanga, and Pasig Rivers.

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the South China Sea as follows:

''On the South.'' The Eastern and Southern limits of Singapore and Malacca Straits [A line joining Tanjong Datok, the Southeast point of Johore () through Horsburgh Reef to Pulo Koko, the Northeastern extreme of Bintan Island (). The Northeastern coast of Sumatra] as far West as Tanjong Kedabu () down the East coast of Sumatra to Lucipara Point () thence to Tanjong Nanka, the Southwest extremity of Banka Island, through this island to Tanjong Berikat the Eastern point (), on to Tanjong Djemang () in Billiton, along the North coast of this island to Tanjong Boeroeng Mandi () and thence a line to Tanjong Sambar () the Southwest extreme of Borneo.

''On the East.'' From Tanjong Sambar through the West coast of Borneo to Tanjong Sampanmangio, the North point, thence a line to West points of Balabac and Secam Reefs, on to the West point of Bancalan Island and to Cape Buliluyan, the Southwest point of Palawan, through this island to Cabuli Point, the Northern point thereof, thence to the Northwest point of Busuanga and to Cape Calavite in the island of Mindoro, to the Northwest point of Lubang Island and to Point Fuego (14°08'N) in Luzon Island, through this island to Cape Engano, the Northeast point of Luzon, along a line joining this cape with the East point of Balintang Island (20°N) and to the East point of Y'Ami Island (21°05'N) thence to Garan Bi, the Southern point of Taiwan (Formosa), through this island to Santyo (25°N) its North Eastern Point.

''On the North.'' From Fuki Kaku the North point of Formosa to Kiushan Tao (Turnabout Island) on to the South point of Haitan Tao (25°25'N) and thence Westward on the parallel of 25°24' North to the coast of Fukien.

''On the West.'' The Mainland, the Southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand and the East coast of the Malay Peninsula.

Geology

The sea lies above a drowned continental shelf; during recent ice ages global sea level was hundreds of metres lower, and Borneo was part of the Asian mainland.

The South China Sea opened after around 45 million years ago when the Dangerous Grounds (Reed Tablemount) were rifted away from southern China. Extension culminated in seafloor spreading around 30 million years ago, a process that propagated to the SW resulting in the V-shaped basin we see today. Extension ceased around 17 million years ago. Arguments have continued about the role of tectonic extrusion in forming the basin. Paul Tapponnier and colleagues have argued that as India collides with Asia it pushes Indochina to the SE. The relative shear between Indochina and China caused the South China Sea to open. This view is disputed by geologists who do not consider Indochina to have moved far relative to mainland Asia. Recent marine geophysical studies by Peter Clift has shown that the Red River Fault was active and causing basin formation at least by 37 million years ago in the NW South China Sea, consistent with extrusion playing a part in the formation of the sea. Since opening the South China Sea has been the repository of large sediment volumes delivered by the Mekong River, Red River and Pearl River. Several of these deltas are rich in oil and gas deposits.

Islands and seamounts

The South China Sea contains over 250 small islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars, most of which have no indigenous people, many of which are naturally under water at high tide, and some of which are permanently submerged. The features are grouped into three archipelagos (listed by area size), Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough Shoal:

The Spratly Islands

The Paracel Islands

The Pratas Islands

The Macclesfield Bank

The Scarborough Shoal

The Spratly Islands spread over an 810 by 900 km area covering some 175 identified insular features, the largest being Taiping Island (Itu Aba) at just over 1.3 km long and with its highest elevation at 3.8 metres.

The largest singular feature in the area of the Spratly Islands is a 100 km wide seamount called Reed Tablemount, also known as Reed Bank, in the northeast of the group, separated from Palawan Island of the Philippines by the Palawan Trench. Now completely submerged, with a depth of 20 m, it was an island until it sank about 7,000 years ago due to the increasing sea level after the last ice age. With an area of 8,866 km², it is one of the largest submerged atoll structures of the world.

Resources

It is an extremely significant body of water in a geopolitical sense. It is the second most used sea lane in the world, while in terms of world annual merchant fleet tonnage, over 50% passes through the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, and the Lombok Strait. Over 1.6 million m³ (10 million barrels) of crude oil a day are shipped through the Strait of Malacca, where there are regular reports of piracy, but much less frequently than before the mid-20th century.

The region has proven oil reserves of around 1.2 km³ (7.7 billion barrels), with an estimate of 4.5 km³ (28 billion barrels) in total. Natural gas reserves are estimated to total around 7,500 km³ (266 trillion cubic feet).

According to studies made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines, this body of water holds one third of the entire world's marine biodiversity, thereby making it a very important area for the ecosystem.

Territorial claims

Several countries have made competing territorial claims over the South China Sea. Such disputes have been regarded as Asia's most potentially dangerous point of conflict. Both People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) claim almost the entire body as their own, demarking their claims within what is known as the nine-dotted line, which claims overlap with virtually every other country in the region. Competing claims include:

Indonesia, China, and Taiwan over waters NE of the Natuna Islands

The Philippines, China, and Taiwan over the Malampaya and Camago gas fields.

The Philippines, China, and Taiwan over Scarborough Shoal.

Vietnam, China, and Taiwan over waters west of the Spratly Islands. Some or all of the islands themselves are also disputed between Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The Paracel Islands are disputed between the PRC/ROC and Vietnam.

Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam over areas in the Gulf of Thailand.

Singapore and Malaysia along the Strait of Johore and the Strait of Singapore.

China and Vietnam have both been vigorous in prosecuting their claims. The People's Republic of China and South Vietnam each controlled part of the Paracel Islands before 1974. A brief conflict in 1974 resulted in 18 soldiers being killed, and China has controlled the whole of Paracel since then. The Spratly Islands have been the site of a naval clash, in which over seventy Vietnamese sailors were killed just south of Chigua Reef in March 1988. Disputing claimants regularly report clashes between naval vessels.

ASEAN in general, and Malaysia in particular, has been keen to ensure that the territorial disputes within the South China Sea do not escalate into armed conflict. As such, Joint Development Authorities have been set up in areas of overlapping claims to jointly develop the area and dividing the profits equally without settling the issue of sovereignty over the area. This is true, particularly in the Gulf of Thailand. Generally, China has preferred to resolve competing claims bi-laterally, while ASEAN countries prefer multi-lateral talks, believing that they are disadvantaged in bi-lateral negotiations with the much larger China and that because many countries claim the same territory only multilateral talks could effectively resolve the competing claims.

The overlapping claims over Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Putih including neighboring Middle Rocks by both Singapore and Malaysia were settled in 2008 by the International Court of Justice, awarding Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore and Middle Rocks to Malaysia.

In July 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the Peoples Republic of China to resolve the territorial dispute. China responded by demanding the US keep out of the issue. This came at a time when both countries have been engaging in naval exercises in a show of force to the opposing side, which increased tensions in the region. The US Military released a statement on August 18 where it opposed the use of force to resolve the dispute, and accused China of assertive behaviour.

South China Sea in astronomy

South China Sea is associated with the star Xi Serpentis in asterism ''Left Wall'', Heavenly Market enclosure (see Chinese constellation).

See also

East China Sea

South China Sea shipwrecks

Territorial disputes in South China Sea

References

Further reading

Clive Schofield et al., From Disputed Waters to Seas of Opportunity: Overcoming Barriers to Maritime Cooperation in East and Southeast Asia (July 2011)

C.Michael Hogan (2011) ''South China Sea'' Topic ed. P.Saundry. Ed.-in-chief C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC

UNEP (2007). ''Review of the Legal Aspects of Environmental Management in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand''. UNEP/GEF/SCS Technical Publication No. 9.

Keyan Zou (2005). ''Law of the sea in East Asia: issues and prospects''. London/New York: Rutledge Curzon. ISBN 0-415-35074-3

External links

Rising Tensions in the South China Sea, June 2011 Q&A; with Ian J. Storey

News collections on The South China Sea on China Digital Times

The South China Sea on Google Earth - featured on Google Earth's Official Blog

South China Sea Virtual Library - online resource for students, scholars and policy-makers interested in South China Sea regional development, environment, and security issues.

Energy Information Administration - The South China Sea

Tropical Research and Conservation Centre - The South China Sea

Weekly Piracy Report

Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand

UNEP/GEF South China Sea Knowledge Documents

Category:Territorial disputes of the Philippines Category:Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China Category:Territorial disputes of Malaysia Category:Territorial disputes of Vietnam Category:Territorial disputes of the Republic of China Category:Marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean Category:Disputed territories in Southeast Asia

ar:بحر الصين الجنوبي zh-min-nan:Lâm Tiong-kok Hái be:Паўднёва-Кітайскае мора be-x-old:Паўднёва-Кітайскае мора bs:Južno kinesko more br:Mor Su Sina bg:Южнокитайско море ca:Mar de la Xina Meridional cv:Кăнтăр Китай тинĕсĕ cs:Jihočínské moře cbk-zam:Mar de China cy:Môr De Tsieina da:Sydkinesiske Hav de:Südchinesisches Meer et:Lõuna-Hiina meri es:Mar de la China Meridiоnal eo:Sudĉina Maro eu:Hegoaldeko Txinako itsasoa fa:دریای جنوبی چین hif:South China Sea fr:Mer de Chine méridionale fy:Súd-Sineeske See gl:Mar da China Meridional gan:南海 hak:Nàm Chûng-koet Hói ko:남중국해 hi:दक्षिणी चीन सागर hr:Južno kinesko more ilo:Baybay Abagatan a China id:Laut Cina Selatan os:Хуссар Китайы денджыз is:Suður-Kínahaf it:Mar Cinese meridionale he:ים סין הדרומי jv:Segara Cina Kidul pam:Dayat Malat ning Mauling Tsina ka:სამხრეთ ჩინეთის ზღვა kk:Оңтүстік Қытай теңізі sw:Bahari ya Kusini ya China ku:Deryaya Çîna Başûr lv:Dienvidķīnas jūra lt:Pietų Kinijos jūra hu:Dél-kínai-tenger mk:Јужнокинеско Море mr:दक्षिण चीन समुद्र ms:Laut China Selatan mn:Өмнөд Хятадын тэнгис nl:Zuid-Chinese Zee ja:南シナ海 no:Sørkinahavet nn:Sørkinahavet oc:Mar de China Meridionala km:សមុទ្រចិនខាងត្បូង pl:Morze Południowochińskie pt:Mar da China Meridional ro:Marea Chinei de Sud ru:Южно-Китайское море simple:South China Sea sk:Juhočínske more sr:Јужно кинеско море sh:Južno kinesko more su:Laut Cina Kidul fi:Etelä-Kiinan meri sv:Sydkinesiska havet tl:Dagat Luzon ta:தென்சீனக் கடல் th:ทะเลจีนใต้ tr:Güney Çin Denizi uk:Південно-Китайське море ur:بحیرۂ جنوبی چین vi:Biển Đông zh-classical:南海 war:Dagat han Salatan nga Tsina zh-yue:南中國海 zh:南海