What’s behind escalating China-Philippines tensions in the South China Sea?

Ferdinand Marcos, president of the Philippines, accused China of “harassment and intimidation” in the waterway and demanded more urgency in the negotiations over a code of conduct for the disputed South China Sea.

All parties must “be earnestly open to seriously managing differences” and reducing tension, according to Marcos Jr., who spoke with ASEAN leaders and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

“There should be more urgency in the pace of the negotiations of the ASEAN-China code of conduct”, Marcos said on Thursday, according to a statement from his office.

China and ASEAN first agreed on a maritime code in 2002, but substantive negotiations did not begin until 2017.

“It is regrettable that the South China Sea’s general climate is still tense and unchanging. We continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation”, the statement added.

In recent months, the two countries have been tensely arguing over whether China and the Philippines intentionally rammed boats. Manila accuses the country’s coastguard of using water cannons against its soldiers and engaging in fistfights with spears and knives.

In the disputed waterway, the two nations alone reported six air and sea confrontations in August.

Five of them took place at or near Scarborough Shoal and the Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands, an area that is within the Philippines ‘ 200-nautical-mile (about 370 kilometres) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) but where China claims sovereignty.

Despite Beijing and Manila making fresh efforts to resolve their maritime dispute following a ferocious fight in which a Filipino sailor lost a finger in June, the confrontations have continued.

China claims the Philippines is to blame for the confrontations, accusing Filipino troops of “illegally” intruding into its territory. In September, it said its ties with the Philippines were “at a crossroads” and urged Manila to “seriously consider the future” of their relationship.

The United States, which has a mutual defense agreement with the Philippines, has threatened to draw attention to the escalating tensions if any Filipino troops are attacked by armed third-parties. These include on coastguard personnel, aircraft or public vessels “anywhere” in the South China Sea.

What facts about the tensions in the strategic waterway are essential:

Who claims what?

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, via a vague, U-shaped nine-dash-line that overlaps with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. EEZs are areas of the ocean, extending 200 nautical miles beyond a nation’s shore, where that state has the right to explore and exploit resources.

China, Taiwan, and Vietnam assert that they have sovereignty over the Paracel Islands in the northern region of the South China Sea despite Beijing’s ongoing rule since 1974. In the southern areas, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam each claim all of the approximately 200 Spratly Islands, while Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines claim some of them.

In 2016, a United Nations tribunal, following a suit brought by the Philippines, ruled that China’s nine-dash-line had no legal basis. Beijing, however, has ignored the ruling and continued to militarize reefs and submerged shoals in the waterway to advance its expansive claims.

China has 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and seven in the Spratlys, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a think tank based in the US.

Vietnam, meanwhile, has 51 outposts spread across 27 features, while the Philippines occupies a total of nine features in the Spratly Islands. Thitu Island, the largest, is home to the only Philippine airstrip in the Spratlys.

China’s military build-up in the South China Sea

Although some of the nations in the South China Sea have engaged in reclamation of the areas they occupy, China’s level of artificial island-building and militarisation is much higher than that of other recalcitrants. Since 2013, China has created 3, 200 acres (1, 290 hectares) of new land in the Spratlys, according to the CSIS, and constructed ports, lighthouses and runways on the newly built islands.

China now has four large outposts with 3, 050-metre (10, 000-foot) runways in the South China Sea. In the Spratlys, there are Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, and Woody Island in the Paracels.

According to CSIS, China has deployed substantial military assets to these islands, including anti-air and antiship missiles, sensing and communications facilities, and hangars capable of housing military transport, patrol and combat aircraft.

Why is the South China Sea so important?

One of the most economically significant waterways in the world is the sea, which receives a cargo flown through it every year for an estimated $3.4 trillion.

Additionally, the waters are home to numerous trophy fishing grounds, which millions of people in the area use for their livelihoods.

The South China Sea also contains 190 trillion cubic feet (approximate 5.38 trillion cubic meters) of natural gas, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and about 11 billion barrels of oil that have been proven or probable. Those unexploited hydrocarbons could be worth $2.5 trillion.

Chinese vessels have clashed with or engaged in standoffs with survey ships from other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, disrupting their attempts to exploit those resources.

Anwar Ibrahim, the prime minister of Malaysia, promised in September that his nation would not bow down to Chinese demands to stop explorating waters off Sarawak, the country’s sovereign. In response to Chinese pressure, Vietnam agreed to pay $1 billion in damages and terminated contracts with two Spanish and Emirati oil companies in 2020, according to the Diplomat magazine. And in 2012, Vietnam warned China to stop investing in resources that it had already given to businesses like Exxon Mobil Corp. and OAO Gazprom.

Overall, China’s control of the South China Sea would improve its ability to dominate a significant trade route and boost its energy security. Additionally, it might be able to prevent US troops from entering foreign military installations.

Increasing clashes

In recent decades, tensions have been the greatest between China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In 1974, the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops, and in 1988, the two sides clashed in the Spratlys, with Hanoi again losing about 60 sailors. The Philippines ‘ most contentious disputes with China have centred on Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, and most recently, Sabina Shoal.

Following a two-month standoff, China seized Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines, and in recent years, Chinese coastguard and maritime militia vessels have made attempts to obstruct boats carrying food and water to soldiers stationed on a Filipino ship that was purposefully grounded on Second Thomas Shoal in 1999. The Chinese side has used tactics including boat rammings, military-grade lasers and water cannon, according to the Philippines.

Source: Aljazeera