1. Historical background of the issue and what the issue is all about.

(Spratley island
being claimed by different countries, preferrably PH but bitterly being claimed by
China.) West Philippine Sea is another one.
2. Evidences. Evidences for their claims through gathering data from your
references. Print references of that particular article
3. Insights or reflection or your own reaction towards the issue in addition to ten
pages, atleast 5 pages of your references. Wherein you will get that information
based on 1, 2, 3 parts. The many, the better.

The territorial dispute over Spratlys Island is one of the most

talked about issue at the moment for it revolves around overlapping
territorial claims from different countries, namely; The Philippines,
The Peoples Republic of China, Vietnam and Taiwan. And in most recent
news, the two countries in the heated argument involve PRC and The
Philippines.
In 1947 the Chinese government published the Nine-dash line a
U-shaped chain of dotted line constituting a key legal position of
Chinas claimed rights and interests in the South China Sea. It was not
until 1956 a private Philippine expedition surveyed and occupied some of
the islands. But it was not until 1956 that the Philippines made their
first claim when a Philippine citizen named Tomas Cloma proclaimed of
founding a new area encompassed fifty three features spread throught the
eastern South China Sea, including Spratly Island proper, Itu Aba, Pagasa and Nam Yit Islands, as well as West York Island, North Danger Reef,
Mariveles Reef and Investigator Shoal. By the year 1970, there were
massive economic endeavors that led to the discovery of oil and natural
gas surrounding the island that ignited the tenuous stability of
Spratlys region, which intensified the conflict between countries for
the rightful claim. In April of 1972 Kalayaan was officially
incorporated into Palawan province, with Tomas Cloma as the town council
Chairman and by 1992, there were twelve registered voters on Kalayaan.
Since the discovery of potential wealth on the area there have
been occasional naval clashes over the Spratly Islands. In example,
during the year 1974, after South Vietnam had allowed Western oil
companies to explore the Island of Paracel, the Peoples Republic of
China reacted by seizing control of the area which led to a short naval
battle. In 1987 China claimed that the Hainan Island, the closest
recognized Chinese territory to the islands as a separate province that
would be developed as a special economic zone. In 1992, China National
Offshore Oil Corp signed a joint exploration contract with Crestone
Energy Corp. for a disputed area in the Spratly Islands. The SinoAmerica Contract infuriated Vietnam, who claimed the contract location
is part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The situation was further
aggravated in 1996, when Vietnam forged ahead with joint exploration
plans in Spratly waters that were also claimed by China.
In response to the growing concern over the coastal states that
have enraged near-by Asian countries on their claim for the natural
resources, there had been actions that had been made to resolve the
dispute, some of the resolutions include the United Nations convened the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas or UNCLOS in 1982 (it
is aimed at establishing coastal boundaries, erecting an International
Seabed Authority to regulate seabed exploration not within territorial
claims, and to distribute revenue from the regulated explorations. And
as of 1990, there had only been 42 out of 60 were completed for the
ratification to make the Convention effective), it was resolved that a
coastal state could claim two hundred nautical miles of juris diction
beyond its land boundaries. However, the United Nations Convention Law
of the Seas failed to address the issue of how to adjudicate on
overlapping claims which is the problem that is at hand and so the
future of the islands remain clouded and without any solid guiding rules
to follow. As stated on the fourth part of the United Nations Convention
on Law of the Seas justifies claims by Brunei, Malaysia and the
Philippines. Justification is based on proximity, not history, hence,

China and Taiwans historical claims would not likely win arbitrated
cases. In the year 1996, the parliament of China had passed a resolution
to approve the Law of the Sea UN Convention. In which, they signed onto
the convention that would enable China to extend its exclusive economic
sea zone to 340 km. Yet, the question still remains if China will follow
through with their pledge.