COMMITTEE: General Assembly 4 (Special Political)

QUESTION OF: The Question of the South China Sea

SUBMITTED BY: Bangladesh

The General Assembly,

Recognizing with deep concern the building tension amongst states in the South China Sea
region due to the lucrative trade routes passing through the region which amass to an estimated
USD 5 trillion worth of goods,

Emphasizing the political issues created by the oil reserves present in the region which contribute
to the appeal of the region causing the territorial dispute,

Bringing to attention the UNCLOS case 2013-19, an arbitration case brought forward by the
Republic of Philippines against China,

Noting that without further significant preventive action to settle the dispute the situation may
escalate uncontrollably,

Concerned about the effect of the dispute on the indigenous and native peoples in and around the
region, including the displacement of the Rohingya people,

Commending the action already taken by states and organizations to try and mitigate the
issue/and or reach a resolution for the action that needs to be taken,

Confident in the committee’s ability to reach a solution which is suitable for all member states,

Reaffirming that PRC has failed to meet the obligations to protect and preserve the marine
environment in South China Sea by not cooperating with other nations, and by constructing the
artificial lands,

Stressing that nations must be neutral and unbiased to certain countries when providing support,

1. Advocates the establishment of a summit or conference between the belligerents in this

issue to take place at an appropriate time;
 a. The summit will be open for all countries and organizations to send
representatives in order to reach a solution suitable for all entities that have a
stake in the dispute;
b. The summit must be held at a neutral location agreed upon by all members;
2. Urges the nations involved in the conflict to establish the agreement on legislations,
regulations on any conflicting acts such as but not limited to:
a. Restricting the construction of artificial island,
b. Illegal fishing,
c. Oil and natural gas extraction,
d. Causing any conflict using military forces,
3. Encourages the members of ASEANs, UNCLOs, EUs, UN, and other belligerent
countries to support the research, fund, implementation of multilateral naval exercises,
incorporating guidelines for behaviors, such as but not limited to:
a. Exchanging the research organizations,
b. Providing historical research expertises,
c. Sharing the existing guideline document,
4. Advises all the nations to take responsibilities, and uphold any agreements or
international law that they have to implement, such as but not limited to:
a. The ruling of PCA case 2013-19, Philippines vs. China
i. There is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to the regions and
their resources demarcated by the nine-dash line
ii. China breached Article 94 of UNCLOS concerning maritime safety as
well and did not uphold its obligations in regard to the convention on
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea
iii. No disciplinary action should be taken against China as doing so would
aggravate the issue further due to unnecessary escalation, though
preventive measures must be put in place to ensure the upholding of this
ruling
b. Obligations to protect, preserve marine environment of South China Sea,
c. Legislations under UNCLOS,
d. Measures to uphold these rulings may include but are not limited to:
i. Disciplinary action against states who fail to uphold it
ii. Sanctions on regional trade placed against aggressors
5. Encourages the bridging the gaps between ASEAN member states, through the efforts of
Initiative for Integration of Integration (IAI), emphasizing the clause 1;
6. Requests the establishment of an International Maritime Organization (IMO) sub-
committee on the South China Sea;
a. Members of the committee must be from neutral member states;
i. Membership will be decided by appointment from the IMO;
 ii. There will be a regular circulation of members upon a rotation period
deemed to appropriate by the IMO;
b. The objective of the sub-committee is to regulate trade in the region, and it will
carry out the following tasks
i. It will decide the appropriation and distribution of revenue generated by
trade in the region based on IMO and UN legislation
ii. It will scrutinize the legality of actions taken by belligerents and suggest
further actions based on their scrutiny to the UN
iii. It will serve as a medium of communication and deliberation for
belligerents
iv. It will maintain a just and unbiased upholding of the law
c. The sub-committee will provide quarterly reports on the situation to the parent
organization
7. Invites the nations which claim the parts of the South China Sea to develop database and
information for the government and law enforcement about their historical claims and
activities in relevant regions;
a. Presenting relevant aspects of this database should be available to relevant
countries should the need arise, and which are appropriate to be considered as
evidence for their claims;
i. Countries can still choose to not share any information they deem to be
inappropriate to share;
8. Calls upon the IMO to rule on the claims put forth for certain parts of the region by the
belligerents in question;
a. These claims include but are not limited to:
i. China’s definition of the nine-dash line as a territorial demarcation versus
the territorial boundaries upheld by other belligerents
ii. Maritime boundaries along the Vietnam coast
iii. Maritime boundaries north of Borneo
iv. Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands, Macclesfield Bank and Scarborough
Shoal claims
v. Maritime boundaries north of the Natuna islands
vi. Maritime boundaries in Palawan, Luzon and Luzon Strait
vii. Maritime boundaries and land territory concerning the islands of Sabah
b. Rulings must be respected and upheld by all belligerents who are UNCLOS
signatories
i. Severe disciplinary action must be taken to rectify any issues regarding the
upholding of said rulings,
9. Further suggests the improvement of refinements and improvements to be negotiated in
the Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) of mechanisms such as but not limited
to:
 a. Dispute settlement mechanisms,
b. Adherence to existing international law and framework such as but not limited to:
i. Declaration of Conduct of China Sea
ii. UNCLOS
10. Requests that a survey of the natural resources of the region be undertaken;
a. This survey will settle a final, universal and accurate figure for the disputed oil
and natural gas resources and mineral deposits
b. The survey should be undertaken by a relevant UN organization in cooperation
with a neutral and unbiased international team
c. Belligerents should use these universal figures to reduce ambiguity and ease
tensions among the nations
11. Suggests the use of a two-track plan integrating energy exploration and resource
exploitation and economic integration;
a. Potential opportunities for combined natural resource exploitation can be explored
i. A central organization can be controlled by all belligerents and claimants
who have a certain stake in the organization
1. This stake will be decided upon ruling by the IMO upon factors
including the availability of resources in the relevant regions,
economic standing and past actions
ii. Even in currently disputed areas, different industries (commercial fishing,
oil and natural gas, tourism, etc.) can be allocated to suitable countries
after a fair evaluation
1. These allocations will be made by the IMO after evaluation of the
relevant criteria and factor;
2. Relevant criteria must be common among the counties to ensure a
fair evaluation
12. Further requests the improvement of a Code of Conduct between ASEAN and other
belligerents;
a. The Code of Conduct will be a binding agreement that outlines the rules and
guidelines of action and communication regarding this issue
b. The Code of Conduct must be upheld and the failure to do so will entail legal
action taken against the offender
13. Further recommends that a plan be made in cooperation with the Human Rights Council
to ensure that those displaced or affected by these measures be taken care of;
a. Laborers in the oil and natural gas industry and fishing communities in disputed
areas are the most at-risk
b. Appropriate shelter, water, food, employment, education and safety must be found
for the affected
c. Human rights abuses by employers must be met with legal action
14. Recommends that multilateral demilitarisation of contested and disputed water in the
south China sea be a potential course of action to decrease militaristic tensions between
involved nations,
a. All nations who have military resources in disputed waters to deduce their number
of vessels and military resources;
b. Removal of any military weapons, facilities,
c. that non-claimant parties place the easing of tension at the utmost priority so as to
deter the prospect of future large-scale conflict;
d. A complete ban over the usage and deployment of specific military assets in the
South China Sea, in line with ASEAN’s vision of Southeast Asia being a Zone of
Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), with such a ban encompassing items
such as but not limited to:
i. Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), inclusive of:
i. Nuclear weapons in all its forms,
ii. Biological weapons, including chemical weapons
such as sarin gas, V-X gas and any and all such
toxic nerve agents,
iii. Any other weapons which have been classified as a
WMD under the United Nations Office for
Disarmament Affairs (UNODA
ii. Such parties might do the following
1. Removal/limitation of military activity in the region
2. Reducing does not mean complete removal of military resources