Joanna Marie E.

Antioquia

HTM C407-302H

Screenshots about South China Sea Dispute

Section
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
Definition: In 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into
existence. It establishes regulations governing all uses of the oceans and their
resources and establishes a complete regime of law and order throughout the world's
oceans and seas.
Case Title

China, Philippines Tensions Risk Wider

Conflict that Could Draw in the U.S.
As Beijing continues its intimidation and coercion campaign in the
South China Sea, can Washington de-escalate tensions?
Thursday, August 10, 2023 / BY: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.;  Brian Harding;  Andrew Scobell, Ph.D.

A Chinese Coast Guard ship outside the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, June 18,
2016. (Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times)
What’s behind rising China-Philippines
tensions in the South China Sea?

A Chinese Coast Guard ship uses water cannon on a Philippine Coast Guard ship near the Philippine-
occupied Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on August 5, 2023 [File: Philippine Coast
Guard via AP]
Parties Involved
Plaintiff: Philippines
Defendant: China
Other Party’s Involved:

USA (United States of America)

Vietnam
Australia
Japan
Cambodia

Court
The Arbitral Tribunal Court

Legal Instruments
1. Philippine initiated the arbitration under Annex VII of
the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS or the Convention or the 1982 Convention)
1
 

2. President Marcos Jr. made bold moves to deepen

defense ties with the United States
 3. President Marcos Jr. government gave the US
access to four more military bases under the 2014
Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)

Key Issues
Phillipines and China Tension in the South China
Sea

Ruling
 Philippines launched arbitral proceedings against China on
January 22, 2013. China responded by rejecting the
arbitration in a diplomatic note sent to the Philippines on
February 19, 2013, in response. China claimed that the
Arbitral Tribunal lacked jurisdiction in the case because the
Philippines' proposed legal theory, the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), was not fully accepted by China
and excluded issues like historic title determination and sea
boundary delimitation. Since that time, China has
consistently refused to recognise the arbitral processes that
the Philippines had started as well as to take part in them.
However, the tribunal did not view this as a barrier, and on
29 October 2015 it issued its first award establishing
jurisdiction, and on 12 July 2016 it issued its award
addressing the merits of the dispute.

 China and the Philippines are at odds once

more, and Manila accuses Beijing of using water
cannons to prevent a Philippine military supply
 boat from reaching troops stationed on a
decommissioned warship grounded on a reef in
the South China Sea with food, fuel, and water.

 China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,

Taiwan, and Brunei are all parties to the long-
running territorial dispute in the resource-rich
waters that broke out over the weekend near the
contested Second Thomas Shoal.

Implications
The United States of America implicate the tension
by joining the Philippines against China for defense
and guard the South China Sea and the countries
conduct a joint training.

Criticisms and Challenges

 In the most recent act of Beijing's aggressiveness in
the important waterway, a Chinese coast guard ship
prevented a Philippine patrol ship from steaming into
a disputed shoal in the South China Sea. This
resulted in a terrifying near-collision.
 A Chinese Coast Guard use a Water Gun to block the
Philippine Supply Boat from delivering food, fuel and
 water to troops garrisoned on a decommissioned
warship grounded on a reef in the South China Sea.

 Chinese harass the Philippine Coast Guard vessel

with Laser

Conclusion
It came to the conclusion that China had violated the terms of UNCLOS,
specifically by (a) temporarily banning fishing in South China Sea areas
that were part of the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone, (b) failing to
stop Chinese vessels from fishing in the EEZ at Mischief Reef and
Second Thomas Shoal, and (c) preventing Filipino fishermen from
engaging in traditional fishing at Scarborough Shoal.

References:
https://apnews.com/article/philippines-dispute-south-china-sea-patrol-
27ee9778f7302938c5090644e3d153c2
https://globalnation.inquirer.net/210843/china-harasses-philippine-coast-
guard-vessel
https://globalchallenges.ch/issue/1/legal-victory-for-the-philippines-
against-china-a-case-study/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/whats-behind-rising-china-
philippines-tensions-in-the-south-china-sea
https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/08/china-philippines-tensions-
risk-wider-conflict-could-draw-us