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Welcome to One Minute To Midnight – I’m Wilfred Cunningham.
This week China acted angrily to a United States Defence Department report about Chinese
military activity and infrastructure build up in the South China Sea, heightening tensions
that have been growiing between the two nations.
Of course other things have been happening.
Venezuela faces shortages of basic goods, foods, and medicines, as its economy falls.
Its president, Nicolas Maduro declared a state of emergency on the 13th of May,
and now threatens to seize inactive factories.
On the 12th of May the Brazilian senate began impeachment proceedings against Dilma Rousseff – the
country’s president.
But we’re not talking about that. We’re talking about the Spratly islands.
The Spratly Islands, which are referred to as a group and individually differently in
different languages and by different countries, and which are also called Nánsha Qúndao
in Chinese, are a group of 14 small islands and more than a hundred reefs, with a natural
above water area of two square kilometres, in the South China Sea. The islands themselves
are spread over around 425,000 square kilometres or 160 000 square miles, although that figure and
the figures associated with the natural and artificial size of the islands varies because
of separate historical definitions and certain reefs becoming submerged either at daily high
tides or for certain parts of the year. The current size of the islands, and one of the
reasons for contemporary territorial disagreements, is an issue of contention because of artificial
enlargement, however the islands have been disputed in some way since at least the 19th century.
China and Taiwan claim all of the Spratly islands exclusively, Vietnam the Spratly and
Paracel islands. Malaysia claims three islands with its exclusive economic zone, and some
reefs, and the Philippines another three. Brunei claims a single reef. An estimated
$5 trillion worth of shipping passes through the Spratly’s every year, making it strategically
important. There are also potentially unquantified amounts of oil and gas beneath the waters
around the Spratlys.
The main international issue however is the artifical expansion and perceived militarisation
of some islands and reefs by China, and the response to those actions by the United States.
Mike Parker: This is a dredger actually pumping sand from under the water on top of an area they're trying to
build up land. And we see this everyday.
Interviewer: You're a military man, you look at this - is there any doubt that that is a future military installation?
Mike Parker: It appears to be a build up of military infrastructure, and not to mention we were just
probably thirty minutes ago, and the challenge came from the Chinese Navy, and I'm highly confident it came from the shore.
The Spratlys are so named because of their sighting by British whaling captain Richard Spratly, and that
name seems to be the most used and recognised, at least by Western media.
The island group may have been sighted by people tens of thousands of years ago, and
China claims to have discovered them formally around two thousand years ago, with at least
some of the islands appearing on Chinese maps since the 12th century. China’s ruling dynasties
continued to claim the islands in maps in the 19th century at the same time as Vietnamese
maps combined the Spratly and more northenly Paracel Islands into one region, under Vietnamese
control, with both nations seemingly unaware of the other’s claim.
The 1887 the Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention signed between France and China stated
that China was the sole owner of the Spratly and Paracel islands, however French Indochina
asserted in 1900 that Vietnam had exercised sovereignty over the Spratlys since the 18th
century and therefore had a legitimate claim, and in 1930 a French scientific expedition
raised the French flag over Spratly Island itself– the fourth largest of the group.
The Japanese occupied the islands during the second world war, and after their removal
Chinese troops remained until around 1948. In 1956 the Philippines claimed some of the
North Western islands, and South Vietnam announced the islands’ annexation, but did not station
troops there. Two years later in 1958, China defined its nautical borders and explicitly
claimed the Spratly’s as its own territory, with agreement from North Vietnam, but with
contestation from South Vietnam.
In 1968 the Philippines stationed troops on three islands and announced the annexation
of what it calls the Kalayaan island group. In 1971 Malaysia claimed sovereignty over
some of the islands, and unified Vietnam claimed the Spratlys belonged to them in 1975. Before the Vietnamese war ended, South
Vietnamese soldiers occupied South West Cay peacefully, and Vietnam continues to hold
the island to this day.
In 1984 Brunei established an exclusive fishing zone encompassing the tiny Louisa Reef in
the south of the group. On the 14th of March 1988 a skirmish occurred between the Chinese
and Vietnamese militaries, resulting in 64 Vietnamese troops being killed and China taking
possession of six reefs and atolls including Subi Reef. In 1994 and 95 China built structures
on Mischief reef, a large reef 250 kilometres from the Philippines.
In May 2008 the Taiwanese President became the first head of state from any of the claimant
countries to visit the islands.
In 2011 Vietnamese officials accused Chinese fishing boats or patrol boats, of cutting
cables being laid by an oil exploration vessel inside its exclusive economic zone. Both countries
conducted live firing exercises that year, and both had some of their government websites
hacked, perhaps in relation to the disputes over the islands.
On 20th May 2015, the Chinese Navy issued a warning to a United States spy plane
near Fiery Cross Reef:
The language used – specifically the description of the
area as a military zone, was notable as it is arguably a clear and direct challenge to
the United State’s assertion that the islands should be considered international territory.
On October th 25th United States destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles
of Subi Reef, an area that China claims is its sovereign territory.
On the 30th of January 2016, days after United States Secretary of State John Kerry visited
Beijing to discuss regional issues, US warship Curtis Wilbur came within 12 nautical miles
of Triton Island in the Paracel group. A following statement from the Chinese defence ministry
warned similar incidents “may cause extremely dangerous consequences” and that the Curtis Wilbur
had violated Chinese Law.
On 16th Of February 2016 it was reported that imagery from ImageSat International (ISI)
shows two batteries of eight surface-to-air missile launchers as well as a radar system
on *** Island, part of the Paracel Island group.
Most recently on the 10th of May USS William P. Lawrence, a missile destroyer, sailed within
12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef, which the US Department of Defense claimed was part
of an operation to challenge attempts by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam to restrict navigation
rights around claimed territories.
Now in it’s annual report, which China's Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun has
described as damaging to mutual trust, the US Department of Defence has told congress
that it expects China to continue the artificial expansion and creation of islands in the Spratley
group, adding military supporting infrastructure and long term bases.
Although all countries with some claim over the Spratlys, with the exception of Brunei,
have artificially expanded reefs and islands in their possession, China has reclaimed at
least thirty times more than Vietnam or Malaysia – an estimated 13 square kilometres. In
contrast the Philippines and Taiwan have claimed 0.056 and 0.032 square kilometres respectively.
It is probably this rapid expansion that has caused such publically voiced concern from
the United States, who the Chinese have in the past accused of supporting South Vietnamese
and Taiwanese efforts in the region with the intension of undermining Chinese progress.
Hillary Clinton: The United States does not take sides on territorial disputes over land features in the
South China Sea, but we oppose the use of force or the threat of force to advance the claims of any party.
Nevertheless, China has succeeded in creating impressive bases where there were only reefs
or small sand dunes before – at Fiery Cross Reef they have transformed a reef into an
island more than 3,000 meters long and 200-300 meters wide, with a large seaport and a runway
long enough to land any Chinese military plane. The speed of land reclamation, which largely
began in 2014, is likely to slow, however the future expansion of China’s military
activities in the region are unclear – the bases may only be occupied at certain times,
and be as China states, part of a robust defensive network, or they could garrison a permanent
force big enough to essentially control the South China Sea and act as a strategic strong
point for the region.
Greg Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, claims that, “China's strategy in the South China
Sea is one of ambiguity.”
Zhu Haiquan, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Washington has said in the past
that, "Freedom of navigation and overflight should not be used as an excuse to flex muscle
and undermine other countries' sovereignty and security," and the Chinese government
has frequently criticised the presence of the United States Navy so close to its claimed
Many see the South China Sea as a potential flashpoint, where the the world's two strongest
militaries may be drawn in to open confrontation. The report that has so upset Chinese-American
diplomacy may be honest analysis, or it may frame the situation with the intention to
potray China has provocative and bullying. Either way the report means that the Spratley
islands are of notable concern to the United States, and that they will likely grow in
diplomatic significance.
The Department of Defence’s report repeats accusations that China's military
is responsible for cyber attacks against U.S. government systems.
US officials have also said that the American navy plans to conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of Chinese artificial islands
– inside the area that would normally be considered its territory, around twice every
four months. So Chinese-American relations over the Spratly Islands dispute are likely to remain
strained, perhaps worsening. However the islands have been disputed for over a century, so until
next time goodbye, and try to remain calm.