The international community has become increasingly concerned about the South China Sea dispute, in particular the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Republic of the Philippines, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Though the South China Sea is far away from The Bahamas, the Bahamian people as a maritime nation and due to the fast growing ties with China, may have some interest in observing the development of situation in the South China Sea. To facilitate a better understanding of the issue, I'd like to introduce the position of China on the South China Sea issue and share some facts with local readers.
1. China's position on the arbitration
In 2013, to the surprise of China and other neighboring countries of the South China Sea, the Philippines unilaterally initiated compulsory arbitration proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which has drawn much international attention. The position of the Chinese government on the arbitration is clear: China will neither accept nor participate in the arbitration. UNCLOS has stipulated compulsory dispute settlement procedures, and arbitration is an international practice of settling boundary and maritime disputes recognized by some countries. Why does China adopt the policy of rejection of and non-participation in the present arbitration?
First of all, China and the Philippines have repeatedly reiterated their commitment to the settlement of South China Sea disputes by way of dialogue in bilateral instruments including joint statements, joint communiques.
Secondly, in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea ("DOC"), signed by China, the Philippines and other member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ("ASEAN") in 2002, it is explicitly stated that , "The parties concerned undertake to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned." On that basis, China and the Philippines have chosen negotiation as the means to resolve relevant disputes and excluded third-party settlement, including arbitration. Unilaterally initiating arbitration by the Philippines is an act of violating the agreement between the two countries and dishonoring its commitment on the part of the Philippines.
Thirdly, the declaration on optional exceptions China made in 2006 in accordance with article 298 of UNCLOS excludes disputes concerning maritime delimitation, historic bays or titles, as well as military and law enforcement activities from the dispute settlement procedures provided in UNCLOS. About 30 countries, including four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, have made similar declarations, which forms an integral part of UNCLOS. The Philippines, by maliciously circumventing China's declaration and unilaterally initiating arbitration, has violated the right to seeking dispute settlement of its own choice that China enjoys and undermined UNCLOS' authority and integrity.
Fourthly, the essence of the subject-matter of the arbitration is the territorial sovereignty over the relevant islands and reefs in the South China Sea, which is beyond the scope of the UNCLOS and is consequently not concerned with the interpretation and application of the convention. The act of the Arbitral Tribunal to hear the case and exercise jurisdiction is an abuse of its power and can only worsen the tensions between China and the Philippines, contradicts its purpose of peaceful settlement of international disputes.
As a result, China's non-acceptance of and non-participation in the arbitration is in line with the international laws including UNCLOS.
The Philippines intends to use the arbitration to deny China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and seek support for its own invasion and illegal occupation of some islands and reefs of China's Nansha Islands. It's obvious that the arbitration initiated by the Philippines is a political farce and provocation under the pretext of law.
2. The origin of South China Sea dispute
The South China Sea Islands, which include Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands, have been China's territory since ancient times. The Chinese people were the first to discover, name and explore these islands including the Nansha Islands and exploit their resources. Until the latter half of the 19th century, only Chinese people lived and worked in Nansha Islands. Furthermore, China is the first country to continuously exercise sovereign jurisdiction over them, a practice that has been continued in a peaceful and effective manner without interruption.
From 1930s, Japan started the war of aggression against China and occupied the Nansha Islands. It was explicitly provided in the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation that all the territories, including the Nansha Islands, which had been stolen by Japan, should be restored to China. When the war ended, the Japanese government officially stated that it renounced all its "rights, title and claim to Taiwan, Penghu Islands as well as Nansha and Xisha Islands", thus returned the Nansha Islands to China.
For quite a long period after WWII, there had been no such thing as the so-called South China Sea Issue, and it was widely recognized by the international community that the South China Sea Islands belong to China, and no country ever challenged this. In 1968, a survey conducted by an affiliate of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) indicated rich oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea. Starting from the 1970s, countries like the Philippines and Vietnam, breaking the UN Charter and the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, a basic norm governing state-to-state relations, have occupied part of the islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands by military means. This leads to the territorial disputes over the Nansha Islands, which is the core and origin of South China Sea Issue. Also, with the evolution of the new system of the law of the sea, there have also arisen the disputes on maritime delimitation.
3. Negotiation and consultation are the right way forward to resolve the South China Sea Issue
China is a victim of the South China Sea Issue. Up to now, most islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands are illegally occupied by other countries. Nonetheless, the Chinese side has exercised great restraint, handled the South China Sea Issue in a responsible and constructive manner. China's position on the South China Sea issue is consistent and clear-cut. We are committed to resolving the relevant disputes in a peaceful manner through negotiations and consultations, to managing the disputes by establishing rules and mechanisms, to seeking win-win outcomes through joint development and cooperation, and to upholding freedom of navigation and overflight as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea.
China supports and advocates the "dual track approach" to handle the South China Sea Issue, i.e., while the relevant disputes are to be resolved through negotiations and consultations between the states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and according to international law, China and ASEAN member states will work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Long after other countries' large-scale construction on the Nansha Islands, China's construction activities on the Nansha Islands and reefs are aimed at first and foremost improving the working and living conditions for the stationed personnel and better fulfilling China's relevant international responsibilities and obligations. Upon the completion of the construction, China will provide more public services and goods to the international community, such as maritime search and rescue, disaster prevention and mitigation, meteorological observation, ecological conservation, navigation safety and fishery production and services, etc. China's construction activities have never affected the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, rather are a basic guarantee for it. Certain countries flex military muscles by sending military vessels and aircraft into the waters and airspace neighboring China's Nansha islands and reefs, which poses the biggest threat to peace and stability and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea.
After years of diplomatic efforts and negotiations, China has successfully resolved land boundary disputes with 12 out of its 14 neighbors, delimiting and demarcating some 20,000 kilometers in length of land boundary in the process, which accounts for over 90 percent of the total length of China's land boundary. In 2000 China and Vietnam concluded an agreement establishing a maritime boundary between the states in Beibu Bay. China firmly believes that as long as states concerned negotiate in good faith and on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, meet each other half way, territorial and maritime delimitation disputes can be resolved properly, and peace and stability in the South China Sea can be maintained effectively.
o Huang Qinguo is the ambassador of China to The Bahamas.
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