[Taipanwannabe]

I've been following through the issues regarding China's claim based on historical accounts of all the island and islets in the West Philippine Sea. They have influenced much on the last month Ministerial Meeting in Cambodia, first in its 45 years of unity it ended a failure. China already built a military garrison in the Paracel island, and it is nearing the Pag-asa Island which is under our Exclusive Economic zone, and they are poaching corals and under water resources which are ours. Such greediness can drive someone to coerce weaklings such as Philippines.. I can help it but be bothered all day because of this... Coz i love this nation! 

[prnd32]

Some Filipinos in China view this move as a political maneuver considering the forthcoming leadership change this year.  The current  leadership wants its citizens to view China as stable and in control.  I learned that Chinese politics is becoming highly contested.

Your topic prompted me to google and found this article:

"History, the Law, and the South China Sea: Why the Scarborough Shoal Should Belong to the Philippines"  http://chinaelectionsblog.net/?p=20531

[GoodSteward]

We can take a look at the other side of the coin, this may be unpopular here because you know...self explanatory.  

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2012/04/28/it-belongs-to-china/

http://rqjavines.wordpress.com/tag/china-claim-over-scarborough/

http://rqjavines.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/on-china-ph-scarborough-shoal-dispute-will-there-be-another-falklands-war-in-asia/


Excerpts:

"When history pointed out America’s favor to historical basis of Great Britain over proximity claim of Argentina to Falkland Islands, the 1982 Falklands War broke out. Then, logically, to prevent war, upholding historical claim maybe the least to consider or maybe the best to exercise. But, can America afford to do nothing with Scarborough Shoal dispute seeing China is expanding? Well, another Falklands War in Asia is looming should the Philippines remains either a satrapy of America or a puppet for her interest. Then, the Philippines will be torn between the two boulders!"

"Both the Philippines and China had signified their reservations upon its ratification of UNCLOS.
In other words, both signatories-disputing parties have expressed reservations upon subscribing to the UNCLOS. Then, what makes sense in bringing up the issue to the international tribunal and resolving it based on UNCLOS when both the disputing parties-signatories have conditions hostile to the UNCLOS provisions?"

"So, what exactly was the territory we declared independence from the US in 1946? Why is it that NONE of our constitutions, past and present, from 1899, 1935, 1943, 1973, 1986 and 1987, include either the Spratlys or the Scarborough Shoal within our declared national territory? Where, or from whom, did we, all of a sudden, acquire title to these? Out of thin air?"

"All official maps published by the Philippines until the 1990s excluded both the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal from its territorial boundaries. Our own Republic Act No. 3046, passed by our Congress and approved in 1961, stopped us from our claim. "

"But what takes the cake is the fact that China holds three international treaties in support of its claim over the territories in question—namely, the 1898 Treaty of Paris between the US and Spain, the 1900 Treaty of Washington between Spain and the US, and the 1930 Treaty between Great Britain and the US, all limiting Philippine territorial limits to the 118th degree meridian of longitude east of Greenwich."

-----
For me their motive for claiming, they claim it's theirs.

[Ironkiwi]

There is no motive, ang totoo ay ang China ay naghahanap ng resources para sa di mapigilang pagdami ng kanilang papulasyon.

[jpm247]

FYI,USA has not signed UNCLOS. So I think it would mean that it does not recognize our claim. Let us not put our hopes on our white "brothers" from the west.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_on_the_Law_of_the_Sea#Signature_and_ratification

Countries that have not signed
    (18) Andorra, Azerbaijan, Ecuador, Eritrea, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, San Marino, South Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United States, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (and excluding the states with limited recognition).

[GoodSteward]

Naku po, mukhang misinformation ang ginagawa ng media sa atin..Upon further research, here is what Ive found:

Eto po yun ginagamit na basehan ng Pilipinas to claim Scarborough shoul, yun 200 nautical miles thingy signed sa UNCLO. Ang kaso, Look at the Philippine declaration sa site ng UN:

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_declarations.htm#Philippines%20Understanding%20made%20upon%20signature%20%2810%20December%201982%29%20and%20confirmed%20upon%20ratification
2. Such signing shall not in any manner affect the sovereign rights of the Republic of the Philippines as successor of the United States of America, under and arising out of the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States of America of 10 December 1898, and the Treaty of Washington between the United States of America and Great Britain of 2 January 1930.

See, eh ano ang sabi doon sa tatlong treaty? Hindi pasok yun scarborough sa sovereignty ng Pilipinas...

[AMARANTH]

Protests in Vietnam as anger over China's 'bullying' grows


Tensions rise after Beijing declares city, which Vietnam lays claim to, its newest municipality




Esmer Golluoglu in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 August 2012 19.01 BST









The banners, T-shirts and handwritten posters said it all. "China! Hands off Vietnam!" read one. "Shame on you, bastard neighbour," said another. "Stop escalating, invading the East Sea of Vietnam," a third declared.

As the protesters weaved their way through the crowded streets of Hanoi, past the peeling colonial villas and upmarket shops selling stereos and Versace, they charged towards the Chinese embassy, where they hoped to make a stand against what they call "China's constant aggression".

"I hate China!" said one fortysomething protester, his voice hoarse from shouting slogans. "Germany invaded Poland during the second world war, now China wants to do the same to Vietnam. History may repeat itself if the international community is not made aware of China's bullying."

From government offices to the streets of Vietnam, tensions between Beijing and Hanoi have mounted in recent weeks over what China calls the South China Sea and Vietnam the East Sea, an area where vast deposits of oil and gas, important international shipping routes and fishing rights are of interest not just to Beijing and Hanoi, but also to the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

But last month's protesters had only China on their mind. After detaining a group of Vietnamese fishermen near disputed islands this year, Beijing announced that the state-backed China National Offshore Oil Corporation was seeking bids for oil exploration in what Vietnam deems its own sovereign waters.

It also declared Sansha City – on tiny Yongxing in the Paracel islands, which Vietnam lays claim to – China's newest municipality. The anti-China protest was the third of its kind in Hanoi in one month. "The territorial ambition of China is a common threat – not only for the Philippines or Vietnam but for countries all over the world," said leading economist Le Dang Doanh, a former government adviser who recently signed an open letter calling for China to abandon its "absurd maritime claims" in the region. "China's territorial claims are now bigger than China itself."

Hanoi, 125 miles from the Chinese border, knows it must play a delicate game. Trade between the two countries reached an estimated $40bn last year, and analysts say that ties between the authoritarian, one-party states are considerably closer than either government would like to admit.

The seeming standoff has pushed the US into the game, with recent visits by the secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and the defence secretary, Leon Panetta, highlighting America's interest in its former foe. Panetta's visit to Cam Ranh bay, a US naval base during the Vietnam war, sparked particular curiosity over the US's intentions to "protect key maritime rights for all nations in the South China Sea" as it moves to deploy 60% of its naval ships to the Pacific by 2020.

Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Australian defence academy, said Vietnam was likely to maintain its sovereignty by co-operating – but not aligning itself – with the US, but warned the situation in the South China Sea could worsen before it improved. "Most likely an incident will occur from a misadventure of two opposite boats trying to be in the same place at the same time," he said. "At the moment there's enough control [on both sides] but the analysis is that a lot of China's agencies are acting independently, and the central government is having a hard time asserting authority … the problem is that [neither country's] crisis management techniques are very good."

The protests in Hanoi come at a time of uncertainty over Vietnam's political and social future. Its economy has followed a remarkable trajectory from colonialism and communism through to the doi-moi ("socialist-oriented market economy") capitalism of the 1990s and beyond. Art-deco villas have been razed for multi-storey office blocks, and gaudy mansions dwarf the shady avenues of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, where men in slacks and women in short shorts and stilettos skittle past in glossy Mercedes and 4x4 BMWs.

Here, the rich have become so rich that a Vietnamese businessman recently purchased an entire American town for sale in Wyoming. But Vietnam is running a huge trade deficit with China ($1.85bn in the first two months of the year alone) and its three million-member Communist party is struggling to maintain control over its population of 90 million, 70% of whom were born after 1975, and one-third of whom have internet access.

Protesters are not just angry about China's territorial ambitions, but about the gaping rich-poor divide, increasing accounts of police brutality, widening crackdowns on dissent, and growing numbers of land evictions and human rights abuses. Reporters without Borders declared Vietnam an "enemy of the internet" as a decree aimed at making it illegal to post anonymously online means that bloggers particularly are under attack. Facebook is blocked, as are many blogs, and activists claim emails, phone calls and whereabouts are routinely monitored. The Committee to Protect Journalists cites Vietnam as the fourth-worst jailer of journalists in the world. "Vietnam really is the new Burma," said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch.

"We're seeing more of a crackdown on freedom of expression, a growing lawlessness in terms of the way police interact with people, a continued effort to go after prominent bloggers, to identify activists and jail dissidents. They're trying to prevent any Arab spring-type event where a mixture of information on the internet combined with people being angry and protesting ignites into something more. It's very embarrassing for Vietnam, because previously they were the influential ones giving advice to Burma, which was the basket-case."

Now that Burma is no longer a pariah — thanks to the election of Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament and a slew of reforms initiated by reformist President Thein Sein — the shining star that was once Vietnam has waned considerably, says one local analyst. "Foreign direct investment is flowing into Burma and declining in Vietnam. The government knows it is losing credibility. Vietnam allowed its private sector to develop, but it did not reform its political system. It was a fatal mistake."

Dissident lawyer Le Quoc Quan, one of Vietnam's most prominent human rights activists who has been repeatedly jailed and beaten for his democracy efforts, said Vietnam was fighting a losing battle. "More people know more about their rights, so the more they fight for their rights, [the] more repression, more arrests," he said. "But an optimistic sign is that people are not afraid."

While it is hoped a diplomatic resolution over the South China Sea will soon be reached – the Association of Southeast Nations agreed last week to a "code of conduct" that may see negotiations begin with China in September – it is just as likely that tension will continue. "The problem of China and Vietnam has been a problem for 2,000 years," says Le Dang Doanh. "If China keeps up the aggression, one million [Vietnamese] will take to the streets to protest. You'll see."

• This article was amended on 7 August 2012. The original said that the USA will be moving 60% of its naval ships to the Pacific by 2020 rather than 10% more, ie the deployment ratio will be 40% of the fleet in the Atlantic and 60% in the Pacific.

[Taipanwannabe]

China

[Original: Chinese]

Upon ratification (7 June 1996)1/:

In accordance with the decision of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China at its nineteenth session, the President of the People's Republic of China has hereby ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 and at the same time made the following statement:

1. In accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the People's Republic of China shall enjoy sovereign rights and jurisdiction over an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles and the continental shelf.

2. The People's Republic of China will effect, through consultations, the delimitation of the boundary of the maritime jurisdiction with the States with coasts opposite or adjacent to China respectively on the basis of international law and in accordance with the principle of equitability.

3. The People's Republic of China reaffirms its sovereignty over all its archipelagos and islands as listed in article 2 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, which was promulgated on 25 February 1992.

4. The People's Republic of China reaffirms that the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning innocent passage through the territorial sea shall not prejudice the right of a coastal State to request, in accordance with its laws and regulations, a foreign State to obtain advance approval from or give prior notification to the coastal State for the passage of its warships through the territorial sea of the coastal State.

Declaration made after ratification (25 August 2006)

Declaration under article 298:

The Government of the People's Republic of China does not accept any of the procedures provided for in Section 2 of Part XV of the Convention with respect to all the categories of disputes referred to in paragraph 1 (a) (b) and (c) of Article 298 of the Convention.

http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_declarations.htm#Philippines%20Understanding%20made%20upon%20signature%20%2810%20December%201982%29%20and%20confirmed%20upon%20ratification

this is what i found out!!! i hope they also respect our 200 EEZ..

[GoodSteward]

^ Incomplete highlight
Number 1 highlight pointed out the 200nautical zone as EEZ, thats perfectly right. BUT, dont miss out Number 3!!!!!

3. The People's Republic of China reaffirms its sovereignty over all its archipelagos and islands as listed in article 2 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, which was promulgated on 25 February 1992.

Take a look on the contents of Article 2 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the territorial sea and the contiguous zone, which was promulgated on 25 February 1992:

http://www.fdi.gov.cn/pub/FDI_EN/Laws/GeneralLawsandRegulations/BasicLaws/P020060620318668126917.pdf
"Article 2 The territorial sea of the People's Republic of China is the sea belt adjacent to the land territory and the internal waters of the People's Republicof China. The land territory of the People's Republic of China includes the mainland of the People's Republic of China and its coastal islands; Taiwan  and all islands appertaining thereto including the Diaoyu Islands; the Penghu Islands; the Dongsha Islands; the Xisha Islands; the Zhongsha Islands and the Nansha Islands;as well as all the other islands belonging to the People's Republic of China."

And Zhongsha islands include scarborough since 1935...although some foreign scholars contend about it.

In any case, this UNCLO cannot supersede the Treaty of Paris. And also, the reservation made by the Philippines in the UNCLO,as mentioned in previous post states that Such signing shall not in any manner affect the sovereign rights of the Republic of the Philippines as successor of the United States of America, under and arising out of the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States of America of 10 December 1898....

Sad to say, our government until recently is so inconsistent about the issue, overlooking these stuff...