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Phil. Supreme Court Justice Carpio GEOCON 2017 West Philippine Sea Lecture
Importance of the South China Sea
US$5.3 trillion in ship-borne goods traverse the South China Sea annually, accounting for almost one-half of the world’s
shipborne trade in tonnage. Sixty-five percent of South Korea’s petroleum imports, 60% of Japan and Taiwan’s
petroleum imports, and 50% of China’s petroleum imports pass through the South China Sea.* Twelve percent of the
annual global fish catch comes from the South China Sea, worth US$21.8 billion. Two billion people live in 10 countries
bordering the South China Sea, and hundreds of millions of people depend on fish from the South China Sea for their
protein. The maritime areas close to the coast of countries bordering the South China Sea are rich in oil and gas. The
South China Sea is also rich in methane hydrates – which China considers its future source of energy. * https://
www.businessinsider.com.au/why-the-south-china-sea-is-so-crucial-2015-2
A sandbar or rock, above water at high tide even by a few inches, is an island entitled to a 12
NM territorial sea around it (Article 121, UNCLOS). This amounts to 155,165 hectares of
maritime space, more than twice the land area of Metro Manila of 63,600 hectares, and more
than twice the land area of Singapore 70,000 hectares. All the fish, oil, gas and mineral
resources within this huge area belong to the state that has sovereignty over the rock or sandbar.
Importance of Sandbars and Rocks Above Water At High Tide
LTE Rock or Sandbar Within Territorial Sea
Where a low-tide elevation is situated wholly or partly within the territorial sea, the low-water
line on that low-tide elevation may be used as the baseline for measuring the breadth of the
territorial sea (Article 13 [1], UNCLOS).
Nine-dashed Line Map
Submitted by China to United
Nations on 7 May 2009
China did not explain the legal basis
for the dashes. The dashes had no fixed
coordinates.
“China has indisputable sovereignty
over the islands in the South China
Sea and the adjacent waters, and
enjoys sovereign rights and
jurisdiction over the relevant waters as
well as the seabed and subsoil
thereof.” - China’s Note Verbale of 7
May 2009
The Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia
promptly protested China’s claim
under this dashed lines map. The
Philippines belatedly protested on 11
April 2011.
“Chinese activities in the South China Sea date
back to over 2,000 years ago. China was the first
country to discover, name, explore and exploit the
resources of the South China Sea Islands and the
first to continuously exercise sovereign powers
over them.” (China’s Position Paper of 7 December 2014
submitted to the Arbitral Tribunal)
China’s Historical Narrative
To Claim the South China Sea
•  In 2013, China released a new map of China, adding a 10th
dash on the eastern side of Taiwan. In its 2013 map,
China claims the ten dashes are its “national boundaries,”
without again explaining the legal basis or giving the fixed
coordinates for the dashes. The 2013 China map was
published by SinoMaps Press, under the jurisdiction of
China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. This
means the 2013 Map is an official Chinese government
map.
•  In its Note Verbale of June 7, 2013 to China, the
Philippines stated it "strongly objects to the indication
that the nine-dash lines are China's national boundaries
in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea.”
China’s 2013 Map with Ten Dashes
As China’s “National Boundaries”
China Claims the Ten Dashes
In the 2013 Map Are China’s
“National Boundaries”
Core Dispute: China’s Claim to 80 Percent of Philippine EEZ
Under the nine-dashed line, China claims the Reed Bank, James Shoal, waters within the EEZ of Vietnam,
and prohibits foreign fishing vessels from fishing in the high seas of the South China Sea without
permission from China. In short, China claims all the resources within the nine-dashed line, which
encloses 85.7 percent of the South China Sea. Under the nine-dashed line, China wants to grab 80
percent of the EEZ of the Philippines in the South China Sea.
China’s Creeping Expansion in the SCS from 1946 to 2017
Before World War II, China’s
southernmost defense perimeter was
Hainan Island. Before the war, China
did not have a single soldier or sailor
stationed in any SCS island outside of
Hainan Island. In 1946, right after
the war, China took over the
Amphitrite Group of the Paracels and
Itu Aba in the Spratlys following the
defeat of the Japanese, moving
China’s defense perimeter southward.
China (Kuomintang) vacated Itu Aba
in 1950 until 1956, when Taiwan
occupied Itu Aba. In 1974, China
forcibly dislodged the South
Vietnamese from the Crescent Group
of the Paracels. In 1987, China
installed a weather radar station in
Fiery Cross Reef. In 1988, China
forcibly evicted Vietnam from
Johnson South Reef, and seized Subi
Reef from the Philippines, moving
further south China’s defense
perimeter in the Spratlys.
In 1995, China seized Mischief Reef from the Philippines, just 125 NM from
Palawan and 594 NM from Hainan. In 2012, China seized Scarborough Shoal
from the Philippines, just 124 NM from Luzon. In 2013, China seized Luconia
Shoals from Malaysia, just 54 NM from Sarawak’s coast. In 2014, China started
island-building on rocks and submerged areas in the Spratlys to construct air
and naval bases.
China’s Air & Naval Bases to Control the South China Sea
China’s grand design is to control the South China Sea for economic and military
purposes. China wants all the islands, reefs, rocks, fishery, oil, gas and mineral
resources within the nine-dashed line. China already takes 50% of the annual fish
catch in the South China Sea as more than 80% of its coastal waters are already
polluted. China has the largest fishing fleet in the world, with 220,000 sea-going
vessels and 2,640 long-distance ocean-going vessels. China’s fish consumption is the
highest in the world considering China’s 1.4 billion population.
China is the largest net importer of petroleum in the world. China wants the lion’s
share of the oil and gas in the South China Sea. The Chinese estimate that the
South China Sea holds 130 billion barrels of oil, and if this is correct, the South
China Sea is as rich in oil as Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates. The South China
Sea is also rich in methane hydrates or “flammable ice” - said to be one of the fuels
of the future. China wants to secure all these methane hydrates for itself.
China also wants the South China Sea as a sanctuary for its nuclear-armed
submarines – free from surveillance by U.S. submarine-hunting Poseidon airplanes
or U.S. nuclear attack submarines. China wants a second-strike nuclear capability,
joining the ranks of the U.S. and Russia.
China’s Grand Design in the South China Sea
Maritime Zones under UNCLOS
An island above water at high tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. If such island is capable of human habitation or economic life of its
own, it is entitled to a 200 NM EEZ. If there is an outer continental shelf beyond 200 NM, the island is entitled to an ECS of 150 NM from
the outer limits of its EEZ. The maximum maritime zone a coastal state can claim is 150 NM from the outer limits of its 200 NM EEZ (or 100
NM from the 2500 meter isobath, a limitation which does not apply to coastal states in the South China Sea based on the geology and
geomorphology of the South China Sea). China is claiming maritime zones more than 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ, or more than
350 NM from its coastlines in Hainan Island or its mainland.
Low Tide Elevation vs. Rock/Island
A low-tide elevation is not entitled to a territorial sea or any maritime zone. A rock above water at high
tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. An island capable of human habitation or economic life of its
own is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea, a 200 NM EEZ, and an outer continental shelf of 150 NM from
the outer limits of its EEZ (or 100 NM from the 2500 meter isobath, if applicable).
China Seized Mischief (Panganiban) Reef in February 1995
The Philippine formally protested in 1995 China’s seizure of Mischief Reef. A protest is a
peaceful, non-violent and non-confrontational assertion of Philippine sovereign rights to
preserve and prevent waiver of such rights in view of the opposing claim or action of another
state.
China Seized Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in 2012
Just as in 1995 when China seized Mischief Reef, the Philippines had no military capability to defend or
retake Scarborough Shoal in 2012 when China seized the shoal. The Philippines decided to bring the
dispute to a forum where warships, warplanes and nuclear bombs do not count - to an UNCLOS arbitral
Tribunal which would resolve the dispute solely based on the Law of the Sea. Robert Kaplan, in his book
Asia’s Cauldron, called this resort to international law the “ultimate demonstration of weakness.”
1.  China’s claim to historic rights under the nine-dashed line is contrary to
UNCLOS, without lawful effect and cannot be the basis to claim any maritime
entitlement (territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and extended continental
shelf).
2.  No geologic feature in the Spratlys is capable of human habitation or economic
life of its own so as to generate a 200-NM EEZ that overlaps with Palawan’s EEZ.
3.  Mischief Reef, 125 NM from Palawan, is a low-tide elevation situated outside the
territorial sea of any state and therefore forms part of the continental shelf and
EEZ of the Philippines. Only the Philippines can exploit Mischief Reef and
construct structures on it.
4.  Reed Bank, 85 NM from Palawan, is completely submerged and within the
Philippine EEZ. Only the Philippines can exploit the natural resources in Reed
Bank.
5.  China severely harmed the marine environment when it dredged reefs to
reclaim or create artificial islands, and when it failed to prevent Chinese
fishermen from harvesting endangered species.
6.  Scarborough Shoal is a rock entitled only to 12-NM territorial sea. Filipino,
Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen have traditional fishing rights in the
territorial sea of Scarborough Shoal.
Six Major Issues Raised in the Arbitration &
Resolved by the Annex VII UNCLOS Tribunal
•  The nine-dashed line has no legal effect and cannot serve as legal basis to
claim any maritime entitlement under UNCLOS. In short, “there was
no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the
sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’.”
•  China’s maritime zones, just like those of other coastal states, cannot
extend beyond the limits prescribed under UNCLOS. Maritime
entitlements must be claimed only from land.
•  All historic rights in the EEZ, ECS and high seas were
extinguished upon effectivity of UNCLOS: “[A]ny historic rights that
China may have had to the living and non-living resources within the
‘nine-dash line’ were superseded, as a matter of law and as between the
Philippines and China, by the limits of the maritime zones provided for
by the Convention.”
•  “[T]here was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive
control over the waters [of the South China Sea] or their resources.”
The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue.
	Ruling on China’s Claim to Historic Rights
Under the Nine-Dashed Line
High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea
“[T]he Tribunal concludes that China’s claim to historic rights to the living and non-living resources
within the ‘nine-dash line’ is incompatible with the Convention to the extent that it exceeds the limits of
China’s maritime zones as provided for by the Convention.” (Para 261, Award of 12 July 2016)
High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea
“[T]he Tribunal concludes that China’s claim to historic rights to the living and non-living resources
within the ‘nine-dash line’ is incompatible with the Convention to the extent that it exceeds the limits of
China’s maritime zones as provided for by the Convention.” (Para 261, Award of 12 July 2016)
1136 AD “Hua Yi Tu”
“The Philippines submits that Chinese historic maps dating back to 1136, including those
purporting to depict the entirety of the Empire of China, consistently show China’s territory
extending no further south than Hainan.” (Para 195, Award of 12 July 2016)
1896 “Huang Chao Zhi Sheng Yu Di Quan Tu” or The Qing
Empire’s Complete Map of All Provinces
During the Chinese dynasties, Hainan Island was a part of Guangdong Province. Hainan
became a separate province only in 1988. The Qing Dynasty saw one of the largest expansions
of Chinese territory throughout the Chinese dynasties. The Qing dynasty ceded Formosa to
Japan in 1895 following the Qing’s defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).
China’s Southernmost Territory Through the Dynasties – Hainan (1894)
1595 Ortelius Map - Champa Kingdom and Champa Sea
Before Portuguese navigators coined the name South China Sea, the sea was known as the Champa Sea,
after the Cham people who established a great kingdom in central Vietnam from the late 2nd to the 17th
century. The Chams had sailboats with outriggers, just like the sailboats of the Austronesians. The
ancestors of the Chams spoke a Malayo-Polynesian language that is derived from the Austronesian
language, just like the Tagalog language. The word “cham” comes from the flower of the champaka tree.
This flower is the symbol of the Cham Kingdom. The Chams are believed to have migrated from Borneo
to central Vietnam.
“For centuries the South
China Sea was known by
navigators throughout Asia
as the Champa Sea, named
for a great empire that
controlled all of central
Vietnam xxx.” - National
Geographic, June 18, 2014
Islands in the Champa Sea Had Austronesian Names
1596 Linschoten Map: “Pulo” in Tagalog means an “island, isolated place.” https://www.tagalog-
dictionary.com/search?word=pulo.
1688 Coronelli Terrestrial Globe
Vincenzo Coronelli made this famous terrestrial globe in 1688. This map is one of the 12 gores (sections) of the 1688
globe. Famous for his atlases and globes, Coronelli was the Father General of the Franciscan Order. The Franciscans
arrived in the Philippines in 1578.
1734 Murillo Velarde Map – Mapa delas Yslas Filipinas*
Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica delas Yslas Filipinas
•  In 1932, the French occupied the uninhabited
Paracels. China sent a Note Verbale to the French
Government on September 29, 1932 protesting
the French occupation of the Paracels. In its
Note Verbale, the Chinese Government officially
declared:
Expansion of Southernmost
Territory of China Started in 1932
“Note of 29 September 1932 from the Legation of
the Chinese Republic in France to the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Paris
On the instructions of its Government, the
Legation of the Chinese Republic in France has
the honor to transmit its Government’s reply to
the Foreign Ministry’s Note of 4 January 1932 on
the subject of the Paracel Islands.”
xxxx
“xxx The eastern group is called the Amphitrites
and the western group the Crescent. These groups
lie 145 nautical miles from Hainan Island, and
form the southernmost part of Chinese
territory.” (Emphasis supplied)
xxx	 	 	 	 	[Source: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands,
Monique Chemelier-Gendreau, Annex 10, Kluwer Law
International, 2000]
“Southernmost Part of Chinese Territory” – the Paracels
The Paracels - “These groups lie 145 nautical miles from Hainan Island, and form
the southernmost part of Chinese territory.” China’s Note Verbale to France of 29
September 1932
Status of Geologic Features in Spratlys
•  None of the geologic features (rocks and islands) in the Spratlys is capable of
“human habitation or economic life of [its] own” so as to be entitled to a 200-
NM EEZ.
•  Since there is no other EEZ that overlaps with Palawan’s EEZ, the Tribunal has
jurisdiction to rule on the maritime issues in the Spratlys.
•  To be entitled to a 200-NM EEZ, the geologic feature must have the “objective
capacity, in its natural condition, to sustain either a stable community of people or
economic activity that is not dependent on outside resources or purely extractive in
nature.”
•  Itu Aba, 45 hectares in area and the largest geologic feature in the Spratlys, is a
borderline case. However, historically, there has been no community of people
that ever inhabited Itu Aba because the natural conditions there could most
probably not sustain human habitation. Thus, Itu Aba is entitled only to a 12-
NM territorial sea.
•  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue.
Ruling on Status of Geologic Features in
Spratlys to Generate 200-NM EEZ
Seven Geologic Features Occupied by China in Spratlys
•  Of the seven (7) reefs China occupies in the Spratlys, five (5) are high-
tide elevations (above water at high tide), namely: Fiery Cross Reef,
Johnson South Reef, Gaven Reef, Cuarteron Reef and McKennan Reef;
these reefs are entitled to 12-NM territorial sea.
•  Mischief Reef is a low-tide elevation situated outside the territorial sea of
any state. Mischief Reef forms part of the Philippine EEZ. Only the
Philippines can erect structures on Mischief Reef. China’s structures on
Mischief are illegal. Ayungin Shoal is also a low-tide elevation outside
the territorial sea of any state, and therefore part of Philippine EEZ.
•  Reed Bank is entirely submerged and forms part of Philippine EEZ as it
is within 200-NM from Philippine baselines.
•  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue except for
Gaven Reef and McKennan Reef, which the Philippines argued are only
low-tide elevations but the Tribunal ruled they are high-tide elevations
entitled to 12-NM territorial sea.
Ruling on Status of Geologic Features in Spratlys -
Low-Tide or High-Tide Elevations, or Completely Submerged
Gaven Reef and McKennan Reef
McKennan Reef is a high-tide feature controlled by China within the Philippine EEZ in the
Spratlys. As a high-tide feature, McKennan Reef is entitled to a 12-NM territorial sea. The
other high-tide feature controlled by China in the Spratlys and within the Philippine EEZ is
Johnson South Reef.
Mischief (Panganiban) Reef July 22, 2016
Mischief Reef is a circular atoll with a diameter of 7.4 KM, and its lagoon has an area of 3,600 hectares. The
average depth inside the lagoon is 26 meters. As of November 2015, China has created an artificial island
of 590 hectares. Mischief Reef is 125 NM from Palawan and 596 NM from Hainan. Some Chinese analysts
call Mischief Reef China’s Pearl Harbor in the South China Sea.
Source: http://time.com/
China violated its obligation under UNCLOS to “protect and
preserve the marine environment” when China:
1.  Dredged and built islands on seven (7) reefs;
2.  Failed to prevent its fishermen from harvesting
endangered species like sea turtles, corals and giant clams
in the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal.
The Tribunal ruled that China “caused permanent and
irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem.”
The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue.
This is the first time that an international tribunal applied the
UNCLOS provision on protection and preservation of the
marine environment.
Ruling on Harm to the Marine Environment
Chinese Reef Killer Dredges 4,500 Cubic Meters of Sand per Hour
The Tiang Jing Hao (Heavenly Whale) dredger, a 127 meter-long seagoing cutter suction
dredger designed by the German engineering company Vosta LMG. At 6,017 gross tons,
this dredger is the largest in Asia. China has dozens of dredgers in the Spratlys.
How China Dredged in the Spratlys
Coral reef and hard sediment on the seabed are pulverized by the rotating cutter.
Pulverized materials are sucked into the ship. Pulverized materials are transported
by pressure through a floating pipe. Pulverized materials are deposited on the rim of
the reef.
Marine Life in Reefs
“In economic terms, coral reefs are the single most valuable ecosystem on Earth, according to a
paper published in 2012 by ecologist Rudolf de Groot at Wageningen University and Research
Centre, in the Netherlands. A hectare (about 2.5 acres) of reef has a potential value of
approximately $350,000 a year.” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-giant-
clam-poaching-south-china-sea-destruction/
Tanmen Fishing Boat Scraping
Coral Reef to Harvest Giant Clams
http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/satellite-images-show-ecocide-in-the-south-china-sea/;
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-giant-clam-poaching-south-china-sea-destruction/
Ta n m e n c l a m
har vesters have
destroyed by far
more coral reefs
t h a n C h i n a ’ s
dredging to build
artificial islands.
barren reef
Tanmen Fishermen’s Harvest of Giant Clams
http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/satellite-images-show-ecocide-in-the-south-china-sea/
Dr. John McManus, the world-renowned marine scientist who
studied the Spratlys in the 1990s, went back to the Spratlys last
February 2016. He surveyed several reefs, including those
exploited by clam dredgers from Tanmen, Hainan. Dr. McManus
said:
“The damage was much worse than even I expected it to be. I
swam over one whole kilometer of reef before I saw a single
living invertebrate. It was really massive, massive destruction.”*
The South China Sea is home to 34 percent of the world’s total
coral reefs while occupying only 2.5 percent of the world’s total
ocean surface.
*http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2016/0720/In-South-China-Sea-case-ruling-on-environment-
hailed-as-precedent
Severe Harm to the Fragile Marine Ecosystem
Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal - High-Tide
Elevation Incapable of Human Habitation
•  Scarborough Shoal is a high-tide elevation entitled to
12-NM territorial sea but not to a 200-NM EEZ since
obviously it is not capable of human habitation.
•  The territorial sea of Scarborough Shoal is a traditional
fishing ground of Filipino and Chinese fishermen, as
well as fishermen from other countries; China cannot
prevent Filipino fishermen from fishing in Scarborough
Shoal.
•  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this
issue.
Ruling on Status of Scarborough Shoal;
Right to Traditional Fishing
Disputed EEZ Area before the Ruling of Tribunal
Disputed Area after the Ruling of Tribunal
The Tribunal ruled that McKennan Reef is above water at high tide. McKennan Reef and Johnson South
Reef are the only Chinese-occupied high-tide features within the Philippine EEZ in the Spratlys.
Scarborough Shoal, McKennan Reef and Johnson South Reef are thus the only disputed land features
occupied by China within the entire Philippine EEZ. The Tribunal ruled that these three land features
generate only a 12-NM territorial sea, with no EEZ.
The Philippine EEZ in the SCS has an area of about 381,000
square kilometers. Deducting the 4,650 square kilometers
total territorial seas of Johnson South Reef, McKennan Reef
and Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines has an EEZ of about
376,350 square kilometers in the SCS free from any Chinese
claim.
This maritime area is larger than the total land area of the
Philippines of approximately 300,000 square kilometers.
All the living and non-living resources in this huge maritime
area – the fish, oil, gas and other minerals – belong
exclusively to the Philippines.
The Philippines’ EEZ in the South China Sea
Is Larger than its Total Land Area
China Claimed Reed Bank in 2010
In February 2010, the Philippines awarded a Service Contract to Sterling Energy (predecessor of Forum Energy) for Block SC 72 in the Reed
Bank. China protested, sending a Note Verbale to the Philippines on 22 February 2010, "express[ing] its strong objection and indignation,”
and asserting "indisputable sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Nansha Islands (Spratlys) and its adjacent waters.” China
demanded that the Philippines "withdraw the Service Contract immediately.” China sent another Note Verbale on 13 May 2010 again
demanding that the Philippines "immediately withdraw the decision to award the Service Contract” to Sterling Energy. Block SC 72 is 85
NM from Palawan, well within the Philippines’ EEZ, and 595 NM from Hainan. The entire Reed Bank is a fully submerged area even at
low-tide.
China Reiterated its Claim to Reed Bank in 2011
In 2011, the Philippines invited bids for the exploration of Area 3 and Area 4 in the Reed Bank, well within
the Philippines’ EEZ. On 4 July 2011, China protested and sent a Note Verbale to the Philippines, stating:
“The Chinese government urges the Philippine side to immediately withdraw the bidding offer in Areas 3
and 4, refrain from any action that infringes on China's sovereignty and sovereign rights.”
Chinese Coast Guard Vessels Harassed
A Philippine Survey Ship in Reed Bank in 2011
In March 2011, two Chinese coast guard vessels, the CMS-71 and CMS-75, prevented a Philippine-
commissioned ship, the MV Veritas Voyager, from undertaking oil and gas survey in the Reed Bank,
which is entirely within the Philippines’ EEZ. The nine-dashed line cuts through Malampaya, the
Philippines’ largest operating gas field which supplies 40% of the energy requirement of Luzon.
Malampaya will run out of gas in less than10 years.
“PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is open to lifting the moratorium on oil
exploration in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Duterte raised the possibility a week after meeting with Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang wherein both parties, in a joint statement, said they “may explore
means to cooperate with each other in other possible maritime activities
including maritime oil and gas exploration and exploitation.”
“It’s one of the possibilities that will happen or can happen or will happen
sa South China Sea. There’s really…it’s an area too big. But I think the
players there would really be the Asean members who are also claimants,”
Duterte said.
xxx
Duterte said he would only lift the moratorium if doing so would be for the
benefit of the country.
“I will only lift it when I think the higher interest of the Philippines is
served,” he said. “I won’t lift it haphazardly,” Duterte added.”*
* (Manila Times, 23 November 2017, http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-open-lifting-ban-
west-ph-sea-exploration/364507/
What Is the Philippine Government Doing
To Find a Replacement for Malampaya?
What is the Legal Basis of the Philippines’
Claim to Scarborough Shoal
•  The 1898 Treaty of
Paris between Spain
and the United States
drew a rectangular line
wherein Spain ceded
to the United States all
of Spain’s territories
found within the treaty
lines. Scarborough
Shoal lies outside of
the treaty lines.
China’s Argument Why Philippines Does Not Have
Sovereignty Over Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated: "The
three treaties that stipulate the Philippines'
territory, the first in 1898, the second in 1900 and
the third in 1930, all regulated the Philippines'
western boundary line at 118 degrees east
longitude. Areas in the west of the 118 degrees
east longitude do not belong to the Philippines.
But the Nansha islands claimed now by the
Philippines, the Huangyan Islands, are all in the
west of the 118 degrees east longitude.” Speech on
25 February 2016 at the CSIS, Washington, D.C.
•  In the 1900 Treaty of Washington, Spain clarified that it had
also relinquished to the United States “all title and claim of
title, which (Spain) may have had at the time of the
conclusion of the Treaty of Peace of Paris, to any and all
islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago, lying outside
the lines” of the Treaty of Paris. Thus, under the 1900 Treaty
of Washington, Spain ceded to the United States all territories,
to which Spain had title or claim of title, lying outside the
lines of the Treaty of Paris. These territories outside the lines,
west of the 118 degrees east longitude, included Scarborough
Shoal and the Spratlys.
•  *Treaty between Spain and the United States for Cession of Outlying
Islands of the Philippines, signed on 7 November 1900.)
1900 Treaty of Washington between Spain & United States*
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated in February
2016 in Washington DC, that China and the
Philippines are very close neighbors separated by just a
“narrow body of water” – referring to the sliver of
territorial sea and EEZ between the Philippine coastline
and the nine-dashed lines.
China considers the nine-dashed lines as the common
border between China and the Philippines, running
1,700 kilometers very close to the territorial sea of the
Philippines, just 64 kilometers off the coast of Balabac
Island in Palawan, the southernmost island in Palawan,
70 kilometers off the coast of Bolinao in Pangasinan,
and 44 kilometers off the coast of Y’ami Island in
Batanes, the northernmost island in Batanes.
Separated by a “Narrow Body of Water”
China and Philippines “Separated by Narrow Body of Water”
The Philippines will lose 80 percent of its EEZ in the West
Philippine Sea, a maritime space as large as the total land area
of the Philippines. This is the gravest external threat to the
Philippines since World War II. The Philippines will lose to
China all the oil, gas, fishery, methane hydrates or
combustible ice, and other mineral resources within this huge
maritime space, including the gas-rich Reed Bank. The Reed
Bank is supposed to replace the Malampaya gas field when it
runs out of gas in less than 10 years. Malampaya supplies 40
percent of the energy requirement of Luzon.
Without a replacement for Malampaya, Luzon will have 10 to
12 hours of brownouts every day less than 10 years from now.
Factories will close and workers will be out of jobs. This will
devastate the Philippine economy. Unless there is assurance
of a replacement for Malampaya, no serious investor will put
up a new factory in Luzon during the Duterte administration.
Gravest External Threat to Philippines Since World War II
Article 11, Annex VII, UNCLOS. “The award shall be
final and without appeal, unless the parties to the
dispute have agreed in advance to an appellate
procedure. It shall be complied with by the parties to
the dispute.”
Article 300, UNCLOS. “State parties shall fulfill in
good faith the obligations assumed under this
Convention xxx.”
Thus, China and the Philippines, which have both
ratified UNCLOS, have the obligation to comply in
good faith with the award.
Next Steps – Enforcement of Ruling
1.  Enforcement of the ruling by the world’s naval
powers with respect to freedom of navigation
and overflight for military vessels and aircraft in
the high seas and EEZs of the South China Sea.
2.  Enforcement of the ruling by the Philippines
with respect to its exclusive right to exploit the
resources of its EEZ in the South China Sea.
Two Aspects in Enforcement of Ruling
Maritime Zones under UNCLOS
An island above water at high tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. If such island is capable of human habitation or
economic life of its own, it is entitled to a 200 NM EEZ. If there is an outer continental shelf, it is entitled to an OCS of
150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ (or 100 NM from the 2500 meter isobath, a limitation which does not apply to
coastal states in the South China Sea based on the geology and geomorphology of the South China Sea). China is claiming
maritime zones more than 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ, or more than 350 NM from its coastlines in Hainan
Island or its mainland.
1.  The United States says its military forces will continue to operate in the
disputed South China Sea in accordance with international law. The US Chief
of Naval Operations John Richardson said, "The US Navy will continue to
conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the
South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea
and airspace guaranteed to all. This will not change.”* Just recently, U.S.
President Donald Trump approved a Pentagon plan that requires regular
challenges to China’s excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea.**
2.  France is urging the 27-nation EU to coordinate naval patrols in the South
China Sea to ensure a "regular and visible" presence in the disputed waters
illegally claimed by China xxx. The French government said the protection of
freedom of the seas is vital from an economic standpoint. It's also concerned a
loss of this right in the South China Sea might lead to similar problems in the
Arctic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea, said Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le
Drian.***
World’s Naval Powers Will Sail and
Fly in the High Seas and EEZs of SCS
* http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/07/20/476110/US-Navy-South-China-Sea
** http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/07/20/trump-pentagon-south-china-sea-plan/
*** http://en.yibada.com/articles/147065/20160731/france-urges-european-union-join-patrolling-south-china-sea.htm
3.  British Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch stated that British Typhoon
fighter jets that visited Japan in October 2016 flew over the South China Sea in
their return flight to assert freedom of overflight. He added: “Certainly, as we
bring our two new aircraft carriers on-stream in 2020, and as we renew and
update our defense forces, they will be seen in the Pacific. And we absolutely
share the objective of this U.S. administration, and the next one, to protect
freedom of navigation and to keep sea routes and air routes open.”*
4.  Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne stated on 4 February 2017 at the
Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore that Australia military ships and aircraft will
continue to “operate in the South China Sea, as they have for decades,
consistent with the rights of freedom of navigation and freedom of
overflight.”** On 19 September 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Thurnball
announced that six Australian navy ships had left Australia on 4 September
2017 to conduct military exercises in the South China Sea. This is the biggest
deployment of an Australian naval task force in 30 years.***
* http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-southchinasea-fighters-idUSKBN13R00D
** http://www.defensenews.com/articles/global-allies-call-for-continued-us-patrols-in-south-china-sea
*** http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/turnbull-orders-australian-warships-to-head-to-south-china-sea-for-military-exercises-drawing-
criticism-in-chinese-media/news-story/df9779c3572ae0fbd26df3057642739f
World’s Naval Powers Will Sail and
Fly in the High Seas and EEZs of SCS
High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea
The option for the Philippines is not to either “talk
with China or go to war with China.” This is a false
option, and shows a dismal lack of understanding of
international law and international relations.
First, the Philippine Constitution prohibits war as
instrument of national policy. Second, the UN Charter
has outlawed war as a means of settling disputes
between states. In resolving the SCS dispute, war is
not an option, and has never been an option. That is
precisely why the Philippines filed the arbitration case
against China, because war was never an option.
Talk or War with China – False Option
The real and practical option for the Philippines is
to “talk with China while taking measures to
fortify the arbitral ruling.” We should talk with
China on the COC, on the Code for Unplanned
Encounters at Sea (CUES) for naval and coast guard
vessels, on conservation of fish stocks, on
preservation of the marine environment, on how
our fishermen can fish in Scarborough Shoal, and
on safety at sea. There are many other things to talk
with China on the South China Sea even if China
refuses to discuss the arbitral ruling.
Real and Practical Option for the Philippines
As we talk with China, we can enforce and fortify
the arbitral ruling in many ways:
1. The Philippines can enter into a sea boundary
agreement with Vietnam on our overlapping
ECSs in the Spratlys, based on the ruling of the
tribunal that no geologic feature in the Spratlys
generates an EEZ. Such an agreement
implements part of the arbitral ruling by state
practice.
Enforcing and Fortifying the Arbitral Ruling
2. The Philippines can enter into a sea boundary
agreement with Malaysia on our overlapping EEZ
and ECS in the Spratlys, again based on the
ruling of the tribunal that no geologic feature in
the Spratlys generates an EEZ. Such an
agreement also implements part of the arbitral
ruling by state practice.
Sea Boundary Agreements with Vietnam and Malaysia
3. The Philippines can file an extended continental shelf
(ECS) claim beyond our 200 NM EEZ in the West
Philippine Sea off the coast of Luzon. If China does not
oppose our ECS claim, the United Nations Commission
on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) will
award the ECS to the Philippines, similar to our ECS
claim in Benham Rise where there was no opposition. If
China opposes our ECS claim, China will have a dilemma
on what ground to invoke. If China invokes the nine-
dashed lines again, the UNCLCS will reject the opposition
because the UNCLCS is bound by the ruling of the
arbitral tribunal which, just like the UNCLC, was created
under UNCLOS. If China claims an overlapping ECS,
then China will be admitting that the Philippines has a
200 NM EEZ from Luzon that negates the nine-dashed
lines.
Extended Continental Shelf from Luzon
China can raise two grounds to oppose the Philippines’ ECS claim before the UNCLCS. First, China can
again raise its nine-dashed line claim but the UNCLCS is bound by the award of the UNCLOS tribunal.
Second, China can claim that the Philippines’ ECS overlaps with China’s ECS but this means China
accepts that the Philippines has an EEZ from Luzon.
Phil. Supreme Court Justice Carpio GEOCON 2017 West Philippine Sea Lecture
4. The Philippines can claim damages before an
UNCLOS tribunal for the “severe, permanent
harm” to the marine environment, as ruled by
the arbitral tribunal, that China caused within
Philippine EEZ in the Spratlys because of
China’s dredging activities and its failure to stop
Chinese fishermen from harvesting endangered
species.
5. If China will prevent the Philippines from
exploring and exploiting the gas in the Reed
Bank, which the Arbitral Tribunal has ruled is
within Philippine EEZ, then the Philippines can
file an arbitration case against China to recover
actual damages that the Philippines may suffer
from the failure to exploit the Reed Bank due to
China’s unlawful acts.
As a win-win solution to the territorial dispute in the Spratlys, (the Tribunal’s
ruling does not resolve the territorial dispute), all claimant states should suspend
for 100 years their territorial claims and declare all the low-tide and high-tide
features in the Spratlys, and an area of 3--NM around each feature, an international
marine peace park* for the benefit of all coastal states in the South China Sea.
This insures that the Spratlys will remain the South China Sea’s nursery where fish
spawn. The eggs and larvae of fish that spawn in the Spratlys are carried by
currents to the coasts of China, Vietnam, Luzon, Palawan, Malaysia, Brunei,
Natuna Islands, as well as the Sulu sea.
The claimant states will hold on to whatever islands/structures they now possess.
Only coast guard personnel and vessels can be stationed in the Spratlys. The
islands/structures can only be used for marine scientific research and eco-tourism.
There is a precedent to this. The 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan
created the Red Sea Marine Peace Park in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea.
* First proposed by Dr. John W. McManus in 1994, The Spratly Islands: A Marine Peace Park? Ambio, Vol. 23, No. 3,
May 1994; See also John W. McManus, Kwang-Tsao Shao and Szu-Yin Lin in 2010. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/
abs/10.1080/00908320.2010.499303?journalCode=uodl20
Declare the Spratlys an International Marine Peace Park
1.  “Kwang-Tsao Shao, a marine-biodiversity expert at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica in
Taipei, says that at meetings that include his mainland peers, there is
consensus from ecologists on both sides of the strait that the region should be
set aside as a marine protected area.”*
2.  Prof. Edgardo Gomez, Philippine national scientist for marine biology, and
other marine biologists at the U.P. Marine Science Institute, support a marine
protected area in the Spratlys.**
3.  Professors Nguyen Chu Hoi and Vu Hai Dang, Vietnamese marine ecologists,
support a marine protected area in the Spratlys.***
* http://www.nature.com/news/south-china-sea-ruling-sparks-conservation fears-1.20279
** http://www.fpi.sais-jhu.edu/#!Marine-Peace-Park-Plan-Offers-Promise-for-South-China-Sea/c1qvb/
563ba7370cf28330832ed0fb
*** Nguyen Chu Hoi and Vu Hai Dang, Building a Regional Network and Management Regime of Marine Protected Areas in
the South China Sea for Sustainable Development, 18 J.INT’L WILD LIFE L. & POL’Y (2015).
Marine Ecologists from PROC, Taiwan, the Philippines and
Vietnam Support a Spratlys Marine Protected Area
Dispersal of Eggs and Larvae of Fish
Of the total world annual fish catch, 12% comes from the SCS, valued at US$21.8 billion. The
SCS has 3,365 species in 263 families of fish. Bordered by 10 countries with two billion people,
the SCS is one of the top five most productive fishing zones in the world in terms of total
annual fish catch. (Boom or Bust, the Future of Fish in the South China Sea, U. Rashid Sumaila &
William W.L. Cheung, 2015) Fish consumption per person in Southeast Asia has increased
from 13.1 to 33.6 kg. in the last two decades.
“If we don’t do this (establish a Marine Protected
Area), we are headed toward a major, major
fisheries collapse in a part of the world where
[that] will lead to mass starvation,” Prof. John
McManus warned on 12 July 2016 in a
Washington, D.C. forum organized by the Center
for Strategic and International Studies.*
* http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-south-china-sea-environment-20160713-snap
story.html
Major Fisheries Collapse
Could Lead to Mass Starvation
www.imoa.ph

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Phil. Supreme Court Justice Carpio GEOCON 2017 West Philippine Sea Lecture

  • 2. Importance of the South China Sea US$5.3 trillion in ship-borne goods traverse the South China Sea annually, accounting for almost one-half of the world’s shipborne trade in tonnage. Sixty-five percent of South Korea’s petroleum imports, 60% of Japan and Taiwan’s petroleum imports, and 50% of China’s petroleum imports pass through the South China Sea.* Twelve percent of the annual global fish catch comes from the South China Sea, worth US$21.8 billion. Two billion people live in 10 countries bordering the South China Sea, and hundreds of millions of people depend on fish from the South China Sea for their protein. The maritime areas close to the coast of countries bordering the South China Sea are rich in oil and gas. The South China Sea is also rich in methane hydrates – which China considers its future source of energy. * https:// www.businessinsider.com.au/why-the-south-china-sea-is-so-crucial-2015-2
  • 3. A sandbar or rock, above water at high tide even by a few inches, is an island entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea around it (Article 121, UNCLOS). This amounts to 155,165 hectares of maritime space, more than twice the land area of Metro Manila of 63,600 hectares, and more than twice the land area of Singapore 70,000 hectares. All the fish, oil, gas and mineral resources within this huge area belong to the state that has sovereignty over the rock or sandbar. Importance of Sandbars and Rocks Above Water At High Tide
  • 4. LTE Rock or Sandbar Within Territorial Sea Where a low-tide elevation is situated wholly or partly within the territorial sea, the low-water line on that low-tide elevation may be used as the baseline for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea (Article 13 [1], UNCLOS).
  • 5. Nine-dashed Line Map Submitted by China to United Nations on 7 May 2009 China did not explain the legal basis for the dashes. The dashes had no fixed coordinates. “China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters, and enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters as well as the seabed and subsoil thereof.” - China’s Note Verbale of 7 May 2009 The Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia promptly protested China’s claim under this dashed lines map. The Philippines belatedly protested on 11 April 2011.
  • 6. “Chinese activities in the South China Sea date back to over 2,000 years ago. China was the first country to discover, name, explore and exploit the resources of the South China Sea Islands and the first to continuously exercise sovereign powers over them.” (China’s Position Paper of 7 December 2014 submitted to the Arbitral Tribunal) China’s Historical Narrative To Claim the South China Sea
  • 7. •  In 2013, China released a new map of China, adding a 10th dash on the eastern side of Taiwan. In its 2013 map, China claims the ten dashes are its “national boundaries,” without again explaining the legal basis or giving the fixed coordinates for the dashes. The 2013 China map was published by SinoMaps Press, under the jurisdiction of China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. This means the 2013 Map is an official Chinese government map. •  In its Note Verbale of June 7, 2013 to China, the Philippines stated it "strongly objects to the indication that the nine-dash lines are China's national boundaries in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea.” China’s 2013 Map with Ten Dashes As China’s “National Boundaries”
  • 8. China Claims the Ten Dashes In the 2013 Map Are China’s “National Boundaries”
  • 9. Core Dispute: China’s Claim to 80 Percent of Philippine EEZ Under the nine-dashed line, China claims the Reed Bank, James Shoal, waters within the EEZ of Vietnam, and prohibits foreign fishing vessels from fishing in the high seas of the South China Sea without permission from China. In short, China claims all the resources within the nine-dashed line, which encloses 85.7 percent of the South China Sea. Under the nine-dashed line, China wants to grab 80 percent of the EEZ of the Philippines in the South China Sea.
  • 10. China’s Creeping Expansion in the SCS from 1946 to 2017 Before World War II, China’s southernmost defense perimeter was Hainan Island. Before the war, China did not have a single soldier or sailor stationed in any SCS island outside of Hainan Island. In 1946, right after the war, China took over the Amphitrite Group of the Paracels and Itu Aba in the Spratlys following the defeat of the Japanese, moving China’s defense perimeter southward. China (Kuomintang) vacated Itu Aba in 1950 until 1956, when Taiwan occupied Itu Aba. In 1974, China forcibly dislodged the South Vietnamese from the Crescent Group of the Paracels. In 1987, China installed a weather radar station in Fiery Cross Reef. In 1988, China forcibly evicted Vietnam from Johnson South Reef, and seized Subi Reef from the Philippines, moving further south China’s defense perimeter in the Spratlys. In 1995, China seized Mischief Reef from the Philippines, just 125 NM from Palawan and 594 NM from Hainan. In 2012, China seized Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines, just 124 NM from Luzon. In 2013, China seized Luconia Shoals from Malaysia, just 54 NM from Sarawak’s coast. In 2014, China started island-building on rocks and submerged areas in the Spratlys to construct air and naval bases.
  • 11. China’s Air & Naval Bases to Control the South China Sea
  • 12. China’s grand design is to control the South China Sea for economic and military purposes. China wants all the islands, reefs, rocks, fishery, oil, gas and mineral resources within the nine-dashed line. China already takes 50% of the annual fish catch in the South China Sea as more than 80% of its coastal waters are already polluted. China has the largest fishing fleet in the world, with 220,000 sea-going vessels and 2,640 long-distance ocean-going vessels. China’s fish consumption is the highest in the world considering China’s 1.4 billion population. China is the largest net importer of petroleum in the world. China wants the lion’s share of the oil and gas in the South China Sea. The Chinese estimate that the South China Sea holds 130 billion barrels of oil, and if this is correct, the South China Sea is as rich in oil as Kuwait or the United Arab Emirates. The South China Sea is also rich in methane hydrates or “flammable ice” - said to be one of the fuels of the future. China wants to secure all these methane hydrates for itself. China also wants the South China Sea as a sanctuary for its nuclear-armed submarines – free from surveillance by U.S. submarine-hunting Poseidon airplanes or U.S. nuclear attack submarines. China wants a second-strike nuclear capability, joining the ranks of the U.S. and Russia. China’s Grand Design in the South China Sea
  • 13. Maritime Zones under UNCLOS An island above water at high tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. If such island is capable of human habitation or economic life of its own, it is entitled to a 200 NM EEZ. If there is an outer continental shelf beyond 200 NM, the island is entitled to an ECS of 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ. The maximum maritime zone a coastal state can claim is 150 NM from the outer limits of its 200 NM EEZ (or 100 NM from the 2500 meter isobath, a limitation which does not apply to coastal states in the South China Sea based on the geology and geomorphology of the South China Sea). China is claiming maritime zones more than 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ, or more than 350 NM from its coastlines in Hainan Island or its mainland.
  • 14. Low Tide Elevation vs. Rock/Island A low-tide elevation is not entitled to a territorial sea or any maritime zone. A rock above water at high tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. An island capable of human habitation or economic life of its own is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea, a 200 NM EEZ, and an outer continental shelf of 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ (or 100 NM from the 2500 meter isobath, if applicable).
  • 15. China Seized Mischief (Panganiban) Reef in February 1995 The Philippine formally protested in 1995 China’s seizure of Mischief Reef. A protest is a peaceful, non-violent and non-confrontational assertion of Philippine sovereign rights to preserve and prevent waiver of such rights in view of the opposing claim or action of another state.
  • 16. China Seized Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal in 2012 Just as in 1995 when China seized Mischief Reef, the Philippines had no military capability to defend or retake Scarborough Shoal in 2012 when China seized the shoal. The Philippines decided to bring the dispute to a forum where warships, warplanes and nuclear bombs do not count - to an UNCLOS arbitral Tribunal which would resolve the dispute solely based on the Law of the Sea. Robert Kaplan, in his book Asia’s Cauldron, called this resort to international law the “ultimate demonstration of weakness.”
  • 17. 1.  China’s claim to historic rights under the nine-dashed line is contrary to UNCLOS, without lawful effect and cannot be the basis to claim any maritime entitlement (territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and extended continental shelf). 2.  No geologic feature in the Spratlys is capable of human habitation or economic life of its own so as to generate a 200-NM EEZ that overlaps with Palawan’s EEZ. 3.  Mischief Reef, 125 NM from Palawan, is a low-tide elevation situated outside the territorial sea of any state and therefore forms part of the continental shelf and EEZ of the Philippines. Only the Philippines can exploit Mischief Reef and construct structures on it. 4.  Reed Bank, 85 NM from Palawan, is completely submerged and within the Philippine EEZ. Only the Philippines can exploit the natural resources in Reed Bank. 5.  China severely harmed the marine environment when it dredged reefs to reclaim or create artificial islands, and when it failed to prevent Chinese fishermen from harvesting endangered species. 6.  Scarborough Shoal is a rock entitled only to 12-NM territorial sea. Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese fishermen have traditional fishing rights in the territorial sea of Scarborough Shoal. Six Major Issues Raised in the Arbitration & Resolved by the Annex VII UNCLOS Tribunal
  • 18. •  The nine-dashed line has no legal effect and cannot serve as legal basis to claim any maritime entitlement under UNCLOS. In short, “there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’.” •  China’s maritime zones, just like those of other coastal states, cannot extend beyond the limits prescribed under UNCLOS. Maritime entitlements must be claimed only from land. •  All historic rights in the EEZ, ECS and high seas were extinguished upon effectivity of UNCLOS: “[A]ny historic rights that China may have had to the living and non-living resources within the ‘nine-dash line’ were superseded, as a matter of law and as between the Philippines and China, by the limits of the maritime zones provided for by the Convention.” •  “[T]here was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters [of the South China Sea] or their resources.” The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue. Ruling on China’s Claim to Historic Rights Under the Nine-Dashed Line
  • 19. High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea “[T]he Tribunal concludes that China’s claim to historic rights to the living and non-living resources within the ‘nine-dash line’ is incompatible with the Convention to the extent that it exceeds the limits of China’s maritime zones as provided for by the Convention.” (Para 261, Award of 12 July 2016)
  • 20. High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea “[T]he Tribunal concludes that China’s claim to historic rights to the living and non-living resources within the ‘nine-dash line’ is incompatible with the Convention to the extent that it exceeds the limits of China’s maritime zones as provided for by the Convention.” (Para 261, Award of 12 July 2016)
  • 21. 1136 AD “Hua Yi Tu” “The Philippines submits that Chinese historic maps dating back to 1136, including those purporting to depict the entirety of the Empire of China, consistently show China’s territory extending no further south than Hainan.” (Para 195, Award of 12 July 2016)
  • 22. 1896 “Huang Chao Zhi Sheng Yu Di Quan Tu” or The Qing Empire’s Complete Map of All Provinces During the Chinese dynasties, Hainan Island was a part of Guangdong Province. Hainan became a separate province only in 1988. The Qing Dynasty saw one of the largest expansions of Chinese territory throughout the Chinese dynasties. The Qing dynasty ceded Formosa to Japan in 1895 following the Qing’s defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895).
  • 23. China’s Southernmost Territory Through the Dynasties – Hainan (1894)
  • 24. 1595 Ortelius Map - Champa Kingdom and Champa Sea Before Portuguese navigators coined the name South China Sea, the sea was known as the Champa Sea, after the Cham people who established a great kingdom in central Vietnam from the late 2nd to the 17th century. The Chams had sailboats with outriggers, just like the sailboats of the Austronesians. The ancestors of the Chams spoke a Malayo-Polynesian language that is derived from the Austronesian language, just like the Tagalog language. The word “cham” comes from the flower of the champaka tree. This flower is the symbol of the Cham Kingdom. The Chams are believed to have migrated from Borneo to central Vietnam. “For centuries the South China Sea was known by navigators throughout Asia as the Champa Sea, named for a great empire that controlled all of central Vietnam xxx.” - National Geographic, June 18, 2014
  • 25. Islands in the Champa Sea Had Austronesian Names 1596 Linschoten Map: “Pulo” in Tagalog means an “island, isolated place.” https://www.tagalog- dictionary.com/search?word=pulo.
  • 26. 1688 Coronelli Terrestrial Globe Vincenzo Coronelli made this famous terrestrial globe in 1688. This map is one of the 12 gores (sections) of the 1688 globe. Famous for his atlases and globes, Coronelli was the Father General of the Franciscan Order. The Franciscans arrived in the Philippines in 1578.
  • 27. 1734 Murillo Velarde Map – Mapa delas Yslas Filipinas* Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica delas Yslas Filipinas
  • 28. •  In 1932, the French occupied the uninhabited Paracels. China sent a Note Verbale to the French Government on September 29, 1932 protesting the French occupation of the Paracels. In its Note Verbale, the Chinese Government officially declared: Expansion of Southernmost Territory of China Started in 1932
  • 29. “Note of 29 September 1932 from the Legation of the Chinese Republic in France to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris On the instructions of its Government, the Legation of the Chinese Republic in France has the honor to transmit its Government’s reply to the Foreign Ministry’s Note of 4 January 1932 on the subject of the Paracel Islands.” xxxx
  • 30. “xxx The eastern group is called the Amphitrites and the western group the Crescent. These groups lie 145 nautical miles from Hainan Island, and form the southernmost part of Chinese territory.” (Emphasis supplied) xxx [Source: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, Monique Chemelier-Gendreau, Annex 10, Kluwer Law International, 2000]
  • 31. “Southernmost Part of Chinese Territory” – the Paracels The Paracels - “These groups lie 145 nautical miles from Hainan Island, and form the southernmost part of Chinese territory.” China’s Note Verbale to France of 29 September 1932
  • 32. Status of Geologic Features in Spratlys
  • 33. •  None of the geologic features (rocks and islands) in the Spratlys is capable of “human habitation or economic life of [its] own” so as to be entitled to a 200- NM EEZ. •  Since there is no other EEZ that overlaps with Palawan’s EEZ, the Tribunal has jurisdiction to rule on the maritime issues in the Spratlys. •  To be entitled to a 200-NM EEZ, the geologic feature must have the “objective capacity, in its natural condition, to sustain either a stable community of people or economic activity that is not dependent on outside resources or purely extractive in nature.” •  Itu Aba, 45 hectares in area and the largest geologic feature in the Spratlys, is a borderline case. However, historically, there has been no community of people that ever inhabited Itu Aba because the natural conditions there could most probably not sustain human habitation. Thus, Itu Aba is entitled only to a 12- NM territorial sea. •  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue. Ruling on Status of Geologic Features in Spratlys to Generate 200-NM EEZ
  • 34. Seven Geologic Features Occupied by China in Spratlys
  • 35. •  Of the seven (7) reefs China occupies in the Spratlys, five (5) are high- tide elevations (above water at high tide), namely: Fiery Cross Reef, Johnson South Reef, Gaven Reef, Cuarteron Reef and McKennan Reef; these reefs are entitled to 12-NM territorial sea. •  Mischief Reef is a low-tide elevation situated outside the territorial sea of any state. Mischief Reef forms part of the Philippine EEZ. Only the Philippines can erect structures on Mischief Reef. China’s structures on Mischief are illegal. Ayungin Shoal is also a low-tide elevation outside the territorial sea of any state, and therefore part of Philippine EEZ. •  Reed Bank is entirely submerged and forms part of Philippine EEZ as it is within 200-NM from Philippine baselines. •  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue except for Gaven Reef and McKennan Reef, which the Philippines argued are only low-tide elevations but the Tribunal ruled they are high-tide elevations entitled to 12-NM territorial sea. Ruling on Status of Geologic Features in Spratlys - Low-Tide or High-Tide Elevations, or Completely Submerged
  • 36. Gaven Reef and McKennan Reef McKennan Reef is a high-tide feature controlled by China within the Philippine EEZ in the Spratlys. As a high-tide feature, McKennan Reef is entitled to a 12-NM territorial sea. The other high-tide feature controlled by China in the Spratlys and within the Philippine EEZ is Johnson South Reef.
  • 37. Mischief (Panganiban) Reef July 22, 2016 Mischief Reef is a circular atoll with a diameter of 7.4 KM, and its lagoon has an area of 3,600 hectares. The average depth inside the lagoon is 26 meters. As of November 2015, China has created an artificial island of 590 hectares. Mischief Reef is 125 NM from Palawan and 596 NM from Hainan. Some Chinese analysts call Mischief Reef China’s Pearl Harbor in the South China Sea. Source: http://time.com/
  • 38. China violated its obligation under UNCLOS to “protect and preserve the marine environment” when China: 1.  Dredged and built islands on seven (7) reefs; 2.  Failed to prevent its fishermen from harvesting endangered species like sea turtles, corals and giant clams in the Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal. The Tribunal ruled that China “caused permanent and irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem.” The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue. This is the first time that an international tribunal applied the UNCLOS provision on protection and preservation of the marine environment. Ruling on Harm to the Marine Environment
  • 39. Chinese Reef Killer Dredges 4,500 Cubic Meters of Sand per Hour The Tiang Jing Hao (Heavenly Whale) dredger, a 127 meter-long seagoing cutter suction dredger designed by the German engineering company Vosta LMG. At 6,017 gross tons, this dredger is the largest in Asia. China has dozens of dredgers in the Spratlys.
  • 40. How China Dredged in the Spratlys Coral reef and hard sediment on the seabed are pulverized by the rotating cutter. Pulverized materials are sucked into the ship. Pulverized materials are transported by pressure through a floating pipe. Pulverized materials are deposited on the rim of the reef.
  • 41. Marine Life in Reefs “In economic terms, coral reefs are the single most valuable ecosystem on Earth, according to a paper published in 2012 by ecologist Rudolf de Groot at Wageningen University and Research Centre, in the Netherlands. A hectare (about 2.5 acres) of reef has a potential value of approximately $350,000 a year.” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-giant- clam-poaching-south-china-sea-destruction/
  • 42. Tanmen Fishing Boat Scraping Coral Reef to Harvest Giant Clams http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/satellite-images-show-ecocide-in-the-south-china-sea/; http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/08/wildlife-giant-clam-poaching-south-china-sea-destruction/ Ta n m e n c l a m har vesters have destroyed by far more coral reefs t h a n C h i n a ’ s dredging to build artificial islands. barren reef
  • 43. Tanmen Fishermen’s Harvest of Giant Clams http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/satellite-images-show-ecocide-in-the-south-china-sea/
  • 44. Dr. John McManus, the world-renowned marine scientist who studied the Spratlys in the 1990s, went back to the Spratlys last February 2016. He surveyed several reefs, including those exploited by clam dredgers from Tanmen, Hainan. Dr. McManus said: “The damage was much worse than even I expected it to be. I swam over one whole kilometer of reef before I saw a single living invertebrate. It was really massive, massive destruction.”* The South China Sea is home to 34 percent of the world’s total coral reefs while occupying only 2.5 percent of the world’s total ocean surface. *http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2016/0720/In-South-China-Sea-case-ruling-on-environment- hailed-as-precedent Severe Harm to the Fragile Marine Ecosystem
  • 45. Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal - High-Tide Elevation Incapable of Human Habitation
  • 46. •  Scarborough Shoal is a high-tide elevation entitled to 12-NM territorial sea but not to a 200-NM EEZ since obviously it is not capable of human habitation. •  The territorial sea of Scarborough Shoal is a traditional fishing ground of Filipino and Chinese fishermen, as well as fishermen from other countries; China cannot prevent Filipino fishermen from fishing in Scarborough Shoal. •  The Tribunal upheld the Philippine position on this issue. Ruling on Status of Scarborough Shoal; Right to Traditional Fishing
  • 47. Disputed EEZ Area before the Ruling of Tribunal
  • 48. Disputed Area after the Ruling of Tribunal The Tribunal ruled that McKennan Reef is above water at high tide. McKennan Reef and Johnson South Reef are the only Chinese-occupied high-tide features within the Philippine EEZ in the Spratlys. Scarborough Shoal, McKennan Reef and Johnson South Reef are thus the only disputed land features occupied by China within the entire Philippine EEZ. The Tribunal ruled that these three land features generate only a 12-NM territorial sea, with no EEZ.
  • 49. The Philippine EEZ in the SCS has an area of about 381,000 square kilometers. Deducting the 4,650 square kilometers total territorial seas of Johnson South Reef, McKennan Reef and Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines has an EEZ of about 376,350 square kilometers in the SCS free from any Chinese claim. This maritime area is larger than the total land area of the Philippines of approximately 300,000 square kilometers. All the living and non-living resources in this huge maritime area – the fish, oil, gas and other minerals – belong exclusively to the Philippines. The Philippines’ EEZ in the South China Sea Is Larger than its Total Land Area
  • 50. China Claimed Reed Bank in 2010 In February 2010, the Philippines awarded a Service Contract to Sterling Energy (predecessor of Forum Energy) for Block SC 72 in the Reed Bank. China protested, sending a Note Verbale to the Philippines on 22 February 2010, "express[ing] its strong objection and indignation,” and asserting "indisputable sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Nansha Islands (Spratlys) and its adjacent waters.” China demanded that the Philippines "withdraw the Service Contract immediately.” China sent another Note Verbale on 13 May 2010 again demanding that the Philippines "immediately withdraw the decision to award the Service Contract” to Sterling Energy. Block SC 72 is 85 NM from Palawan, well within the Philippines’ EEZ, and 595 NM from Hainan. The entire Reed Bank is a fully submerged area even at low-tide.
  • 51. China Reiterated its Claim to Reed Bank in 2011 In 2011, the Philippines invited bids for the exploration of Area 3 and Area 4 in the Reed Bank, well within the Philippines’ EEZ. On 4 July 2011, China protested and sent a Note Verbale to the Philippines, stating: “The Chinese government urges the Philippine side to immediately withdraw the bidding offer in Areas 3 and 4, refrain from any action that infringes on China's sovereignty and sovereign rights.”
  • 52. Chinese Coast Guard Vessels Harassed A Philippine Survey Ship in Reed Bank in 2011 In March 2011, two Chinese coast guard vessels, the CMS-71 and CMS-75, prevented a Philippine- commissioned ship, the MV Veritas Voyager, from undertaking oil and gas survey in the Reed Bank, which is entirely within the Philippines’ EEZ. The nine-dashed line cuts through Malampaya, the Philippines’ largest operating gas field which supplies 40% of the energy requirement of Luzon. Malampaya will run out of gas in less than10 years.
  • 53. “PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is open to lifting the moratorium on oil exploration in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). Duterte raised the possibility a week after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wherein both parties, in a joint statement, said they “may explore means to cooperate with each other in other possible maritime activities including maritime oil and gas exploration and exploitation.” “It’s one of the possibilities that will happen or can happen or will happen sa South China Sea. There’s really…it’s an area too big. But I think the players there would really be the Asean members who are also claimants,” Duterte said. xxx Duterte said he would only lift the moratorium if doing so would be for the benefit of the country. “I will only lift it when I think the higher interest of the Philippines is served,” he said. “I won’t lift it haphazardly,” Duterte added.”* * (Manila Times, 23 November 2017, http://www.manilatimes.net/duterte-open-lifting-ban- west-ph-sea-exploration/364507/ What Is the Philippine Government Doing To Find a Replacement for Malampaya?
  • 54. What is the Legal Basis of the Philippines’ Claim to Scarborough Shoal •  The 1898 Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States drew a rectangular line wherein Spain ceded to the United States all of Spain’s territories found within the treaty lines. Scarborough Shoal lies outside of the treaty lines.
  • 55. China’s Argument Why Philippines Does Not Have Sovereignty Over Spratlys and Scarborough Shoal Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated: "The three treaties that stipulate the Philippines' territory, the first in 1898, the second in 1900 and the third in 1930, all regulated the Philippines' western boundary line at 118 degrees east longitude. Areas in the west of the 118 degrees east longitude do not belong to the Philippines. But the Nansha islands claimed now by the Philippines, the Huangyan Islands, are all in the west of the 118 degrees east longitude.” Speech on 25 February 2016 at the CSIS, Washington, D.C.
  • 56. •  In the 1900 Treaty of Washington, Spain clarified that it had also relinquished to the United States “all title and claim of title, which (Spain) may have had at the time of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace of Paris, to any and all islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago, lying outside the lines” of the Treaty of Paris. Thus, under the 1900 Treaty of Washington, Spain ceded to the United States all territories, to which Spain had title or claim of title, lying outside the lines of the Treaty of Paris. These territories outside the lines, west of the 118 degrees east longitude, included Scarborough Shoal and the Spratlys. •  *Treaty between Spain and the United States for Cession of Outlying Islands of the Philippines, signed on 7 November 1900.) 1900 Treaty of Washington between Spain & United States*
  • 57. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated in February 2016 in Washington DC, that China and the Philippines are very close neighbors separated by just a “narrow body of water” – referring to the sliver of territorial sea and EEZ between the Philippine coastline and the nine-dashed lines. China considers the nine-dashed lines as the common border between China and the Philippines, running 1,700 kilometers very close to the territorial sea of the Philippines, just 64 kilometers off the coast of Balabac Island in Palawan, the southernmost island in Palawan, 70 kilometers off the coast of Bolinao in Pangasinan, and 44 kilometers off the coast of Y’ami Island in Batanes, the northernmost island in Batanes. Separated by a “Narrow Body of Water”
  • 58. China and Philippines “Separated by Narrow Body of Water”
  • 59. The Philippines will lose 80 percent of its EEZ in the West Philippine Sea, a maritime space as large as the total land area of the Philippines. This is the gravest external threat to the Philippines since World War II. The Philippines will lose to China all the oil, gas, fishery, methane hydrates or combustible ice, and other mineral resources within this huge maritime space, including the gas-rich Reed Bank. The Reed Bank is supposed to replace the Malampaya gas field when it runs out of gas in less than 10 years. Malampaya supplies 40 percent of the energy requirement of Luzon. Without a replacement for Malampaya, Luzon will have 10 to 12 hours of brownouts every day less than 10 years from now. Factories will close and workers will be out of jobs. This will devastate the Philippine economy. Unless there is assurance of a replacement for Malampaya, no serious investor will put up a new factory in Luzon during the Duterte administration. Gravest External Threat to Philippines Since World War II
  • 60. Article 11, Annex VII, UNCLOS. “The award shall be final and without appeal, unless the parties to the dispute have agreed in advance to an appellate procedure. It shall be complied with by the parties to the dispute.” Article 300, UNCLOS. “State parties shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed under this Convention xxx.” Thus, China and the Philippines, which have both ratified UNCLOS, have the obligation to comply in good faith with the award. Next Steps – Enforcement of Ruling
  • 61. 1.  Enforcement of the ruling by the world’s naval powers with respect to freedom of navigation and overflight for military vessels and aircraft in the high seas and EEZs of the South China Sea. 2.  Enforcement of the ruling by the Philippines with respect to its exclusive right to exploit the resources of its EEZ in the South China Sea. Two Aspects in Enforcement of Ruling
  • 62. Maritime Zones under UNCLOS An island above water at high tide is entitled to a 12 NM territorial sea. If such island is capable of human habitation or economic life of its own, it is entitled to a 200 NM EEZ. If there is an outer continental shelf, it is entitled to an OCS of 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ (or 100 NM from the 2500 meter isobath, a limitation which does not apply to coastal states in the South China Sea based on the geology and geomorphology of the South China Sea). China is claiming maritime zones more than 150 NM from the outer limits of its EEZ, or more than 350 NM from its coastlines in Hainan Island or its mainland.
  • 63. 1.  The United States says its military forces will continue to operate in the disputed South China Sea in accordance with international law. The US Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson said, "The US Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all. This will not change.”* Just recently, U.S. President Donald Trump approved a Pentagon plan that requires regular challenges to China’s excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea.** 2.  France is urging the 27-nation EU to coordinate naval patrols in the South China Sea to ensure a "regular and visible" presence in the disputed waters illegally claimed by China xxx. The French government said the protection of freedom of the seas is vital from an economic standpoint. It's also concerned a loss of this right in the South China Sea might lead to similar problems in the Arctic Ocean or Mediterranean Sea, said Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.*** World’s Naval Powers Will Sail and Fly in the High Seas and EEZs of SCS * http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/07/20/476110/US-Navy-South-China-Sea ** http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/07/20/trump-pentagon-south-china-sea-plan/ *** http://en.yibada.com/articles/147065/20160731/france-urges-european-union-join-patrolling-south-china-sea.htm
  • 64. 3.  British Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch stated that British Typhoon fighter jets that visited Japan in October 2016 flew over the South China Sea in their return flight to assert freedom of overflight. He added: “Certainly, as we bring our two new aircraft carriers on-stream in 2020, and as we renew and update our defense forces, they will be seen in the Pacific. And we absolutely share the objective of this U.S. administration, and the next one, to protect freedom of navigation and to keep sea routes and air routes open.”* 4.  Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne stated on 4 February 2017 at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore that Australia military ships and aircraft will continue to “operate in the South China Sea, as they have for decades, consistent with the rights of freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight.”** On 19 September 2017, Prime Minister Malcolm Thurnball announced that six Australian navy ships had left Australia on 4 September 2017 to conduct military exercises in the South China Sea. This is the biggest deployment of an Australian naval task force in 30 years.*** * http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-southchinasea-fighters-idUSKBN13R00D ** http://www.defensenews.com/articles/global-allies-call-for-continued-us-patrols-in-south-china-sea *** http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/turnbull-orders-australian-warships-to-head-to-south-china-sea-for-military-exercises-drawing- criticism-in-chinese-media/news-story/df9779c3572ae0fbd26df3057642739f World’s Naval Powers Will Sail and Fly in the High Seas and EEZs of SCS
  • 65. High Seas and EEZs in South China Sea
  • 66. The option for the Philippines is not to either “talk with China or go to war with China.” This is a false option, and shows a dismal lack of understanding of international law and international relations. First, the Philippine Constitution prohibits war as instrument of national policy. Second, the UN Charter has outlawed war as a means of settling disputes between states. In resolving the SCS dispute, war is not an option, and has never been an option. That is precisely why the Philippines filed the arbitration case against China, because war was never an option. Talk or War with China – False Option
  • 67. The real and practical option for the Philippines is to “talk with China while taking measures to fortify the arbitral ruling.” We should talk with China on the COC, on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) for naval and coast guard vessels, on conservation of fish stocks, on preservation of the marine environment, on how our fishermen can fish in Scarborough Shoal, and on safety at sea. There are many other things to talk with China on the South China Sea even if China refuses to discuss the arbitral ruling. Real and Practical Option for the Philippines
  • 68. As we talk with China, we can enforce and fortify the arbitral ruling in many ways: 1. The Philippines can enter into a sea boundary agreement with Vietnam on our overlapping ECSs in the Spratlys, based on the ruling of the tribunal that no geologic feature in the Spratlys generates an EEZ. Such an agreement implements part of the arbitral ruling by state practice. Enforcing and Fortifying the Arbitral Ruling
  • 69. 2. The Philippines can enter into a sea boundary agreement with Malaysia on our overlapping EEZ and ECS in the Spratlys, again based on the ruling of the tribunal that no geologic feature in the Spratlys generates an EEZ. Such an agreement also implements part of the arbitral ruling by state practice.
  • 70. Sea Boundary Agreements with Vietnam and Malaysia
  • 71. 3. The Philippines can file an extended continental shelf (ECS) claim beyond our 200 NM EEZ in the West Philippine Sea off the coast of Luzon. If China does not oppose our ECS claim, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) will award the ECS to the Philippines, similar to our ECS claim in Benham Rise where there was no opposition. If China opposes our ECS claim, China will have a dilemma on what ground to invoke. If China invokes the nine- dashed lines again, the UNCLCS will reject the opposition because the UNCLCS is bound by the ruling of the arbitral tribunal which, just like the UNCLC, was created under UNCLOS. If China claims an overlapping ECS, then China will be admitting that the Philippines has a 200 NM EEZ from Luzon that negates the nine-dashed lines.
  • 72. Extended Continental Shelf from Luzon China can raise two grounds to oppose the Philippines’ ECS claim before the UNCLCS. First, China can again raise its nine-dashed line claim but the UNCLCS is bound by the award of the UNCLOS tribunal. Second, China can claim that the Philippines’ ECS overlaps with China’s ECS but this means China accepts that the Philippines has an EEZ from Luzon.
  • 74. 4. The Philippines can claim damages before an UNCLOS tribunal for the “severe, permanent harm” to the marine environment, as ruled by the arbitral tribunal, that China caused within Philippine EEZ in the Spratlys because of China’s dredging activities and its failure to stop Chinese fishermen from harvesting endangered species.
  • 75. 5. If China will prevent the Philippines from exploring and exploiting the gas in the Reed Bank, which the Arbitral Tribunal has ruled is within Philippine EEZ, then the Philippines can file an arbitration case against China to recover actual damages that the Philippines may suffer from the failure to exploit the Reed Bank due to China’s unlawful acts.
  • 76. As a win-win solution to the territorial dispute in the Spratlys, (the Tribunal’s ruling does not resolve the territorial dispute), all claimant states should suspend for 100 years their territorial claims and declare all the low-tide and high-tide features in the Spratlys, and an area of 3--NM around each feature, an international marine peace park* for the benefit of all coastal states in the South China Sea. This insures that the Spratlys will remain the South China Sea’s nursery where fish spawn. The eggs and larvae of fish that spawn in the Spratlys are carried by currents to the coasts of China, Vietnam, Luzon, Palawan, Malaysia, Brunei, Natuna Islands, as well as the Sulu sea. The claimant states will hold on to whatever islands/structures they now possess. Only coast guard personnel and vessels can be stationed in the Spratlys. The islands/structures can only be used for marine scientific research and eco-tourism. There is a precedent to this. The 1994 peace agreement between Israel and Jordan created the Red Sea Marine Peace Park in the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea. * First proposed by Dr. John W. McManus in 1994, The Spratly Islands: A Marine Peace Park? Ambio, Vol. 23, No. 3, May 1994; See also John W. McManus, Kwang-Tsao Shao and Szu-Yin Lin in 2010. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ abs/10.1080/00908320.2010.499303?journalCode=uodl20 Declare the Spratlys an International Marine Peace Park
  • 77. 1.  “Kwang-Tsao Shao, a marine-biodiversity expert at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica in Taipei, says that at meetings that include his mainland peers, there is consensus from ecologists on both sides of the strait that the region should be set aside as a marine protected area.”* 2.  Prof. Edgardo Gomez, Philippine national scientist for marine biology, and other marine biologists at the U.P. Marine Science Institute, support a marine protected area in the Spratlys.** 3.  Professors Nguyen Chu Hoi and Vu Hai Dang, Vietnamese marine ecologists, support a marine protected area in the Spratlys.*** * http://www.nature.com/news/south-china-sea-ruling-sparks-conservation fears-1.20279 ** http://www.fpi.sais-jhu.edu/#!Marine-Peace-Park-Plan-Offers-Promise-for-South-China-Sea/c1qvb/ 563ba7370cf28330832ed0fb *** Nguyen Chu Hoi and Vu Hai Dang, Building a Regional Network and Management Regime of Marine Protected Areas in the South China Sea for Sustainable Development, 18 J.INT’L WILD LIFE L. & POL’Y (2015). Marine Ecologists from PROC, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam Support a Spratlys Marine Protected Area
  • 78. Dispersal of Eggs and Larvae of Fish Of the total world annual fish catch, 12% comes from the SCS, valued at US$21.8 billion. The SCS has 3,365 species in 263 families of fish. Bordered by 10 countries with two billion people, the SCS is one of the top five most productive fishing zones in the world in terms of total annual fish catch. (Boom or Bust, the Future of Fish in the South China Sea, U. Rashid Sumaila & William W.L. Cheung, 2015) Fish consumption per person in Southeast Asia has increased from 13.1 to 33.6 kg. in the last two decades.
  • 79. “If we don’t do this (establish a Marine Protected Area), we are headed toward a major, major fisheries collapse in a part of the world where [that] will lead to mass starvation,” Prof. John McManus warned on 12 July 2016 in a Washington, D.C. forum organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.* * http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-south-china-sea-environment-20160713-snap story.html Major Fisheries Collapse Could Lead to Mass Starvation