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Human and Regional Security around the South China Sea

Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel, Oslo, Norway, 2-4 June 2000


Participants at the conference Human and Regional Security around the South China Sea

 

Introduction
The security situation in the South China Sea region is characterised by a multinational dispute over the territorial delimitation of the South China Sea. Five states claim sovereignty to some or all of the so-called Spratly Islands, and there are overlapping claims to maritime zones in this area between the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, China (and Taiwan). Arguments related to the history of the region play a significant role in the dispute. The lack of a firm security structure in the region makes the territorial dispute an explosive issue.

On the other hand, the dispute provides the regional states in Southeast and East Asia with an incentive and opportunity to develop regional co-operation. The southern part of the South China Sea (north of East Malaysia and Brunei) contains rich reserves of oil and gas, and this may also be the case for the Spratly area. Exploration for oil is already going on in areas claimed by more than one country. The fishing zone around the South China Sea ranks fourth among the world's nineteen fishing zones in terms of total annual marine production. As the traditional fishing grounds in the region are suffering from over-fishing, the renewal of resources in the South China Sea is expected to be of major importance for the coastal states in the future. There is a serious environmental hazard stemming from several factors. The security of the region is of vital importance also to external powers, primarily to Japan and South Korea which depend on open sea lanes through the South China Sea for provision of oil and other raw material.

The workshop title "Human and Regional Security around the South China Sea" has been carefully chosen in order to avoid tendentious discussion of sovereignty disputes, and instead concentrate on shared concerns of the people living around the South China Sea. Their needs for animal protein, environmental protection, peace, and security for sea transport, have engaged much research by various experts around the South China Sea. The ongoing attempts at confidence-building and conflict management is a topic of research in itself. It has been argued that an epistemic community of experts is about to be formed, which on a scholarly basis is trying to influence the governments of the region in the direction of co-operation. The epistemic community tries to transform the discourse of conflicts over historical sovereignty into a discourse of shared concerns and joint management. In this endeavour the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which most of the states around the South China Sea have ratified, is a main tool. Legal issues will therefore be essential at the workshop.

For the last ten years, under the direction of Ambassador Hasjim Djalal of Indonesia, there have been annual workshops held between non-official representatives of the countries around the South China Sea, not to discuss the sovereignty issues, but topics of mutual concern. Discussions have also been held under the umbrella of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the Council for Security Co-operation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP).

Objectives
In many countries, both in and outside the region, the South China Sea dispute, its history and various aspects, have become the topic of research from many angles and within multiple disciplines.
The first objective of the workshop is to allow scholars within several disciplines (history, economy, political science, social sciences, natural sciences, and law) to present results from the rapidly growing research on various aspects of the conflict in the South China Sea.

The second objective is to bridge the gap between scholars of East and Southeast Asia. Scholars of Southeast Asia, and East Asia, will meet to discuss the South China Sea, which actually forms the main link between the two regions. The South China Sea has been called the 'heart' of Southeast Asia, but is still called the "South China Sea". The regional meaning of the "South China Sea" will be a central topic at one of the workshop panels. Can it serve as a bridge between all the surrounding lands?

A third purpose is to strengthen European expertise on the South China Sea. As of today, the main centres for research on the South China Sea outside of the region is in Hawaii (USA), Australia and Canada. Canada has gained considerable expertise by sponsoring the workshop-process that Indonesia has managed since 1990. It is high time to organise a scholarly workshop in Europe where European scholars can meet with Asian scholars as well as the main experts from the US, Australia and Canada.

Publications from the conference

Special issue of Ocean Development & International Law, vol. 32, no. 2, 2001:

Stein Tønnesson, "Introduction", pp. 93-96.

Hasjim Djalal, "Indonesia and the South China Sea Initiative", pp. 97-105.

Nguyen Hong Thao, "Vietnam and the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea", pp. 105-130.

Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, "A Code of Conduct for Human and Regional Security around the South China Sea", pp. 131-148.

Zou Keyuan, "Historic Rights in International Law and in China's Practice", pp. 149-168.

Alex G. Oude Elferink, "The Islands in the South China Sea: How Does Their Presence Limit the Extent of the High Seas and the Area and the Maritime Zones of the Mainland Coast?" pp. 169-190.

Marius Gjetnes, "The Spratlys: Are They Rocks or Islands?" pp. 191-204.

Edgardo D. Gomez, "Marine Scientific Research in the South China Sea and Environmental Security," pp. 205-2.

Several articles in The Pacific Review, forthcoming.

Liselotte Odgaard. "Deterrence and Co-operation in the South China Sea", Contemporary Southeast Asia, forthcoming.


 

Stein Tønnesson and Roderich Ptak (eds.), Historical Approaches to Conflict in the South China Sea, Munich: Otto Harassovitz, forthcoming:

Stein Tønnesson, "Introduction."

Roderich Ptak, "The Coral Islands in the South China Sea, According to Chinese Sources (Song to Ming)."

Leonard Blussé, "..."

Gilles de Gantès, "Power and Weakness. French Presence in the South China Sea, 1840-1920."

Ulisses Granados, "Chinese Ocean Policy in the South China Sea: A Transitional Period, 1946-1952."

Stein Tønnesson, "The South China Sea in the age of European decline, 1930-1956."

Christopher Goscha, "..."

 

Report from the conference:

37 scholarly papers were presented at the conference "Human and Regional Security around the South China Sea" in Oslo, 2-4 June 2000. Thanks to generous funding from the Norwegian Research Council, the ESF Asia Committee, and the Statoil Company it was possible to invite a substantial number of scholars from the countries around the South China Sea, and also leading experts from Australia, North America and Europe.

Keynote speakers were Professor Dr. Ambassador Hasjim Djalal (Jakarta) and Dr. Mark J. Valencia (Honolulu). Rector Kaare R. Norum of the University of Oslo opened the workshop, and Professor Jean-Luc Domenach (Paris) gave a speech to the participants on behalf of the ESF Asia Committee. The workshop was organised into six panels:
1) The Environment, 2) History, 3) Security, 4) Economy, 5) Law, 6) Confidence Building and Conflict Management.
 

Main results

The conference was organised under the Chatham House Rule. Thus it is not possible to quote what was said. What follows are my personal impressions, which will not represent
the views of all participants:

1. The environment in the South China Sea is under severe stress. Disputed coral reefs are being rapidly destroyed by the use of illegal fishing methods and military activity. Some species of fish are being rapidly depleted. The environmental problems are recognised locally, and agreement has been reached to undertake some joint research. However, nothing effective has been done. Even in areas where national jurisdiction is undisputed it is difficult to patrol fishing grounds and prevent the use of illegal fishing methods. In disputed waters this is virtually impossible. While the situation gives ground for pessimism, environmental concerns are also the most likely basis for regional cooperation and conflict management. One factor that may contribute to reduce the intensity of the disputes is that the prospects of finding substantial quantities of oil and gas are less promising than before.

2. Historically, the Paracel and Spratly Islands have mainly been a source of danger to shipping. When ancient documents described them, the intent was not to claim sovereignty on behalf of any particular state, but to help seafarers avoid danger. Even in the 19th and 20th centuries the small islands and reefs in the Paracel and Spratly areas were of much less economic and strategic value than local interest groups would have the world believe.

3. The balance of naval force in the South China Sea is now partly affected by the growing strength of the Chinese Navy, partly by US development of TMD (Theatre Missile Defence) technology, and also by the increasing sophistication of satellite-based monitoring systems. Taiwan-mainland relations are closely intertwined with the conflict in the South China Sea. It seems possible that a local security regime could emerge, based on: a) a shared implicit realisation in China, the USA and Southeast Asia that a balance of force is necessary in order to guarantee the safety of shipping, and b) a general realisation in the region that cooperation and conflict management must be undertaken in order to resolve critical environmental problems and facilitate international trade and investments.

4. Much of the trade of the countries around the South China Sea is with developed economies elsewhere. The local states compete on the same markets and try to attract the same kind of investments. Still there has also been a tendency towards regional economic integration, with Singapore and Taiwan as the main catalysts. A pattern of sustained economic development will depend on continuation of this trend.

5. All the local states have signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); most have also ratified it. The foreign ministries have increased their competence in the Law of the Sea, but politicians often lack the most basic understanding. The foreign ministries realise that any solution to disputes over maritime delimitation must be based on UNCLOS. This means that claims to sovereignty over so-called 'maritime territory' must be rephrased as claims to a 12 nautical-mile territorial sea, a further 12 nm contiguous zone, a 200 nm exclusive economic zone and a 200-350 nm continental shelf, all extended from properly drawn baselines along the coasts and around the islands of each state. A key step in paving the way for a solution to the South China Sea disputes is to decide if any of the small islets in the Spratly and Paracel areas fulfill the requirements for generating more than a 12 nautical-mile territorial sea - and if the answer is positive, how many. The text of UNCLOS is unclear on this matter, and legal scholars disagree. The Philippines, China and Taiwan might, if they want to, seek a resolution to their dispute over Scarborough Reef in a way that would set a precedent for resolving the larger disputes (notably the Spratlys).

6. The most promising recent events, in terms of preparing the ground for conflict management and regional cooperation, are: a) China and Vietnam intend to reach an agreement on maritime delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin before the end of 2000. b) ASEAN and China are engaged in negotiations for a code-of-conduct. c) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has developed a comprehensive Strategic Action Plan for the South China Sea.

7. Despite these positive signs, the workshop was characterised by general pessimism. This concerned the environmental situation, and also security matters, although no one seemed to expect an outbreak of war. There does not seem to be much prospect of resolving the disputes over sovereignty and maritime delimitation in the Paracel and Spratly areas.

Stein Tønnesson (conference convenor)

 

Abstracts of papers from the six panels :

 

 

 

More information :

Programme
Prospectus
List of participants

 

For further information, please contact:
Cecilie Figenschou Bakke or Stein Tønnesson

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