Brief Understanding of the South China Sea Intermittent Line and China’s Relations With Its Neighbors Surrounding the South China Sea

By Hou Yi



Brief Understanding of the South China Sea Intermittent Line and China’s Relations With Its Neighbors Surrounding the South China Sea

By Hou Yi

China Academy of Social Sciences

I, Formation of the South China Sea "Intermittent Line"

According to historical records, as early as the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese people began sailing activities onto the Oceans. With the ongoing maritime activities, and improved shipbuilding technology and expanded fishing, the Chinese people in the Han Dynasty first discovered the islands in the South China Sea, and named them. From the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, fishing and maritime activities by the Chinese people in the South China Sea are limited to the offshore and part of Dongsha Islands and Xisha Islands. Up to the Song and Yuan dynasties, maritime activities by the Chinese people extended to Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands. From the Ming and Qing dynasties, maritime activities by the Chinese people covered the entire South China Sea islands, thus, having established the basic territorial jurisdiction over the South China Sea. In this process, since the Tang and Song dynasties, the Chinese Government dispatches navy to patrol territorial waters of the South China Sea and exercises effective jurisdiction

On December 21st, 1934, the Amphibious Map Review Committee of the Interior Ministry of the National Government of China held its 25thmeeting and approved the names of various islands and reefs in the South ChinaSea islands both in Chinese and English, and published", and for the first time delimited the South China Sea into 4 groups of Dongsha (Pratas) Islands, Xisha (Paracel) Islands, Nansha (Spratly Islands, now Zhongsha islands) and Tuanha Islands (also known as Coral Islands, now Nansha Islands). In April 1935, the Review Committee published "" Atlas, having mapped out detailed South China Sea islands and the southernmost tip of the South China Sea is identified at Zengmu Beach, approximately latitude 4°.

In February 1948, a "" was published after the national government approval of the map drawn by the ROC Ministry of the Interior, and identified four islands groups in the South China Sea, with Beilun Hekou in the west, Zengmu Beach in the south, and the eleven-dash line in Taiwan's northeast in the east, thus, establishing a "U" shaped intermittent line. The map identifies Zengmu Beach the southernmost tip of China, with the intermittent line delimiting the South China Sea maritime territory, the South China Sea territory is established and fixed

After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, various published maps basically followed the "11-dash line" to mark China's maritime territorial waters. On August 15th, 1951, Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai in the statement regarding thereiterated that like the entire Nanshsa Islands, Zhongsha Islands, Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands and Nanwei Islands are part of the territory of China. In 1953, two dashes of the "11-dash line" removed in the Beibu Gulf, hence, forming the current nine-dash "intermittent line" in the South China Sea. Since then, the basic position of "intermittent line" in the following Chinese maps never changes. On September 4th, 1958, the Statement on the Territorial Waters of China issued by the Chinese Government reiterated Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands belonging to China. The decisions on the establishment of Hainan Administrative Region in 1984 by the Sixth National People's Congress and on the establishment of Hainan Province in 1988 by the Seventh National People's Congress specified the Hainan Provincial administrative jurisdiction as including "Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands, and Zhongsha Islands and their maritime areas." . .1Article 2 of thepromulgated by People's Republic of China in 1992 states that the People's Republic of China's land territory includes it's mainland and offshore islands, Taiwan and its affiliated islands including Diaoyu Islands, Penghu Islands, Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands, Nansha Islands and all other islands belonging to the People's Republic of China.2-- The previous statements and several legal documents issued by the Chinese Government all emphasize that various South China Sea islands within the "intermittent line" are always China's territory, and has always been an inalienable part of China, so China has "indisputable sovereignty" over these islands.

In short, the South China Sea "intermittent line" is a product of history, and inseparable from the formation and development of ancient China Sea territory. From ancient history of "unbounded territory" to the South China Sea territory's settlement through a long process of historical development, the Chinese people have not only discovered, named, and carried out long-term development and operation of the South China Sea islands, and ancient Chinese Government also exercised jurisdiction, thus having established the Chinese sovereignty in the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters.

II, In a Very Long Period of Time, the South China Sea Neighboring Countries Never Object to the South China Sea "Intermittent Line"

In sharp contrast to the progressive development and established jurisdiction of the South China Sea territory during the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, and even Ming and Qing Dynasties, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and other neighboring countries surrounding the South China Sea had almost no knowledge at all about the South China Sea, and neither had historical evidence for their ancestors maritime activities in the South China Sea, nor conclusive evidence of their ancestors discovering and naming the South China Sea islands.

When on June 15th, 1956, meeting with Li Zhimin, the Chinese consulate charge daffais in Vietnam, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yuong Vanquan said that according to Vietnam’s data, from a historical point of view, Xisha islands and Nansha Islands should belong to the Chinese territory. Acting Secretary of the Asian Department of Vietnam Foreign Ministry Le Lu said that historically, Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands are owned by China as early as the Song Dynasty.

On September 4th, 1958, the Chinese Government published a Statement on territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles and applicable to all the territory of China, including the South China Sea Islands. The Vietnamese "People's Daily" on September 6threported the Statement in detail, and on September 14thVietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong expressed to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai the recognition and agreement with this Statement.

Common school geography textbooks published by Vietnam Education Publishing House in 1974 describes in the text on the "" from Nansha Islands, Xisha Islands to Hainan Islands, to Taiwan islands ...... a defense Great Wall of China mainland is established. The "world map" drawn by the map-office of the Vietnamese People's Army General Staff in 1960 and the "Atlas of the World" compiled and printed by the Prime Minister Office of Vietnam in 1972 also mark the South China Sea Islands the Chinese territory.

In short, before the 1970s, neighboring countries surrounding the South China Sea never challenged the South China Sea intermittent line. It is worth noting that the South China Sea intermittent line has been recognized by a number of countries outside the region. For example, "Contemporary Atlas of China" published by the United States in 1988, and "People's Republic of China Grand Review" published by Japan in 1986 with drawings of the South China Sea intermittent line attached.

III, The South China Sea "Intermittent Line" Is In No Conflict with the "UNCLOS"

In terms of legal continuity, the South China Sea "intermittent line" is formed earlier than that of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS ), and the formation of the historic sovereignty by China in the South China Sea is far earlier than the establishment of the modern marine legal system, the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf system are byproducts based on the original rights, and can neither replace, nor deny the vested rights and interests of China in the South China Sea; whereas China’s sovereign rights is not affected by the historic rights in the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the South China Sea.

In terms of the practice, in the early history, especially since modern times of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China, China is the first country to carry out fishing in Nansha Islands, the first to open up sea-lanes in the South China Sea, the first to implement the monitoring and protection of the marine environment in the South China Sea, and the first to carry out marine scientific research in the South China Sea. The UNCLOS clauses on the terms of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf sovereign rights are more specific and comprehensive mandatory legal rules and regulations on marine interests on the basis of the above-mentioned. We can say that our historic rights enjoyed in the South China Sea originate from the 2000-year historical development as well as the sovereign and jurisdictional practices; while China's exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf sovereign rights originate from the 1982 UNCLOS. The former reflects the continuation of the government and state inherited rights while the latter reflects the modern marine legal system. As a coastal State, China enjoys the sovereign right of the South China Sea, and the "intermittent line" as a symbol of historic rights, which are a complete system, and together constitute China's maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.

It should be noted that the UNCLOS defines the key concepts of internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, continental shelf, exclusive economic zone, the high seas, and can play important guiding and arbitrary roles regarding maritime disputes over sovereignty, offshore natural resource management, pollution treatment and others. But for the sovereignty disputes over islands and marine waters, it is still lack of clear definition, and is likely to generate a different interpretations. The South China Sea matter covers many aspects such as the history, diplomacy, politics, economy, military and legitimacy. Therefore, the the UNCLOS can not serve as the only solution to these disputes. Those affairs that are not clearly defined by the UNCLOS does not find applicability in the general principles and provisions of the international law.

IV, The Impact of the South China Sea "Intermittent Line" on the Relations Between China and Southeast Asian Countries

As China and Southeast Asian countries are all located in Asia-Pacific, China's relations with Southeast Asian countries, be in cultural traditions, economic and trade exchanges, or in geopolitical terms, can hardly be parted. Southeast Asia is the most concentrated area of overseas Chinese in the world, so in China's foreign relations, Southeast Asia has a pivotal importance, whether it is China that strives for a peaceful international environment to achieve modernization, or implements the foreign policy "based on Asia and stabilizing the periphery" , or strengthens the traditional friendship among the peoples of Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia is an integral part. China has always regarded Southeast Asian countries as important and friendly strategic partners.

On the South China Sea "intermittent line" matter, China and some Southeast Asian countries have disputes over sovereign territory, which is an objective fact. For a long time, the Chinese Government has always promoted a solution of the South China Sea matters through bilateral negotiations and dialogues. In diplomatic practice, it has constantly maintained restraint. Take Nansha Islands for example, there are more than 230 islands and reefs, 9 of which are under the actual control of China mainland and Taiwan, another 9 of which are occupied by the Philippines, and 29 of which are invaded and occupied by Vietnam. Even under such circumstances, China still always observes the spirit of "", upholds the greatest sincerity and avoids any action that might lead to magnifying and complicating the South China Sea matter, and takes initiatives to eliminate differences through dialogue and cooperation for proper settlement.

In March 2005, oil corporations of China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed in Manila "", which expresses the willingness of the parties to the Agreement to carry out joint study on oil reserves in the agreed areas. In March 2013, after the formation of the new Chinese Government, it prioritizes ASEAN in its surrounding diplomacy, dilutes the South China Sea disputes, and strengthens cooperation with ASEAN countries. In June the same year, Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang visited China, the two countries signed a number of agreements; regarding maritime disputes, both sides agreed to seriously implement the "" singed in 2011 and reached major consensus on promoting demarcation negotiations on mouth waters of the Beibu Gulf and the joint development of the area and explored the establishment of working groups for development.

In early October, President Xi Jinping attended the APEC meeting and visited Indonesia and Malaysia, proposed the establishment of "" In mid-October, Premier Li Keqiang attended the ASEAN summit and visited Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam, he proposed at the summit "2+7 Cooperation Framework", which is regarded as the new Chinese Government declared policy on development of the future China - ASEAN relations. So far, China's leaders have completed visits to all the ASEAN countries having claims on South China Sea islands except the Philippines. In October, China and Brunei reached a bilateral agreement to establish a joint venture company for the offshore oil and gas exploration and development, all these Chinese activities demonstrate the Chinese Government's attitude towards and the effective efforts for the peaceful resolution of the South China Sea matter. China’s hope for the South China Sea stability is sincere, China’s action to carry out cooperation in the South China Sea is pragmatic.

In regard to the intermittent line in the South China Sea, China has always upheld to maintain its historic rights and interests, and to safeguard the legitimate interests of the territorial and maritime jurisdiction.

It is necessary to recognize that, in modern times, ships and fishermen of Southeast Asian countries sail and fish within the South China Sea intermittent line. But, sailing and fishing in itself do not constitute sovereign elements. It is totally ineffective under international law for the claim of sovereignty simply based on navigation and fishing activity.

A small number of neighboring countries surrounding the South China Sea raise the so-called "question" on the intermittent line of the South China Sea, and uphold the intermittent line in conflict with the UNCLOS, but refuse to mention its historical development and other international regulations helpful to resolve territorial disputes, which actually reflects their fear of the legality of the South China Sea intermittent line, and will bring many-faceted negative impacts on relations between China and its South China Sea neighboring countries.

Notes:

1.People’s Daily, August 1st, 1984 and April 14th, 1988.

2.Laws and Regulations on the Seas of the PRC (excerpts), Haiyang Press，1998..