South China Sea: Impacts On China

Sarah Putri

INTRODUCTION
The South China Sea is the gateway for most of international shipping. One third of
the worlds shipping goes through the South China Sea (Kaplan, 2015). It is bordered
by Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Philippines, and Taiwan. However,
there have been territorial disputes over the South China Sea, in which China,
Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and Philippines have overlapping claims in parts of the
South China Sea, including the two islands in it, Paracels and Spratly Islands. China
refused to follow the law as it claims that according to the Chinese Ministry of the
Interior in 1947, the South China Sea part of their own nine-dash line map (Lowy
Institute for International Policy, 2016). The nine-dash line was drawn in a u-shaped

down the east coast of Vietnam to just north of Indonesia and then continuing
northwards up the west coast of the Philippines. However, according to the United
Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, countries are able to claim a territory at
certain measurements from its coastal baseline (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016).
While China is unable to cooperate under the international law, countries have been
affected by Chinas decisions. As foreign nations are pressuring China to drop its
claims, China still does not want to give it up. However, Chinas strong conviction on
its claim could possibly turn its back against China itself in a couple of aspects.

ECONOMY
South China Sea is used as the traffic way of international trade shipping. It is the
worlds second busiest international sea lanewith more than half of the world's
supertanker traffic and 30% of all global maritime trade passes through its waters
(Clarke, 2015). Other than being a very strategic route, the South China Sea is also

rich with oil and gas (Kaplan, 2015), which is one of the reasons why south east Asian
countries surrounding the territory are trying to claim parts of the sea. This territorial
claims will affect the flow of economy in between countries; because since it has not
been resolved, there will be no ships who dare to pass through without sparking
conflicts between countries. This instability will affect the traffic of the transportation
of goods. Although this has not happened yet, the possibility of it to happen in the
future will be most likely. China will also be affected by the situation. If the dispute
does not resolve, China will also encounter the same effects as the other countries.
Since many of Chinas main ports are placed near the South China Sea (China's
Major Ports, 2016), it will disturb the the transportation of goods to or from China. For

example, Chinas biggest crude oil imports are from Saudi Arabia, Angola, and Iran
(China Import Countries, 2012). To be able to get into China, ships must go through the

South China Sea, because it is the closest way to deliver the crude oil to China. The
risk of going through an unstable territory is that other countries will claim that the
territory is theirs and will cause another dispute.

POLITICAL STABILITY
The dispute has definitely caused a rift between China and the countries who also
claims territory. China believes that their argument is disputable, whereas the other
countries considers Chinas argument is baseless (Esconde, 2015). Most argue that

the nine-dash line map was drawn arbitrarily without any exact coordinates, and yet
China still firmly claims that almost all of the South China Sea is theirs.
The United States have also joined the conflict by stating that the sovereignty claims
act as a violation towards the international law (Pike, 2016). Although it does not
stake any claim on the sea, the U.S Navy had sent out a ship to sail near the
Paracels Island to challenge the excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights
and the freedom of the United States and the others, not about territorial claims to
land features. (Starr and Berlinger, 2016). China has given out a warning to the U.S by
saying that it was an act of provocation, and according to Chinese naval commander
We Shengli, his battalions have shown enormous restraint towards the provocation.
(Roughneen and Venson). This implies that China will not hesitate or at least is

prepared to escalate the issue militarily. If China keeps being stubborn on claiming
most of the South China Sea, the country will be seen as an uncooperative and
unfriendly country, which will affect Chinas relationship with countries, especially the
south east Asian countries. According to Singaporean diplomat Ong Keng Yong,
The reaction to what it has done in the South China Sea for the past two years or
so, whether in ASEAN or around the world, seems to be a net minus change for
Chinas image. (Roughneen and Venson, 2015).

CONCLUSION
The South China Sea has been one of the most important international trade routes.
According to the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, the countries
surrounding the sea are allowed claim it based on the given requirements. However,
the territory has historical ties as part of China thus causing China to also claim
almost 90% of the ocean territory. These conflict between nations would potentially

create a disturbance on the economy, especially Asia. Foreign nations are butting
heads against China to shake China out of its senses. It forces China to act
aggressively towards them, thus creating an image that is not representable in the
eyes of the world. The foreign nations definitely have an impact on China as to how
the latter is coping with the situation, but that does not mean the foreign nations are
the ones who are to be blamed.

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