Political

Geography
December 4, 2013

International Studies 1221

Professor Paul Michael Lopez

Research Paper
 Spratley’s Island Dispute
 Sabah / North Borneo Dispute
 Scarborough / Panatag Shoal
 Macclesfield Bank

Kenneth R. Sagum
2012520582
International Studies
Institute of Arts and Sciences
Far Eastern University
Spratly’s Island Dispute

History and Brief Background

The Spratly Islands dispute is a territorial dispute over the ownership of the

Spratly Islands, a group of islands located in the South China Sea. States staking claims to

various islands are: Brunei, China (People's Republic of China), Malaysia, the Philippines,

Taiwan (Republic of China), and Vietnam. All except Brunei occupy some of the islands.

The Spratly Islands are important for a number of reasons: the Spratly area holds significant

reserves of oil and natural gas, it is a productive area for world fishing and commercial

shipping, and coastal countries would get an extended continental shelf. But only some states,

such as China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), and Vietnam have made claims based on historical

sovereignty of the islands. The Philippines however, claims it as its territory under UNCLOS.

An agreement in which all competing countries have ratified.

Issue and Current Events:

1. As of May 29, 2013, China warned Manila that it was concerned over Filipino activity

related to a shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands.

2. Despite of the dispute going on, The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that it

remained “positive” that the Philippines and China will move forward with their bilateral

economic relations notwithstanding the arbitration case filed before the United Nations

(UN) for the settlement of their dispute.

3. As of August 8, 2013, the United Nations arbitral tribunal may soon rule on whether it

has jurisdiction over the Philippines’ arbitration case seeking to invalidate China’s nine-

dash line claim to almost all of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) according

to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

4. On June 12, 2013, BRP Alcaraz successfully conducted a test-fire operation in the

Atlantic Ocean that will serve as a drill in the said dispute.

Sabah / North Borneo Dispute

History and Brief Background

The North Borneo dispute refers to the territorial dispute between Malaysia and

the Republic of the Philippines over much of the eastern part of Sabah. Sabah was known as

North Borneo prior to the formation of the Malaysian federation. The Philippines, presenting

itself as the successor state of the Sultanate of Sulu, retains a "dormant claim" on Sabah on

the basis that the territory was only leased to the British North Borneo Company in 1878, with

the sovereignty of the Sultanate (and subsequently the Republic) over the territory never

having been relinquished. However, Malaysia considers this dispute as a "non-issue" as it

interprets the 1878 agreement as that of cession and that it deems that the residents of Sabah

had exercised their right to self-determination when they voted to join the Malaysian federation

in 1963.

Issues and Current Events:

1. On February 11, 2013, a group of approximately 100–200 individuals, some of them

armed, arrived by boat in Lahad Datu, Sabah from Simunul Island, Tawi-Tawi of

southern Philippines. They were sent by Jamalul Kiram III, one of the claimants to the

throne of the Sultanate of Sulu. Their objective was to assert their unresolved territorial

claim to North Borneo which ends with 68 of his followers dead while the others been

captured by the Malaysian authorities.

2. On February 16, 2013, The Philippines called for a peaceful resolution to the a tense

standoff between Malaysian forces and a group of gunmen claiming to be a followers

of the heir of a former sultan of Sulu and North Borneo.

3. Sulu sultan won’t budge. Kiram followers will continue the Sabah standoff said by the

sultanate spokesman. – As of February 25, 2013

4. March 9, 2013, after the dispute the Malaysian government launched a campaign to

discredit the brother of Sulu group’s leader Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, along with an

effort to link them with the Malaysian opposition.

Scarborough / Panatag Shoal

History and Brief Background

The Scarborough Shoal standoff refers to the ongoing tensions between China

and the Philippines which began on April 8, 2012 over the Philippine Navy apprehension of

eight Chinese fishing vessels in the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Issues and Current Events:

1. The Philippine and United States will hold joint naval exercises off Panatag Shoal (

Scarborough Shoal ) - June 20, 2013

2. The Philippine Navy’s flagship. The BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is back in the waters near

Panatag Shoal, this time not for a face–off with Chinese warships over disputed

territory but for five days of joint maneuvers with the United States Navy -June 27,

2013

3. Just days after they reportedly left, Chinese ships have returned to the Philippine-

claimed shoal off Zambales, indicating that intrusions continue despite the country’s

bid to halt such breaches of maritime territory before the United Nations. – July 8, 2013

4. China’s communist rulers are making waves in the Pacific as they extend their naval

strength and reach while Japan and the Philippines bolster their own fleets, increasing

the risk of a maritime conflict. – August 9, 2013

5. Defense officials on Wednesday said a military aerial survey had spotted more

concrete blocks installed by China in the Scarborough Shoal, calling the latest Chinese

incursion as “a neighbour taking over one’s garage without permission.” - September

5, 2013

6. The mayor of Masinloc town in Zambales province on Thursday voiced the need for

official information on the situation at Scarborough Shoal so that she could properly

caution local fisherfolk and ensure their safety. – September 6, 2013

Macclesfield Bank

History and Brief Background

Macclesfield Bank is claimed, in whole or in part, by China and Taiwan (Republic

of China).Some sources state that the Philippines claims this underwater feature. However,

Jose Zaide, a Philippine diplomat of ambassadorial rank, has written that the Philippines does

not claim the Macclesfield Bank. As the bank is entirely underwater, some scholars have

raised questions regarding the legality of territorial claims upon it with regards to the United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Issues and Current Events:

1. President Benigno Aquino III ordered the government’s plans and decisions involving

the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China (referring to the Macclesfield Bank) to be

kept secret before they are implemented. – July 6, 2012

2. The Philippines on Wednesday protested China’s move placing virtually the entire

West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), including the Philippine territory of

Macclesfield Bank and its surrounding waters, under the jurisdiction of a newly

created city. Manila’s protest came as the latest sour turn in relations between the

Philippines and China, which have yet to find a temporary solution to their dispute

over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), a resource-rich reef in the West Philippine

Sea just west of Zambales province. Also on Thursday, President Aquino urged the

Chinese authorities to “balance [their] statements with the truth” in response to their

accusation that he was trying to stir tension in the West Philippine Sea by asking for

US help in monitoring the disputed waters. – July 6, 2012

References:

www.wikipedia.com

www.globalnation.inquirer.net