South China Sea

#GS 01 Geography, #GS-02 International Relations

South China Sea is a part of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland.
Brunei, Cambodia, People’s Republic of China (China), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines Singapore, Republic of China (Taiwan), Thailand and Vietnam borders the South China Sea.
It is connected to the East China Sea by the Taiwan Strait and to the Philippine Sea by the Luzon Strait.
The Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Pratas Islands and Macclesfield’s Bank and Scarborough Shoal are the archipelagos in the South China Sea.

The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Spratly Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei and Philippines.
The Scarborough Shoal is claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan.

China has been converting uninhabited islets into artificial islets in order to increase its territorial claim in the South China Sea.
The nine-dash line refers to the area claimed by China in the region which is by far the largest portion of the Sea.
China claims historic rights to the territory and to the resources within the ‘nine-dash line’.
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague decreed in July 12, 2016 judgment that the line had “no legal basis.”

South China sea has extreme strategic importance because it connects the Indian and Pacific Oceans through the Strait of Malacca.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), one-third of global shipping passes through this region.

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