Background

• Currently, among the most disputed topics in the world, in the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, the governments of six countries (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and China) claim that they are the rightful owner of Paracel and Spratly islands, and among them, China has been the most aggressive one.
• The disputed sea is composed of approximately 100 to 230 islands wherein small islands called islets are usually included in it. Submerged in water, shoals, banks, atolls, reefs and cays, which covers an area of approx. 180,000 sq. km.3
• The Chinese government claims an enormous area under what is known as the “nine-dash line” that is over 2000 km long, starting from mainland China and reaching waters close to Indonesia and Malaysia. China maintains that the area has been under Chinese rule since ancient times.
• China has been building military bases on small islands and also expanding the area of islands artificially.

Importance of the South China Sea

• This sea route, connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, is an important trade passageway for international trade.
• The Strait of Malacca, along with the Lombok Strait and Sunda strait are all connected with SCS and responsible for oil and LNG imports by major countries such as China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, and others from Gulf countries.
• It is estimated that around 15 million barrels each day are transported through the Strait of Malacca, making it the second busiest strait after the Strait of Hormuz in terms of oil transportation with respect to volume.
• The economy of China depends upon the oil import in which 80% of the oil is transported through the Strait of Malacca and then through SCS to China, which means that full control and easy access through this strait is the justification behind economic prosperity of the Chinese nation.
• Apart from the strategic importance of the SCS, this region is also blessed with large deposits of natural resources beneath the sea.
• Aside from oil and gas reserves, this region is also gifted with one-third of the total marine biodiversity of the Earth, which means that substantial revenue can also be generated through fishing alone.

PCA award

• Following the dispute, the Philippines filed a case against China in the Permanent court of arbitration (PCA) under the dispute settlement provisions of the UNCLOS. 
• In 2016, a tribunal of the PCA issued its ruling against China’s claims in the South China Sea. The tribunal’s five arbitrators ruled overwhelmingly in the Philippines’ favor after finding that China had violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines in its exclusive economic zone.
• However, China refused to participate in the arbitration and rejected the outcome. 

Why in News?

• The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held their annual summit recently.
• During the summit, ASEAN leaders said the 1982 UNCLOS treaty should be the basis of sovereign rights and entitlements in the South China Sea, in one of their strongest remarks opposing China’s claim to virtually the entire disputed waters on historical grounds.

Related information

About UNCLOS

• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty which was adopted and signed in 1982. The Convention was formed to ensure freedom of shipping navigation at the sea.
• The Convention has created three new institutions on the international scene :

• • the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,

• • the International Seabed Authority,

• • the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
• India is party to UNCLOS.
• UNCLOS classifies marine areas into five zones. They are:
  • Territorial sea
  • Contiguous zone
  • Exclusive economic zone
  • Continental shelf
  • High Sea

Territorial sea 

• According to UNCLOS, the territorial sea can be defined as the area which extends up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a country’s coastal state. The territorial sea is under the jurisdiction of that particular country; however, foreign ships (both merchant and military) ships are allowed passage through it.
• This type of passage of territorial passage of foreign ships is known as an innocent passage. However, the right to the innocent passage can be suspended if there is a threat to the security of the coastal state.

Contiguous Zone

• The contiguous zone can be defined as the belt which extends 12 nautical miles beyond the territorial sea limit.
• A coastal state’s control on this area is limited to prevention of actions which can infringe its customs, fiscal, and immigration laws. It can also act if any activity in the contiguous zone threatens regulations in the territorial sea.

Exclusive economic zone

• The exclusive economic zone can be defined as a belt of water which extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline of the coastal state. Thus it includes both territorial sea and contiguous zone.
• The exclusive economic zone provides the coastal state control over all economic resources such as fishing, mining, oil exploration, and marine research.
• The coastal state also has jurisdiction regarding protection and preservation of natural resources and marine environment.

Continental Shelf

• The continental shelf can be defined as the area whose outer limit shall not exceed 350 nautical miles from the baseline or shall not exceed 100 nautical miles from the 2500 meters isobath.
• Isobath is a line connecting points of equal underwater depth.
• The coastal state has exclusive rights for exploring and exploiting its natural resources in this area. The state also has the exclusive rights to authorize and regulate drilling on the shelf for all purposes.

High Seas 

• High seas can be defined as the part of the sea that is not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea, or in the internal waters of a coastal state or archipelagic waters of an archipelagic state.
• High seas are open to all states for freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, freedom to construct artificial islands installation, freedom of fishing, and freedom of scientific research.

About ASEAN

• ASEAN is a regional & intergovernmental organisation of 10 countries of southeast Asia.
• Its members are Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam.
• They work towards the progress of the southeast Asia region.

About PCA

• The Permanent Court of Arbitration was established by the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded at The Hague in 1899 during the first Hague Peace Conference.
• The 1899 Convention was revised at the second Hague Peace Conference in 1907.
• The PCA is not a court in the traditional sense but provides services of an arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise out of international agreements between member states, international organizations or private parties.
• The cases span a range of legal issues involving territorial and maritime boundaries, sovereignty, human rights, international investment, and international and regional trade.
• The PCA has no sitting judges: the parties themselves select the arbitrators. 
• The PCA is an official United Nations Observer. It is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.

Members

• The PCA has 122 Contracting Parties which have acceded to one or both of the PCA’s founding conventions (1899 and 1907 Conventions).
• India is a party to the PCA according to the convention of 1899.