China to hold drills in South China Sea ahead of court ruling

[uawchild]

Source: Reuters

China will hold military drills around the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the maritime safety administration said on Sunday, ahead of a decision by an international court in a dispute between China and the Philippines.

China routinely carries out exercises in the South China Sea, where its territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Tensions have been rising ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china-idUSKCN0ZJ02C

[uawchild]

1. The Hague arbitration is taking place under the auspices of the UNCLOS

"The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982."

Two interesting points... well three..

1) The US is pressuring China to abide by the upcoming ruling but IS NOT a signatory to UNCLOS itself. Is this a case of "do what I say, not what I do"?

2) China asserts that the arbitration is illegitimate since the UNCLOS itself does not have authority over sovereignty claims.

3) The Philippines claims its NOT a sovereignty issue and the provisions of UNCLOS on baselines, the regime of islands, low-tide elevations, the exclusive economic zone, the continental shelf, maritime boundary delimitation and dispute settlement are all applicable to the South China Sea.

"The 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has no provisions on how to determine sovereignty over offshore islands."
China, UNCLOS and the South China Sea
http://cil.nus.edu.sg/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/AsianSIL-Beckman-China-UNCLOS-and-the-South-China-Sea-26-July-2011.pdf

[uawchild]

2. Not just an issue of artificial islands

Before the thread gets lost in discussing the validity of China's artificial islands, it would be worth while to point out that not all the reclamation done was on artificial islands.

It is legal under UNCLOS to enlarge existing islands and rocks, but enlarged rocks only get a 12 mile territorial zone.

Also, Taiwan has claims in the region and occupies several recognized natural islands. Taiwan and The People's Republic of China (aka China) both claim to be THE legitimate government of all of China, hence Taiwan's claims in the region have been used to bolster those of the PRC.