The South China Sea Disputes: An Opportunity for the Cross Taiwan Strait Relationship

Abstract

The South Sea, also called the South China Sea, is a semi-enclosed marginal sea in the Pacific Ocean. It is located north of China and the island of Taiwan, east of the Philippines, south of Kalimantan Island and Sumatra Island and west of the Malay Peninsula and the Indo-China peninsula. States and territories with borders on the South China Sea, include mainland China, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.1 The total area of the South China Sea is 350 square kilometres. The South China Sea contains over 230 small islands, atolls, cays, and shoals, collectively known as the South China Sea islands. These islands are geographically divided into four parts: the Paracel Islands, the Macclesfield Bank, the Pratas Islands and the Spratly Islands. Most of these islands are very small, the largest of which is Pratas, with 12 square kilometres and Itu Aba Island, the largest island of Spratly Islands, is also only 0.4 square kilometres in size.2 Territorial disputes on the South China Sea islands began in the mid-late 20th Century. Since the 1970s, neighbouring countries in the South China Sea, such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, began to conduct activities in the South China Sea islands and claim sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, for the following two reasons. On the one hand, the South China Sea is rich in natural resources including oil, gas and fish. On the other hand, the South China Sea, as a strategic road connecting the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean and a major shipping lane connecting Asia and Oceania, Europe and Africa,