Prelims – Current events of International Importance
Mains (GSI) & (GS II) | Geography of the World | International relations
Why in News?
China and the Philippines have displayed their national flags in competing photo opportunities on a disputed sandbank in the South China sea.
- Recent Disputed area - Sandy Cay, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands.
- Beijing calls it as Tiexian Reef.
- Dispute happened after - The US and the Philippines launched their annual joint military drills called “Balikatan”, or “shoulder to shoulder”.
South China Sea dispute
- South China Sea – It is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean.
- It is bounded in the
- North by South China,
- West by the Indochinese Peninsula,
- East by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan), and
- South by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands
- It stretches from the Strait of Malacca in the southwest to the Strait of Taiwan in the northeast.
- The South China Sea dispute involves overlapping territorial and maritime claims by several countries.
- Involved Countries - China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
- The core of the dispute lies in China's broad claim to the region, using its "nine-dash line" to demarcate its sovereignty including the Paracel and Spratly Islands, which overlaps with the claims of other nations.
- Strategic Importance of the area – It holds rich natural resources, significant maritime trade routes, and the presence of islands and reefs, which are also sources of contention.
- International Law - The dispute has been subject to international legal proceedings, such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling in 2016, which largely rejected China's claims.
Reference
The Guardian | South China Sea Dispute
