South China Sea

The South China Sea is a small part of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by South China to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the west, Taiwan and the northwestern Philippines to the east (including Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan), and Borneo, eastern Sumatra, and the Bangka Belitung Islands to the south. It covers an area of about 3,500,000 km² (1,400,000 sq mi). The sea connects to the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea through the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea through the straits around Palawan, the Java Sea through the Karimata and Bangka Straits, and directly to the Gulf of Thailand. The Gulf of Tonkin is also part of the South China Sea.

A lot of the world's trade, about $3.4 trillion out of $16 trillion in maritime shipping, went through the South China Sea in 2016. There are also oil and natural gas reserves in the area. The Western Central Pacific provided 14% of the world's commercial fishing in 2010.

The South China Sea Islands are made up of many small groups of islands, islets (cays and shoals), reefs/atolls, and seamounts. There are hundreds of these. Several countries have different names for these islands and the sea, showing that they all want to control them.

Etymology

The South China Sea is the name used in English and many other languages for this body of water. European explorers were interested in it as a route to China and other trading places. In the 1500s, Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea, but later it was renamed the South China Sea to tell it apart from nearby waters.

Ancient Chinese texts called it the Nanfang Hai or Southern Sea. Over time, different Chinese dynasties used various names for it. In Southeast Asia, it was once known as the Champa Sea after the Champa kingdom in what is now Central Vietnam. During World War II, Japan controlled most of the sea. Today, different countries have different names for parts of it. Vietnam calls it the East Sea, while the Philippines uses the name West Philippine Sea for the part near its shores. In 2017, Indonesia named the northern part of its area the North Natuna Sea.

Hydrography

The South China Sea touches several places, including People's Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan), the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Important rivers flow into it, such as the Pearl, Red, and Mekong Rivers.

The sea is deep. It has an average depth of 1,212 metres, and its deepest point is about 5,560 metres.

Geology

See also: Tectonics of the South China Sea

The South China Sea sits above an old land area that sank under the water. Long ago, when there was less water on Earth, the island of Borneo was connected to Asia.

The South China Sea began to form about 45 million years ago when a piece of land moved away from southern China. Around 30 million years ago, the seafloor spread out, making the shape of the sea we see today. This process stopped about 17 million years ago.

Scientists have different ideas about how the sea formed. Some think that when India moved into Asia, it helped the sea open. Others think Indochina did not move much. Rivers like the Mekong River, Red River, and Pearl River have added mud and sand to the sea. Some areas have oil and gas.

Islands and seamounts

See also: South China Sea Islands and list of islands in the South China Sea

The South China Sea has more than 250 small islands, atolls, cays, shoals, reefs, and sandbars. Many of these are underwater when the tide is high, and none have people living on them naturally. Some stay completely under the water all the time.

Important groups of these features include the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, Pratas Island and the Vereker Banks, the Macclesfield Bank, and the Scarborough Shoal.

The Spratly Islands cover a large area, about 810 by 900 km. The biggest island here is Taiping Island, which is just over 1.3 kilometres long and only about 3.8 metres above sea level.

The largest single underwater feature in this area is called Reed Tablemount, or Reed Bank. It is a wide underwater mountain, about 100 kilometres across. It used to be an island, but rising sea levels after the last ice age covered it long ago. Today, it lies just 20 metres below the surface.

Trade route

The South China Sea has been an important trade route for many centuries. It connects northeast Asia, China, southeast Asia, India, and the West. Many old shipwrecks show that trade has been busy there for a long time. In 2016, trade worth $3.4 trillion passed through the South China Sea. By 2019, the sea carried trade equal to 5 percent of the world's total economy.

Natural resources

Scientists found in 2012–2013 that there is not much oil or natural gas in some parts of the South China Sea, like near the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Most oil and natural gas is found closer to shorelines.

In 2010, fishing in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea, provided a lot of the world’s fish catch. This was more than in 1970.

In May 2017, China found methane from special icy structures in the South China Sea, but using this might take many years.

Territorial claims

Main articles: Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, Spratly Islands dispute, Timeline of the South China Sea dispute, and Regional reactions to China's maritime activities in the South China Sea

Several countries have made claims on the South China Sea. These claims can cause tension. Both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as Taiwan) claim almost all of the sea using what is called the "nine-dash line". This claim overlaps with claims from many other countries in the area.

Countries with competing claims include:

• Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and Taiwan over the waters northeast of the Natuna Islands
• The Philippines, China, and Taiwan over Scarborough Shoal.
• Vietnam, China, and Taiwan over the waters west of the Spratly Islands. Some or all of the islands are also claimed by Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
• The Paracel Islands are claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam over areas in the Gulf of Thailand.
• Singapore and Malaysia along the Strait of Johore and the Strait of Singapore.

China and Vietnam have both strongly pursued their claims. China took control of the Paracel Islands after a brief conflict in 1974. The Spratly Islands have seen naval clashes. Disputing claimants often report clashes between naval vessels, and these now also include airspace incidents.

ASEAN, in general, and Malaysia, in particular, have worked to ensure that the disputes do not turn into armed conflict. Joint development authorities have been set up in areas where claims overlap to develop the area together and share the profits equally without solving the issue of who owns the area. China has preferred to solve competing claims one-to-one, while some ASEAN countries prefer talks with many countries together.

The claims over Pedra Branca or Pulau Batu Putih, including the nearby Middle Rocks, by Singapore and Malaysia were settled in 2008 by the International Court of Justice, giving Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore and the Middle Rocks to Malaysia.

In September 2011, India’s state-run explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said that its overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh Limited had signed a three-year deal with Petrovietnam for developing long-term cooperation in the oil sector and that it had accepted Vietnam's offer of exploration in certain blocks in the South China Sea. China protested this.

In 1999, Taiwan claimed all the islands in the South China Sea under the administration of Lee Teng-hui.

In May 2014, China placed an oil rig near the Paracel Islands, leading to several incidents between Vietnamese and Chinese ships.

The US, although not a signatory to UNCLOS, has said that its naval vessels will continue to sail freely through the South China Sea.

2016 arbitration

In January 2013, the Philippines started arbitration proceedings against China over issues surrounding the nine-dash line, and other matters. China did not take part in the arbitration.

On 12 July 2016, an arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on most points. It said China had not always controlled the area inside the nine-dash line. It also said China’s claims over the waters inside the nine-dash line would not apply beyond what UNCLOS allows. It criticized China’s building projects and construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands. Finally, it said Taiping Island and other features of the Spratly Islands were "rocks" under UNCLOS, and so are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone. The arbitral tribunal decision was final and cannot be appealed by either country.

China rejected the ruling, calling it wrong. China continued to talk only with the Philippines.

Taiwan, which controls Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling.