The South China Sea dispute has become a widely discussed problem in the international platform due to its potential to cause armed conflict in the region. The People’s Republic of China (PRC), Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have clashing sovereignty claims over the South China Sea. In fact, $5.3 trillion USD of trade passes through the South China Sea each year. Correspondingly, the rising economic and political weight of the regional countries increased the international importance of the South China Sea. As one of the actors in the region, Taiwan has the most potential to influence the developments of the discussions regarding the South China Sea dispute due to its economic and military power.
The conflict takes place around Spratly (Nansha) and Paracel (Shisha) islands as well as the Pratas (Tungsha), Natuna and Scarborough Shoal. The PRC claims sovereignty on the map of U shaped line referred to as the “Nine-dash line”. But, Taiwan presented a similar arguments regarding sovereignty over the South China Sea. Taiwan argument bases itself on historical grounds to justify its claims over the area. However, there are differences between the PRC’s and Taiwan’s positions. In fact, the KMT government of China released a map titled ‘position of the South China Sea Islands’ in 1947. The eleven-dash line was used to define a scope of Chinese sovereignty over the South China Sea. After Chinese Communists took power of the mainland, they cancelled the two intermittent lines and the PRC started to use the nine-dash line to support its sovereignty claims over the South China Sea. Taiwan upholds its claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea. However, Taiwan does not fully support the PRC’s South China Sea policy. Taiwan adheres to the notion that the dispute be solved through international law since it does not support territorial sovereignty through the man-made islands. Taiwan promotes cooperation among regional countries to solve the dispute and does not support unilateral extraction of sand from the seabed or the reclamation of land from underwater reefs.
Overlapping claims regarding the Paracel (Shisha) islands have caused conflict between Vietnamese troops and the PRC. As a result, the PRC seized the Paracel (Shisha) killing more than 70 Vietnamese soldiers in 1974. In 1988, 60 more Vietnamese soldiers died in the conflict. Natural resources, especially oil and gas reserves, are the key factors that triggered the sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea. In May 2014, the PRC’s drilling operations near Paracel (Shisha) island carried out by maritime vessels were intercepted by Vietnam’s vessels. Thus, a collision occurred between the Vietnamese and the PRC vessels and caused riots targeted against the Chinese living in Vietnam. As a result, Taiwanese factories were also attacked. Similar problems have occurred between the PRC and the Philippines over Spratly Islands (Nansha). The Philippines applied to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and called for a halt on all construction projects in the South China Sea.
The South China Sea dispute caused tension among the US, the PRC and even Taiwan. In October 2015, the US’s destroyer vessel passed through the PRC’s artificially constructed islands, and the PRC intercepted their vessels. The Obama administration established a rebalancing strategy towards Asia-Pacific region and increased their military presence. The PRC perceived this policy as a type of containment strategy against them; especially since the Trans-Pacific Partnership is also regarded as an economic tool of containment. The tension between the US and the PRC has created a potential military confrontation, thus Taiwan proposed the South China Sea Peace Initiative on May 26th, 2015. By urging all parties to comply with international law and reduce tension, Taiwan’s initiative has been supported internationally because of its peaceful proposal to shelve peace and create stability in South China Sea. As of 2013, Taiwan and Japan managed to sign a fishing agreement over the East China Sea that grants Taiwanese vessels access to the disputed waters of Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands. Taiwan’s initiative for the South China Sea bore its first fruit on November 5th, 2015, when Taiwan and the Philippines signed the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fishery Matters agreement that reduced fishery tension between the two.
The South China Sea Peace Initiative suggested the development of a cooperative mechanism to ensure equal participation and resource sharing among all parties of the dispute. This cooperation mechanism aims to prevent undermining the rights and interests of any party. In the short term, the South China Sea Peace Initiative aims to launch multilateral dialogue and consultations. The initiative strives to create a code of conduct to avoid unexpected sea or air encounters in the South China Sea. In the medium term, the agreement envisages all parties to jointly engage in coordination and cooperation on important issues such as the conservation and management of living resources, and exploration and exploitation of non-living resources. The cooperation mechanism should include scientific research, environmental protection, crime prevention, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. In the long term, the plan aims to establish a mechanism for zonal development. Through joint effort, the parties could designate specific maritime areas for provisional cooperative development. It aims to establish joint management and monitoring mechanisms to enable cooperation and development on the allocated areas and in a stage-by-stage basis.
The South China Sea Peace Initiative has provided the base groundwork for a peaceful solution to the disputes, rather than pressure for the parties to change their position. Its objective has been to enable parties to benefit from dispute areas through joint action. However, Taiwan’s historical claims over the South China Sea have not changed. Historically, Taiwan claimed that Taiping (Itu Aba) Island qualified as an island according to the specifications of article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Taiwan argued that Taiping Island can sustain human habitation and economic life of its own. But, the Philippines argued that Taiping is not an island because of its lack of water supply and fertile soil making it inconvenient for habitants. However, Taiwan stated that Taiping Island is the only island in Spratly (Nansha) Islands to have its own sources of potable water. Since the island has four wells, one of the well’s water is used to raise tilapia, while the other three provide 65 tons of freshwater daily. Taiping Island boasts an excellent ecological environment with an abundance of natural vegetation. In the Island, there are also facilities such as mobile communication systems, post office and satellite television system, which all are essential for modern life. Taiwan completed the renovation of a wharf and the construction of a lighthouse in Taiping Island. The wharf has the capacity to accommodate 3,000-ton ships and a lighthouse to ensure navigational safety of around Taiping Island. In 2000, the Coast Guard Administration took over defense of Taiping Island from the Marine Corps. This indicated a transition to Taiwan’s stance against the militarization of the South China Sea.
Regarding the Philippines application to the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea disputes, Taiwan stated that the Philippines did not extend an invitation to Taiwan to participate in its arbitration with mainland China, since the arbitral tribunal did not solicit Taiwan’s views. Therefore, Taiwan refuses to recognize the arbitration or any agreements since it will not affect Taiwan. Taiwan excluded from the sovereignty dispute between Philippines and the PRC.
Taiwan’s special ties with the US have provided a continued security guarantee for Taiwan. However, Taiwan’s dispute over the South China Sea with the US allies in the region has at times created a clash of interests between the US and Taiwan. The US implied that it disagrees with Taiwan’s active involvement over the South China Sea dispute and it openly criticized Taiwanese President’s visit to Taiping Island. Although US President Obama has followed an active policy towards the Asia-Pacific region, the US approach to Taiwan regarding South China Sea is inconsistent and unclear. Nevertheless, the US and Taiwan continued to have special ties since the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and President Reagan’s the Six Assurances act in 1982. Therefore, the US should take Taiwan’s position in South China Sea into consideration.
Furthermore, the US re-balance strategy in the region requires closer ties with Taiwan. However, the rebalancing strategy cannot be evaluated as a type of Cold War containment. Joseph Nye argued that the US containment strategy of the Soviet Union refers to virtually no trade and little social contact. Yet the US currently maintains a massive trade agreement with the PRC and extensive social contact including 157,000 Chinese students at American universities (Joseph S. Nye Jr, “Our Pacific Predicament”, The American Interest, http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2013/2/12/our-pacific-predicament/, March/April 2013).
In conclusion, it is possible to expand on a dialogue for a peaceful solution on the dispute and reduce tension within the South China Sea. In order to achieve this, Taiwan’s active involvement in any type of negotiation related to the South China Sea is necessary. As one the most important economic and military powers in the region, Taiwan’s perspective on the South China Sea dispute should not be neglected.
*Slightly different Turkish version of the article was published in Analist (March 2016, p. 90-93.)
http://www.turkishweekly.net/2016/03/25/comment/taiwan-s-perspective-on-the-south-china-sea-dispute/
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