scarborough shoal standoff

MANILA, Philippines — Last week the Philippine coast guard inspected some chinese vessels where the navy saw tons of dead giant clams(which can reproduce every after 30years), sharks and other sea creatures. As it is a Philippine territory, our government hold the vessels for further investigation but the china government sent their maritime vessels to get in between the situation. Until they let their fishing vessels go back to their country and the two battle ships remained in the area while the two countries are engaged in finding a peaceful solution to their territorial dispute. The continuing pursuit of their unilateral interests could threaten peace in the region. On the other hand, the option to cooperate in establishing a joint maritime zone for the purpose of resource management and environmental protection is perceived by many as the most desirable solution.

An argument for this alternative is that Scarborough Reef (or shoal) does not qualify as a fully- fledged island and therefore will not be able to generate its own exclusive economic zone or EEZ and/or continental shelf. Under the Law of the Sea Convention, the two countries may, however, declare an area of 12 or even 24 nautical miles in breadth around the Reef as a joint maritime zone.

Zou Keyuan, professor of international law at the University of Lancashire, UK, and research fellow at the National University of Singapore, in his background analysis, Scarborough Reef – a new flashpoint in Sino-Philippine Relations? (1999) described the Reef (referred to as “Huangyan Island” in Chinese) as the biggest atoll in the South China Seas. Although regarded as part of the Zhongsha Islands since 1935, Chinese scholars had neglected to mention it in the traditionally acknowledged group of islands. The bilateral dispute surfaced in 1997 when Filipino naval vessels prevented three Chinese boats from approaching the reef. China then lodged a strong protest.

Several foreign scholars have challenged the inclusion of the Scarborough Reef in the Zhongsha Islands as being “geographically questionable and incorrect despite China’s claim. The Philippine claim is based on Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution that states that the “national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago with all the islands, and waters embraced therein, and all the other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction” – which includes the Scarborough Shoal. Too, the disputed horseshoe-shaped area is proximate to the country as it lies some 230 kilometers from Zambales province.

The claim – that it is a part of Spratly Islands was made as early as the 1970’s when our government occupied seven islands and designated them as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands. Scarborough Reef is north of the Spratlys and lies 348 kilometers beyond the Kalayaan area. Since the 1970’s, Filipino fishermen have been fishing around the area which has also been used in oceanographic, reef structure, and other maritime scientific studies conducted by the University of the Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. It has a lighthouse and it is also used as impact range by defense authorities. Philippine laws on smuggling and illegal fishing have been enforced in the area. Over the past decade or so, China began sailing into the reef to collect shells, sea cucumber, and rare marine species. Approximately 300 ships pass through the vicinity daily.