Historical Elements in the South China Sea Issue

WANG Hanling

Center for Ocean Affairs & the Law of the Sea

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Email: cass_wang@126.com

4th MIMA South China Sea Conference8 & 9 September 2015, Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur

04/19/23

China: Historical elements matter in the South China Sea issue

China: the CSC issue is compounded by “complex historical background” and sensitive political factors, its settlement should be“on the basis of respect for historical facts and international law".

04/19/23

Article 2 of China-Vietnam Agreement on the Basic Principles Guiding the Settlement of Sea-related Matters (2011): History is one of the factors being taken into account in the settlement of the SCS issue. ( the meaning of “history” needs to be interpreted by the two parties)

04/19/23

I. Major Historical Evidence Supporting China's Sovereignty over the Nansha Islands

1. China the first to discover and name the Nansha Islands;2. China the first to develop the Nansha Islands ;3. China the first to exercise jurisdiction over the Nansha Islands (lawful methods of acquisition of sovereignty in international law)

04/19/23

II. International Recognition of China's Sovereignty over the Nansha

Islands • UK, France, Japan, the US, Vietnam, ...• Maps published by many countries around the

world mark the islands in the SCS as part of Chinese territory.

• China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands is recognized in numerous international conferences / by intl' organizations: The 1951 San Francisco Conference on Peace Treaty, The conference of the International Civil Aviation Organization...

04/19/23

The U.S. Map of 1908: Scarborugh Shoal belongs to China (but not the Philippine

s)

04/19/23

Japanese occupation / recovery of Islands

• During WW II, Japan occupied the islands in SCS, including the Nansha Islands in 1939.

• Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and other international documents provide that all the territories Japan had stolen from China should be restored to China, and naturally including the islands in SCS.

• In December 1946, the Chinese gov't used U.S. war ships to send officials to the islands including the Nansha Islands for their recovery.

• In 1952 the Japanese Gov't officially stated that it renounced all its "right, title and claim to Taiwan, Penghu Islands as well as Nansha and Xisha islands", thus formally returning the islands to China.

04/19/23

China's recovery of sovereignty over the SCS islands is part of "the outcomes of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War".

Conclusions

1. China has territorial sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha islands in the SCS, which is supported by ample historical evidence and recognized internationally.

2. Besides international law, historical elements should also be taken into account in the settlement of the SCS issue.