Legal bases and reality approaches of legal documents on South China Sea disputes by Nguyen Duc Hung

Monday, 06 June 2011 08:59 Nguyen Thi Hang Ngan

In the process of seeking measures to the disputes in the South China Sea, UNCLOS 1982 and the related international legal documents are the creditable legal basis despite their drawbacks. Therefore, the reality approaches are crucial. First, the following article analyzes the pros and cons of taking UNCLOS as the legal basis.

On the one hand, the drawbacks are the lack of dispute terms and the strictness of binding regulations. On the other hand, the advantages were the regulations that the stakeholders could implement to lay legal basis for cooperation and other legal tools that could be used as legal basis in seeking measures to disputes in the South China Sea. Second, the article highlights the importance of geo-political factors and the powers’ relation in proposing the reality approaches. Geo-political factors are the issues related to national territories, natural resources, power division and legacy from the World War II and the Cold War. At the moment, the US and China hold different basic views of that China wants to claim its sovereignty over the South China Sea. Thus, with the characteristics of the issue, we should take these reality approaches as follow: (1) We should mainly rely on our own ability as well as the international support. (2) The dispute resolution should be put in the context of relations of Vietnam, China, the US and ASEAN. (3) The noble approach should be proposed to be appropriate to the current situation. (4) While we avoid military battle, we will actively response to the possible invasion situations.

ABSTRACT

Newer news items:

New actors and thoughts in Chinese foreign policy and its implications to Vietnam in South China Sea, by Nguyen Minh Ngoc[20/06/2011 09:52]

Older news items:

Sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands of the Phillipines, by Vo Xuan Vinh[06/06/2011 08:55]
How China uses international law in South China Sea disputes, by Nguyen Thi Lan Anh[06/06/2011 08:54]
Legal status of islands in the delimitation of sea ares by A/Prof. Nguyen Ba Dien[06/06/2011 08:35]
Abstract: Historical and scientific evidences rejecting China’s claim[02/06/2011 02:53]

Second National Conference, April 2011

New actors and thoughts in Chinese foreign policy and its implications to Vietnam in South China Sea, by Nguyen Minh Ngoc

The purpose of this paper by Nguyen Minh Ngoc is to analyze the actors and new thoughts in Chinese foreign policy and implications of China’s policies for South China Sea. The author would like to offer readers with the policy-making process of new foreign policy of China, which helps Vietnamese more aware of the situation and find appropriate solutions.

Legal bases and reality approaches of legal documents on South China Sea disputes by Nguyen Duc Hung

Sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands of the Phillipines, by Vo Xuan Vinh

Sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea in general and in the Spratly Islands in particular have become a hot security issue not only in Southeast Asia but also in Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines is one of the six parties that claim sovereignty over parts of the Spratly Islands. The paper's author Vo Xuan Vinh exposes the process of the Philippines’ claims on the Spratly Islands and analyses of its legal basis. To perform this study, the authors analyzed the occurrences and data from 1950 to 2011 on the Philippines’ claim on the Spratly Islands and its process of claiming. Moreover, the author indicates the advantages and disadvantages of the Philippines’ claims on the Spratly Islands. Besides the advantages like geographic proximity and actual control over islands in the Spratly Islands, the Philippines lacks many important legal basis to assert these islands belong to them if they submit the disputes to the International Court of Justice.

Abstract

How China uses international law in South China Sea disputes, by Nguyen Thi Lan Anh

How China uses international law in South China Sea disputes by Nguyen Thi Lan Anh

In the process of materializing its hegemonic ambitions in the South China Sea, China has always shown concerns and wishes to use international law as the basis for their claims in the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands as well as the claims of sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the waters within its U-shaped line. In fact, the Chinese has given a lot of arguments and cited the legal elements as well as historical evidence to explain the claims which appear to be logical but still arouse much ambiguity and doubt. From the legal aspects, the following article carefully analyzed the legal basis that China put forward to explain their claims of sovereignty in accordance with articles from sources of international law, especially UNCLOS, as well as carefully considered the historical evidences so as to come to the conclusions as follow: (1) statements about the legal basis and the respect for international law of China in the South China Sea’s dispute seems to merely exist in words (2), what China claims remains vague and lacks legal basis, or they simply have no legitimacy as China’s always explained. It can be referred from the article that South China Sea, or else it’s merely the application of another "international law” which is different from the common understanding of the international community.

ABSTRACT

Legal status of islands in the delimitation of sea ares by A/Prof. Nguyen Ba Dien

Learning about the legal status of islands in the delimitation of sea areas helps identify which legal status for the two Paracel and Spratly islands related to spatial planning in the South China Sea. This document, based on the analysis of the United Nations Convention Law of the Sea 1982 linking with two islands: Paracel and Spratly, comes to confirm: “Paracel and Spratly” islands are not "archipelagos" or "archipelagic States" so people can not establish the baselines for these islands. According to that, there can only be internal waters and territorial waters for these islands. After conducting the study, three legal requirements have been raised: 1) Affirming the islands in two areas Paracel and Spratly belongs to Vietnam, 2) Reaffirming the fact that Paracel and Spratly Islands have no exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of their own; 3) Not Allowing to draw "archipelagic baselines" for each island and give the Chinese side a pretext to strengthen "U-shaped line” claim. This paper is an important contribution on the legal path toward Vietnam's sovereignty claims over the East Sea.

Abstract: Historical and scientific evidences rejecting China’s claim

Historical and scientific evidences rejecting China’s claim and proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, by Han Nguyen Nguyen Nha, History Ph.D

The South China Sea disputes have lasted for 40 years. But in the recent months, those disputes have been escalated suddenly because of China’s initiatives claiming its sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands. China has produced a series of proofs to claim its national interest in the South China Sea. Some of the South East Asia nations, including Vietnam, have made no concession to China.

The study of the author points out the historical and scientific evidences from both Vietnam and China in order to prove that the arguments that China use to claim their sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly were unfounded. With the historical method, the author demonstrates that through all of history periods, Vietnam’s sovereignty was definitely proved and all arguments of China were extremely inaccurate.

The study is divided into two parts: Historical evidences (in both Vietnam and China history), scientific basis to reject China’s claims including the Chinese “U-shaped” line map which was submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf of United Nations. The author hopes that it would bring a bright future in solving Vietnamese-Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea.