Paper Title
South China Sea Dispute – A Critical Review
Abstract
On the one hand, China claims territorial sovereignty on all the islands falling within the nine-dash line that
stretches deep into the South China Sea. On the other hand the surrounding countries i.e. Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia,
Vietnam consider their sovereignty over these islands as they are nearer to their coastline. On the complaint made by
Philippines, an International Tribunal in Hague has finally declared, in July, 2016 that the large areas of the south china sea
are neutral international waters or the exclusive economic zones of other countries. On this, China has stated to have said
that "we do not accept the jurisdiction in the South China Sea arbitration at the request of Philippines. The Chinese president,
Xi Jinping, said China’s “territorial sovereignty and marine rights” in the seas would not be affected by the ruling. The
tribunal found that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone by interfering with
Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, constructing artificial islands and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from
fishing in the zone. China says it follows a historical precedent set by the “nine-dash line” that Beijing drew in 1947
following the surrender of Japan. The line has been included in subsequent maps issued under Communist rule.
Key Words - South China Sea, Territorial Sovereignty, Surrounding Countries. International Tribunal, Hague, Nine-dashline