27-12-2023

South China Sea

Why in the news?

China has warned that remnants of a rocket would hit an area in the South China Sea, following the sixth deployment of its most powerful launch vehicle recently.  

About South China Sea:

• It is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland.
• Boundaries: It is bordered by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Vietnam.
• It is connected by the Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by the Luzon Strait with the Philippine Sea (both marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean).
• The South China Sea and the East China Sea together form the China Sea.
• The two major archipelagos are known as the Paracel Islands, controlled by China, and the Spratly Islands.
• Climate: Weather in the sea is tropical and largely controlled by monsoons.
• It is the second most used sea lane in the world. It is a significant trade route for crude oil from the Persian Gulf and Africa through the Strait of Malacca to Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.
• Major Ports: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan.

Importance of South China Sea

• The South China Sea is a major shipping route.
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that over 21% of global trade, amounting to $3.37 trillion, transited through these waters in 2016.
• This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean (Strait of Malacca).
• It is also home to rich fishing grounds that provide for the livelihoods of millions of people across the region.
• More than half of the world's fishing vessels operate in this area.
• The Paracels and the Spratlys may have reserves of natural resources around them.
• There has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighbouring areas.

What is the South China Sea Dispute?

• It is situated just south of the Chinese mainland and is bordered by the countries of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
• The countries have bickered over territorial control in the sea for centuries, but in recent years tensions have soared to new heights.

Reason behind the rise

• The South China Sea is one of the most strategically critical maritime areas and China eyes its control to assert more power over the region.
• Due to its economic and geostrategic importance, the South China Sea becomes a venue of several complex territorial disputes that have been the cause of political as well as military conflict and tension within the region and throughout the Indo-Pacific.

  Nine-dash line:

• China claims by far the largest portion of territory in an area demarcated by its so-called "nine-dash line".
• The line comprises nine dashes, which extend hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of Hainan.

  Source: Reuters