EAST ASIAN CONTESTED ISLANDS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R000600040012-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 36
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 15, 2004
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: February 1, 1974
• Content Type: IR

Approve,. Release CI,..5.0875.0060004001,5
Approve,. Release CI,..5.0875.0060004001,5
Approved For Release 2004/10/12 : CIA-RDP85T00875R000600040012-5
East Asian Contested Islands
Secret
Secret
BG 1 RP 74-12
February '1974
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SECRET
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3
South China Sea Islands . . . . . I;
Paracet Cs lands . . . . . . 6
Spratly Islands . . . . . 7
Pratao . . 10
facclesfield and Scarborough Shoal . . ii
Disputed Islands in the Gulf of Thailand ? 12
Senkakus
?
?
Seabed Jurisdictional Issues .
Political Implications and Outlook
? 14
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20
MPS
Following page:
A. East Asian Contested Islands . . 3
13. Contested Islands in the South China Sea 5
C. Paracel Islands . ? ? 6
D. Spratly Islands ? ? ? ? 7
E. Pratas Island ? ? ? ? ? 10
F. Contested Islands in the Gulf of Thailand . 12
G. Senkaku Islands ? ? ? . ? . 14
B. Southeast Asia: Con flic tinj, Continental
Shelf Claims ? . ? ? ? 16
TA ,61.,P.'7
l. Parauoi isla,z(.s . ? ? C
2. ?();;) rat I y Islands . . 7
ir71(02dr3 :in the Gulf of Thz7i i.and
? 12
V.
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ForRelease 2004/10/12 : CIA:RUP55TU13675R00061:1004=2:5--
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Central In Lel 1 i genco Actency
Di rectorate of In tel 1 i gen ce
February 1974
EAST ASIAN CONTESTED ISLANDS
SUMMARY
Recent clashes between the Peoples Republic of China
(PRC) and South Vietnam over the Paracel Islands and the
rush to occupy some of the Spratly Islands by South
Vietnamese and Philippine troops relate to old disputes
but with a new twist -- oil. In the past 5 years,
preliminary geophysical exploration and a few drillings
along the margins of the East Asian Continental Shelf
have heightened expectations that sizable oil deposits
lie beneath the East and South China Seas. The Paracels,
Spratlys, and other islands off the East Asia mainland,
including those in the Gulf of Thailand and the East China
Sea, are now being contested, not for their intrinsic
worth but for their value in determining seabed jurisdiction.
? ? ?
? ? ?
Almost all of the contested islands are without
an indigenous population, and their economic
value -- aside from extraction of guano phosphates
on some -- is virtually nil.
Present international law provides inadequate
guidelines for determining the seaward extension
of land boundaries, either on the continental
shelf or into the deeper waters of semi-enclosed
seas. This shortcoming magnifies the confusion
in the jurisdictional picture of the South China
and East China Seas. The Third International
Conference on the Law of the Sea (LOS), which
convenes in the summer of 1974, may resolve some
of these problems.
SECRET
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If the upcomi n!-.1 LOS Conference adopts treasures
to al locate seabed resources in semi -enci osed
seas , ownershi p of isl ands could be crucial
deferral ring %,./hich coastal state gets the 1 a rg es t
share of the seabed and ts rEseurces
Owners hi p of the islands could becore a major source
of fri c:t i on among the cl aimants even if ? as seems ii ke.ly
there are no further mi ii tary c'l ashes on the Paracel s
pattern. There is an obvious possibility for upset in
Si no-J ananese relations if Tokyo begins oilexploration
acti vi ty I n the Senkakus sector wi thout pri or agreement
with the Chinese. There is also a potential for di s-
rupti on of the Sino-US detente, particularly if Peking
attempts to move against the Nati on al is t garrison on
Prates . Though China's problems with other claimants are
susceptible of negotiation in time, the current surge of
interest in oil exploration off the East Asi an coast may
lead to precipitate and risky actions in some instances.
SECRET
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1 . Contested i sl ands fri nge the East As.' an inai n1 and ,
extendi nq north to south from the west coast of Korea to
the Sou th China Sea and Gulf of Thai 1 and.* All of the
s 1 rinds in dispute are small , mos t are uni nhabi ted , and
only a .few have any economi c si gni fi cance (Ilap A) . In-
terest in them has risen and publ i city over rival cl aims
has grown since 1970 ? fol 1 owl ng release of data i ndi cati ng
the probabi 1 ty of' petroleum resources in the East and
South China Seas . Al though notional presti ce , ni 1 i tary ,
and s trategi c factors are si gni fi cant elements in at least
some of the disputes, the seabed resources issue undoubtedly
is the motive that has fanned controversy and hastened
decisions to seize control of sal-re of these islands.
Petroleum Prospects
2. There is oil beneath the seabed of the South China
and East China Seas. Oil and natural gas are today extracted
off the shores of Sarawak and Brunei, in the southern part
of the South China Sea.** Exploratory drilling in the past
year indicates the probability of deposits off the west
coast of Sabah in East Malaysia, the east coast of West
Malaysia, in the middle of the Gulf of Thai land (an arm of
the South China Sea) , and on the conti nental shelf between
the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Japan in
the East China Sea.
The combined Sarawak c-Ad Bmnef, yrog.uction i. about
300,000 harrrin da and is expecqcd to dmiiile in tho
rv:?xl; a years.
3
SECRET
Appiuveii Fui Rlese 20001-0/42-..-C4A-RET85-T-G0875R00060004001-2-5-
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EaSt Pejall Contested Islands
0
170
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66001111BU MilUn
NANICH AND 11,11INDAI/Y tiro,et SI:NTATION
AUL Nor 1.11:Cr.r3LlAlilLy AUTII IIITATIVI-
Map A
PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Hainan
Tao
Map C
PARACEL
ISLANDS
HONG KONG
MACAO il