POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000300180011-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 15, 2012
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: December 1, 1976
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

O U mn-
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Philippine Geographical Journal Vo1XX, No. 4 (Oct-Nov-Dec, '76)
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
by
WOLFGANG SENFTLEBENI
Karl Haushofer in his geopolitical "masterpiece ="Creopolitik des
Pazifischen Ozeans"2 (Geopolitics of the Pacific Ocean) was one of the
first geographers to draw significant attention to ? the strategic im-
portance of the South China Sea in the nineteen twenties.. Already his
earlier work on "Dai Nippon Be:trachtungen Uber Japans Weltkraft,
Weltstellung and Zukunft"3 (Dai Nippon - Reflections on Japan's world
power, world position and future development) stressed. on the vital
position of the South China Sea area for Japan's, supply line. In -fact,
Japanese politicians and military authorities studied Haushofer's geo-
political theories carefully and realized that any country that establishes
dominance. over the South . China Sea islands group will be well placed
for easy reach.. to countries- in the region as the . Japanese had so
effectively demonstrated at the beginning of the Pacific War. During
the post-World. War II period, the South China Sea. was one. of. the
most neglected ocean areas serving somehow as a "buffer zone" between
the spheres of interest of the .pre-War. world powers of. China,. France
(Indochina),. GreatBritain (Borneo. Territories), and the United States
of America (Philippines). . it was only, in the early 1970s that the
importance of.. the Paracel, . Spratly, Pratas and Macclesfield island
groups in the South China Sea had been rediscovered thatresulted in
military and diplomatic, clashes between the countries concerned. The
principal reasons for. the sudaen awakening of interest in the area can
be sL.en in the recent off-shore oil discoveries in the continental shelf
of the South China Sea and the impending revision of. the International
maritime law which may augment the. importance of island regimes
for. economic exploitation. The following -treatise. tries: (1) to sum-
marize the development and events of the last three years; (2) to
analyse the conflicting nature of sovereignty claims by the neighbor-
ing countries.. and the historical, legal and geographical background to
such. territorial claims; and (3) to offer solutions to the. conflict.
1 Visiting Associate Professor at the Research Institute of Geography (graduate
school), National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.
2 Haushofer, K. (1924) : "Geopolitik des PazifiEchen Ozeans"; Berlin.
8 Haushofer, K. (1913) "Dai-Nippon Betrachtungen Uber Japans Weltkraft,
Welts wiuing una ZukuniL".;. Berlin in German). ..
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164 THE PHILIPPINE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL VOL. 20
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND DE FACTO POSITION
The South China Sea, often simply also called China Sea, is en-
closed by Southeastern China, Indo-china (Vietnam), the Malay Penin-
sula and Borneo (Malaysia), the Philippines and Formosa (Taiwan) ;
and consists of four major archipelagos: Paracels, Spratlys, Pratas and
Macclesfield Banks.
a) The Paracel Archipelago. - Webster's Geographical Dictionary
gives the following antiquated definition:
"The Paracel islands (Japanese : Hirata Gunto ; Chinese :
Hsi Shan Chuntao ; Vietnamese : Hong Sa) is a group of
small islets and reefs in the South China Sea, about 250
miles east of Central Annam (Vietnam) claimed by France
and Japan, occupied. by Japan in 1939 and returned to
China after World War II".
The Paracel group at present is claimed by Vietnam (as a suc-
cessor state of the former French Indo-China) and China, represented
by the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China on Taiwan
has voiced a similar claim not as a third party, but as the "only legal and
elected government for all-China" in pursuance of her "one-China-
policy".
Red China is currently in de facto possession of the Paracels.
Their close proximity to the Southern island of Hainan gives the Para-
eels the function of a "glacis" area. The territorial dispute inherited
from the pre-War period was activated again in January 1974 when
China and Thieu's South Vietnam fought a 100-minute war on land and
sea in the Paracels: The South Vietnamese navy sank a 700T Chinese
gunboat and lost, one of its own ships. On 20th January, 1974 Chinese
forces ' overrun all Vietnamese positions. The Peking-based "New China
News Agency" reported one year later, that a "revolutionary committee"
has been established on the islands and the Kwangchow Song and Dance
Ensemble had given a performance on the Yunghsing Island. In Novem-
ber 1975, Peking's cultural magazine "Guang Ming" devoted a full-page
report on the Paracels which was directed towards Hanoi. With the
Communist seizure of power in South Vietnam the long-standing dispute
did not disappear or diminish, but the re-united Vi=etnam was diligent
in publishing a map of Vietnam showing those islands as Vietnamese
territory. Vietnam apparently receives Soviet-Russian support, since
Russia with her world-wide socio-imperialistic ambitions has a vital in-
terest in the South China Sea being free from Chinese domination.
b) The Spratly archipelago. - The Spratly archipelago (Chinese:
Nan Sha Chuntao; Vietnamese: Truong Sa) consists of four separate
main atoll groups with. more than 200 single islets. Only two of them
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OCT.-DEC., 1976 THE POLITICAL GEOG. OF SOUTH CHINA SEA 165
reportedly are settled with semi-permanent population (mostly fisher-
men and military personnel) with the rest being uninhabited due to
shortage of drinking water and adversative physical conditions. These
shoals and reefs scattered over a large ocean area, are only a few
feet above sea level and do not provide protection against inundations
and typhoon destructions. The geographical location is approximately
280 nautical miles from Camranh Bay (Vietnam), 775 miles northeast
of Singapore, 200 miles from Manila, 700 miles from mainland China
(Kwangtung) and 1100 miles south of Taiwan.
The Spratly archipelago is claimed by the Republic of China on
Taiwan who occupies the principal part of the area, by Communist
China, Vietnam, and with certain reservations, by the Philippines. Ma-
laysia who is the nearest neighbor to the largest Spratly island, has
not claimed the area. The Nationalist Chinese have stationed a gar-
rison on Itu Aba or Taiping island in the Spratlys since 1946; the mili-
tary equipment includes two barracks, 5 canons, a generator for elec-
tricity and a weather station. The garrison whose number is not dis-
closed officially might be around 500 according to Taipei news reports.
From time to time, the National Chinese Ministry of Defence issues
a statement,that her armed forces still continue to occupy the Taiping
island in the Spratlys.4 In February 1974 Thieu's South Vietnam sent
a task force to the islands close to the Vietnamese coast to beef-up
off-shore oil exploration in the Gulf of Siam. The Communist govern=
ment in Vietnam followed the steps of their predecessors and landed a
force there to relieve the military garrison. Hanoi's newspaper "Quan
Doi Nizzapnh" boosted in a front-page article that "concrete programs
are now under way to defend the islands". The unified. Vietnam com-
mands one of the strongest navies in the region, but until now, no
naval clash has occurred in the Spratlys. The Philippines aim is directed
towards economic .exploitation of the. continental shelf. In May 1976,
a Philippine Foreign Office statement disclosed massive oil explorations
in the Reed Bank which sparked off a strong-worded protest by China,
Taiwan and Vietnam.
BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM
The recent revival of the long-standing dispute over the South
China Sea must be seen on the background of the following events :
a) Third Conference on the law of the sea. - In 1973 the United
Nations started to formulate a new maritime law with far-reaching
4 A spokesman of the MND said "the Chinese government garrison on Itu
Aba in the Spratly group were not attacked. He made the remarks in answering
a press query on a foreign wire service dispatch, claiming that Viet-tong troops
had "liberated" the islands. The Chinese troops are still stationed only on Itu
Aba... the government remains in touch several times a day with the garrison
troops, all is quiet - nor did they sight any intruder."
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166 THE PHILIPPINE. GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL VOL. 20
consequences for the majority of nations.' Although a final agreed
text has not been codified it seems certain to bring about an extension
of the `territorial water' from the present 3 miles to 12 miles and a
further 200 miles exclusive `economic zone'. Red China has unilaterally
extended the area under her jurisdiction to 200 miles through National
legislation which would incorporate most of the disputed South China
Sea islands. According to International law, a country in legal posses:
sion of the islands, would be entitled to establish a 12 miles `territorial
water' and a 200 miles `economic zone' around each principal island
which virtually would convert the South China Sea into a mare,.clausum
with only a few sea lane left for navigation. According to current law,
low-tide elevations do not create a `territorial water', but several Pacific
.and Indian Ocean nations are pressing hard that reefs, atolls, lagoons,
etc. should be conferred the same right even if submerged at mean
low . water.
b) Oil exploration. - The South China Sea is one of the potential
.areas for oil exploration and almost a dozen fields are already yielding
oil. Major known oil fields have been reported from West Malaysia
(east of Dungun and Kuala Trengganu), Sarawak (Lutong, Baram, Ba-
kau, and Baronia-fields), Brunei (Seria, Ampa-fields), Sabah (Tem-
bungo, Erb-West, and Semarang-fields), Vietnam (Mekong Delta), and
the Philippines (Reed Bank off Palawan- islands). Most of the South
.China Sea is within the continental shelf of Southeast Asia and does
not present technical problems for drilling and exploitation.
c) Major world shipping route. Unlike the Yellow and East
.China Sea, the South China Sea is one of the . world's strategic water
-ways with particular vital interest for Japan. With the reopening of
the Suez Canal in June 1975 the importance as it major shipping route
,has even increased, since most of the pre-1975 traffic between Europe
and. the Far East has. been diverted through the Straits of Lombok
and Philippine Sea. The. prospected cut through the Isthmus of Kra
in Southern Thailand would further strengthen 'the South.China 'Sea
route.
PRINCIPLES FOR DETERMINATION OF SOVEREIGNTY
The following principles to determine sovereignty or rights of
ownership can be brought up:
a) self-determination (of the local population through a plebiscite) ;
b) cultural, ethnic or geographical affinity;
5 see: WHITTMORE BOGGS (1951) : "National claims in adjacent seas'.'; Geogra-
phical Review. G.E. PEARCY (1959) : "Geographical aspects of the law of the
.sea"; A.A.A.G. ARCHER & BEAZLEY (1975) : "The geographical implications of
the law of the sea conference"; Geographical Journal. HEROLD, D. (1975) : "Die
dritte Seefahrtskonferenz der Vereinten Nationen"; Die Erde, 106 Jg., Heft 4,
pp. 277-290.
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c) annexation by prescriptive right or customary law;
d) historic rights or colonial connections; and
e) legal title through treaties or conventions
None of these criteria gives a clear indication how the South China
Sea dispute is to be settled. Most bi-lateral or international treaties
are not clear or do not specifically, refer to the South China Sea, but
rather delineate the respective zones of their interest. The case is
further complicated since more than half a dozen countries with dif-
ferent political and idiological orientation are affected.
a) The right of self-determination, one of the principal tenets
of the United Nations when granting independence to colonial areas,
cannot find consideration in the South China Sea dispute. Except for
the two largest islands in the Spratly group, the area has no indi-
genous population due to shortage of drinking-water. According to
Taiwanese informations, there is a population of approximately 1000
on the Spratlys, including a Nationalist Chinese garrison stationed on
the largest island of the group. The majority of inhabitants can be
classified as semi-permanent settlers, mainly fisherman without their
families. Except,for the short Japanese occupation, the islands never
have been under colonial domination.6
b) Cultural, ethnic and geographical affinity. - The present popu-
lation of the Paracel and Spratly islands is purely Chinese with origin
from the southern Kwantung province. A number of French set-
tlers' living there before the War had ' been forced to leave in 1939
when Japan occupied the area. There is a Chinese Taoist temple on
.the Spratlys, and Chinese naturalists reportedly have unearthed a slab
in the Paracels which is to prove Chinese presence on the islands since
the last seventy years. For multiple reasons, however, cultural af-
finity cannot justify ownership claims as many African and Asian
examples have shown in the past.
_c) Annexation by prescriptive right. - Military ; occupation and
de facto exercise of power over a long period leads frequently to the
deduction of de jure ownership rights, as the Israeli example demons-
trates. This also explains why Taiwan has. stationed a garrison on
Taiping island in the Spratlys since the last twenty years. After the
military occupation of the Paracels, Red China has set up . a "revolu-
tionary people's committee" to. consolidate her administrative and poli-
tical power. The landing of a North Vietnamese expeditionary force
on some other Spratly island seems to serve the same purpose. Except
G A number of useful geographical informations on the Paracel. and Spratly
islands are- contained in the Chinese-language weekly periodical NEWSDON (Sinwen
Tienti weekly), No. 1360 and 1365 of 1974.
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for the Paracels' naval clash between Thieu's South Vietnam and Com-
munist China in January, 1974 no open military provocation between
the parties concerned has occurred, and the present aim is to maintain
the status quo in the region.
d)..Historical connections between the South China Sea and the
Chinese mainland date back to the end of the SUNG-Dynasty (1127-
1289 A.D.) when a Chinese military unit was temporarily stationed
there for the first time. During the MING-Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.)
the South China Sea was officially claimed as Chinese territory and the
local fishing population paid tribute to the Chinese emperor. The
Chinese admiral CHENG-KO was sent to take possession of the South
China Sea islands. CHENG-HO's seven naval expeditions _ (1405-1431
A. D.) took Chinese explorers as far as Indonesia and Africa. Coins
have been discovered in. the Paracels that date from the period of
emperor MING CHEN. Since republican time the South China Sea
was. administered from Kwangtung province and formed the. `Hainan
Special Administration District'. But China's influence in the area
diminished in the twenties due to civil war and internal disintegration.
LEGAL SITUATION AND TREATIES
The relationship between Imperial China and her southern neigh-
bour of Indo-China was regulated by a treaty signed in June 1887
between China and France the colonial power of former Indo-china.
France has delineated her sphere of influence by drawing line at
the 108 of longitude with an eastward recess along the Annamese
coast. The treaty, however, does not specifically refer to the disputed
ownership of the South China Sea, since British and Spanish interest
had to be taken into consideration. In the nineteenthirties when China
was impoverished through internal trouble, France took again the initia-
tive and made a formal declaration against Chinese immigration into
the area. Instead, France encouraged French settlers to emigrate to
the Spratlys. When the Philippine archipelago was ceded by Spain to
the United States of America in December 1898 in the Peace Treaty
of Paris, the 118? was designated as the dividing line, with
the Spratly and Pratas archipelago located outside the "International
treaty limits" or the "historic waters of the Philippines". Britain
as the protecting power in Northern Borneo (and Malaysia as the sue-
cessor state)' never laid any claim to the Spratlys although being the
closest neighbour.
The Paracel group was occupied by Japanese forces in 1939, the
Spratlys in June 1940. Both areas were subsequently made a sub-
marine base, since then they have been of military and strategic im-
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OcT.-DEC., 1976 THE POLITICAL GEOG. OF SOUTH CHINA SEA 169
portance to several nations. The U.S.A. used the Pratas islets for the
surveillance of shipping routes during the 'Vietnam War and planted
seismic detectors on. the ocean's ground. The Republic of China under-
cook a naval exercise on Tungsha Chuntao (Pratas Islands) in 1975
and landed several amphibian planes there. The Sovjetunion has used
the Macclesfield Bank repeatedly for naval operations. During the
Pacific War, the largest island of the Spratlys was developed econo-
mically. The Japanese constructed a light railway, a meat cannery, and
a supply centre, but all the installations were bombed and completely
destroyed at the end of the War.
After Japan's surrender in 1945 all the South China Sea posses-
sions were returned to the Republic of China and the Sino-Japanese
Peace Treaty of April 1952 signed in Taipei gave China full sovereignty
over the islands. It must be stressed, however, that this was a bi-
lateral agreement lacking broad international recognition. The South
China Sea problem was brought again on the agenda at the Conference
of San Francisco in 1951. Vietnam (at that time represented by
France) renewed her claim to the islands and none of the 51 parti-
cipating countries objected to it. The Republic of China (after her
retreat from the mainland to Taiwan) was not present at the 'Con-
ference.
An excellent summary of facts and commentary on People's China's
political bearing on international and territorial problems provides
COHEN & CHIU's work in two volumes on "People's China and Inter-
national Law" which traces back with loving care China's attitude
towards off-shore islands in the . South China Sea.7
ARCHIPELAGIC THEORY AND SEMI-ENCLOSED SEA
The Communist Chinese regime in Peking (P.R. China) and the
Nationalist Chinese. government based in Taipei (R.O.C.) are aligned
in claiming Chinese sovereignty over the. entire region of the South
China Sea, including the Paracel, Spratly, Pratas and Macclesfield archi-
pelagoes. Peking's People's Atlas of China (1954) as well as Taipei's
`National Atlas of China' (published by the National War College, Taipei,
1971) show the same kind of cartographic expansionism with regard
to the., South China Sea and the boundary line includes all the ocean
area which is not in accordance with the practice of International
maritime law; see figure 1).
The principle of mare clausum was pursued in the Middle Ages by
many seafaring nations, like Venice, Genoa, Sweden, Denmark and even
7 COHEN, J.A. & CHIU, H. (1974) : "People's China and International Law -
A Documentary Study in two volumes"; Princeton University Press.
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170 THE PHILIPPINE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL VoL. 20
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England, and culminated in the division of oceans of the world between
Spain and Portugal in 1493. It was oinly'with the defeat of the Spanish
Armada in 1588 that the Iberian kingdoms ceased to have power to
enforce their claims. Subsequently, the interest of the Dutch and
English with their large commercial fleets was directed towards the
"Freedom of the High Sea". This principle was developed and formu-
lated by Hugo Grotius in his 1609 work on' "Mare Librum"8 and still
forms one of the basic tenets of the, current maritime law.
On the other hand, the Archipelagic Concept which has been pro-
pagated by the Philippines, Mauritius, Fiji and Indonesia at the U.N.
Third Conference on the Law of the Sea, but may possibly find similar
application to other archipelagic states like Micronesia, Bahamas, Sey-
chelles or Maldives, aims to `draw a straight baseline along the outer-
most islands of their coastal archipelagoes which would convert all
waters enclosed into `territorial water' under the full jurisdiction of
the respective State. The Archipelagic Principle, if formally adopted
8 Grotius, H. (1609) : "Mare Libruxn"; Leiden. -. _
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cepted by the majority of States implies that,
by the United Nations, cannot find any consideration in respect to
the South China Sea problem.
Although no clearcut definition for the delimitation of archipelagoes
has been agreed 'at, there is a mutual consensus 'of opinion that main-
land states should not- be entitled to apply the Archipelagic. Concept
to their archipelagoes or off-shore. islands forming part of a coastal
state.1? A similar case is.the Canadian, claim, to. sovereignty over the
waters of the Arctic.
The Spratly, Paracel and Pratas island groups in the strict sense
cannot be regarded as genuine archipelagoes since the definition ac-
"those component islands and other natural features form an
intrinsic geographical, economic and political entity, and histo-
rically have or may have been regarded as such".
The Chinese position of claiming the South China Sea as internal waters
of China, whether voiced by Peking or by Taipei, has no legal justifica-
tion and is not consistent with International law. The Red Chinese
working paper on "sea. areas within the limits of national jurisdiction"
submitted by the Chinese delegation to the U.N. Third Conference on
the Law of the Seall underlines such claims to. the South. China Sea,
.but is less rigid than previous statements and leaves a margin; for
possible mutual negotiations.
According to the "Informal Single Negotiating Text" of the United
Nations Third Conference on the Law of the Sea (1975)12 the South
China Sea could be best classified under the category of "Enclosed
and Semi-enclosed Seas" (part IX, articles i33-135).
? For further reading on the Archipelagic- Theory consult: COQUIA . (1962) :
"The Territorial Waters of Archipelagoes"; Phil. Int'l. Law J., No. 149; KLEIN
(1966) : "The Territorial Waters of Archipelagoes"; Fed. B.J. 317; RAJAN, H.P.
(1973) : "Towards Codification of Archipelagoes in International Law"; Indian J.
Int'l. Law (New Delhi), No. 13, pp. 468-480; FRANSSEN, M.K.T. (1973) : "The
Archipelagic Principle"; Oceanus (Mass.), No. 17, pp. 14-17; RAJAN, H.P. (1974) :
"The 1973 Draft Articles on Archipelagoes by Fiji, Indonesia, Mauritius and the
Philippines analysed"; Indian J. Int'l. Law, No. 14, pp. 230-244; AMERASINGHE,
C.F. (1974) : "The Problem of Archipelagoes in the International Law of the Sea";
Int'l. Comp. Law Quart.; London, No. 23, pp. 539-575; TOLENTINO, A. (1975) :
Archipelagic Theory and the Law of the Sea"; Philippine Geogr. Journal, Vol. 19,
No. 4, pp. 158-170.
10 U.N. THIRD CONFERENCE ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1974) : "Canada,
Chile, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, and Norway: work-
ing paper; Symbol No. A/CONF. 62/L.4 of 26 July 1974.
11 U.N. THIRD CONFERENCE' ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1973) : "Work-
ing paper on sea area within the limits of national jurisdiction", submitted by the
Chineso delegation; "Symbol No. A/AC.138/SC.II/L.34 of 16th July 1973.
12 U.N. THIRD CONFERENCE ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1975) : "In-
formal Single Negotiating Text", part II; Symbol No. A/CONF.62/WP.8/Part II,
of 7th May 1975, Articles 133-135.
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172 THE PHILIPPINE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL VOL. 20
Based on historical grounds, the Philippines' point of view seems
to be the weakest and is of different nature than the other claimants.
In contrast to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, the Philippines do not claim
the entire Spratly archipelago, but only those off-shore islands on the
continental shelf close to the Philippine coast.
The Philippines virtually occupies and claims four Spratly islands
on the ground that they were res nullius and did not belong to any
country since the islands are uninhabited consisting mainly of shoals
and shallow banks. Therefore the United Nations' Convention on Con-
tinental Shelves of 1958 should be applicable to grant the Philippines
the exclusive right of economic exploitation of the continental shelf.
With the new international maritime law in the offing, the Philip-
pines would receive a 200 nautical miles' exclusive economic zone be-
yond and adjacent to the territorial sea for the exploitation of renewable
and non-renewable natural resources, but on the condition that the
ocean area is considered a res nullius. The continental shelf of the
South China Sea could be consequently divided among the claimants
according to the "principle of equidistance" by drawing a "median line",
i.e. the line every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points
of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea of each
State is measured.
The Philippines strongly oppose the application of historical grounds
for resolving the South China Sea issuey which is in contrast to her
position in the dispute about Sabah. All of the South China Sea
islands, except for the Stewart Bank, are located outside of the "his-
toric waters of the Philippines" (so-called International treaty limits)
which according to the Philippine Constitution15 forms the National
boundary of the country. To make it clear once again, the Philip-
pines do not claim the four Spratly islands as a sovereign part of their
National territory, but demand the right of the exclusive exploitation
of natural resources in accordance with International and- National
laws.14
The Philippines' claim dates back to 1946 when it was voiced
in the United Nations General Assembly, and was repeated periodically
13 Article 1 of the New Philippine Constitution reads as follows: "The national
territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters em-
braced therein, and all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic
right or legal title, including the territorial sea, the air space, the subsoil, the sea-
bed, the insular shelves, and the other submarine areas over which the Philippines
has sovereignty or jurisdiction. The waters around, between, and connecting the
islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions, form part
of the internal waters of the Philippines."
14 Fisheries Act of the Philippines, 1932; Petroleum Act of the Philippines, June
18, 1949, No. 45 Official Gazette.
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in 1950, 1956 and 1971, i.e. shortly after Taiwan lost her.seat in the
United Notions in favor of Mainland China. The. dispute became
heated up again in mid-1976 when the Philippines officially disclosed
that a Swedish-Filipino oil exploration firm had started oil drilling
in the area of Litetan (Reed Banks) approximately 250 miles northeast
of the Spratlys and 200 miles off the Philippine island of Palawan.
In contrast to the East China and Yellow seas which leave some
hope for a partial solution in the three-cornered boundary dispute be-
tween China, Korea and Japan, the chances for a settlement in the
South China Sea dispute are remote. Taking the issue to the Inter-
national Court of Justice at The Hague may not bring satisfaction to
the litigant parties as it was illustrated by the border settlement
between Thailand and Cambodia in the late 1940s. Any arbitration
by the World Court would be further complicated because of the dif-
ferent nature of claims and the fact that the decision 'of the Court
has no binding force since there is no rule of stare decisis in inter-
national law. There has been no equivocation in the Chines,-. position
towards the South China Sea and there is little he, -' 'r..Peking
would eventually settle for an equidistant liner" .ud greatly
favor the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam at the"ci;eiises of China
and Taiwan. Taking the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries Case as a prece-
dent, which led to the North Sea demarcation between Norway, Den-.
mark, Great Britain and West Germany, there is very little hope for
similar application, because it involves negotiations between all parties
concerned. With the Communist takeover in South Vietnam and the
establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philip-
pines, the possibility of direct discussions between the parties in an
atmosphere of mutual respect and undei~ }handing has been greatly in-
creased. The trip of Philippines' Foreign Secretary, Mr. Carlos Romulo
to Peking in June 1976 was certainly a first step in this direction.
1. Petroleum experts share the view that Asia's future oil ex-
ploration would be focused on the South China Sea region. Large-scale
exploitation of oil and natural gas, however, is only feasible in a clearly.
defined sovereign territory. There is little prospect for a joint oil
policy or possible coordination of oil exploration in the South China
Sea. The "Committee for Co-ordination of Joint Prospecting for M neral
Resources in Asian off-shore Areas" (CCOP/East Asia) founded in 1966
under the auspices of the U.N. regional agency ESCAP with the nine
member states of Indonesia, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines,
South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, has not become active
in this respect.
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4 w
2. With - the Communist victories in Indo-china and the Chinese
conquest of the Paracels, the South China Sea has, become a domain
of Communist nations. China's claim is generally judged the strongest
and it is believed that Peking will not retreat a single step from her
stand, for this would compromise China's position in other border dis-
putes. There is little hope that China would settle down on a com-
promise, say an equidistant line, or accept the arbitration of the World
Court.
3. On the other hand, the Sovjetunion has a vital interest that the
South China Sea does not completely fall into Chinese possession and
is therefore backing Vietnam's claim. The South China Sea issue
bears all the dangers of a potential military clash between a strong
united Vietnam and her northern neighbour.
4. All parties have enough reason to keep the issue at low-profile
and to maintain the status quo. A Red Chinese attack on Nationalist
Chinese forces in the Spratlys seems unlikely unless such an opera-
tion . is c, - ainated with an all-out assault on Taiwan. Vietnam simi-
larly vvZ`. _ _ --to expel Taiwan from the Spratlys since mainland % China could idle.
5. It is in the interest of the region if the territorial dispute can
be solved. through negotiations and peaceful means. If the nations in-
volved cannot. compromise on a spatial division of their sovereignty
rights, there should be a modus vivendi for a joint exploitation of re-
sources in situ for the benefit of the entire. area.
REFERENCES
ARCHER, A.A. & BEAZLEY, P.B. (1975) "The Geographical Implications of the
Law of the. `Sea Conference" ; Geographical Journal, London, vol. 141, ' part 1,
March, pp. 1-13
ARIFF, M.O. (1970): "The Philippines Claim to Sabah - its historical, legal and
political implications"; Singapore . .
BELL, K.E. & THOMAS, G.G. (1973) : "The Straits of Malacca in Relation to Prob-.
lems of the Indian Ocean"; Singapore
BEYER, H.O. (1948) : "Early History of Philippine Relations with Foreign Coun-
tries, especially China"; Manila: Nat. Printing Company
BONIFACY, A.L.M. (1931) : "A propos d'une collections de peinture chinoises re-
presentant divers episode de la guerre france-chinoise de 1884-85 servees a l'Ecole:
francaise d'Extreme-Orient; Hanoi .
CHINA PUBLISHING COMPANY (1975): "China Yearbook 1975'.';., Taipei
CHO, HUAN-LAI (1935) : "Les origin du conflict franco-chinoise a propos du
Tonkin jusqu'en 1883; Paris
COHEN, J.A. & CHIU, H. (1974) : "People's China and International Law: A docu-
mentary study in two volumes"; Princeton University Press
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CONGRESS OF MICRONESIA (1973) : "Law of the Sea - The preliminary Micro-
nesian Position"; prepared by Joint Committee on the Law of the Sea," Fifth
Congress of Micronesia; Saipan, Marianas
COQUIA (1962).: "The Territorial Waters. of Archipelagoes"; Phil. Int'l. Law.
Journal, No. 149
CRAWFURD, J. (1971) "A descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adja-
cent Countries"; London:? Oxford- University Press
DAS, C.V. (1973) : "Oil Discoveries and Technical Change in Southeast Asia";
Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW (1975) : "Asia Year Book 1976"; Hongkong
HAUSHOFER, KARL (1924) : "Geopolitik des Pazifischen Ozeans", Berlin
KLEIN (1966) : "The Territorial Waters of Archipelagoes"; Fed. B. Journal, vol 26,
No. 317
LAY, CHURCHILL, NORDQUIST (1973) : "New Directions in the Law of the
Seas", in three volumes; Oceana publications, published by the British Institute
of International. and Comparative Law; London
NATIONAL ATLAS OF CHINA (1964): "South China", volume IV, published by
the National War College, Yang Min Shan, Taipei, Taiwan
NEWSDOM (Sinwen Tienti weekly) ; Hongkong, No. 1360, 1974, pp. 4-6; and-
No. 1365, 1974, pp. 4-5 (in Chinese) -.
OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA of the South China Sea; published by the.Institute of
Oceanography, Special Publication No.. 2, Taipei, Taiwan, 1972
PEARCY, G.E..(1959): "Geographical Aspects of.the Law of the Sea"; Annals of
the Association of American Geographers, 'vol. 49, No.. 1, March, pp. 1-23
PHILIPPINES NATIONAL HISTORICAL COMMISSION (1969):- "Symposium on
Sabah"; Manila
PRESCOTT, J.R.V. (1965) : "The Geography of Frontiers and Boundaries"; London:
Hutchison University Library
PRESCOTT, J.R.V. (1,975): "The Political Geography of the Oceans"; Newton Abbot:
David and Charles, Series: Problems in Modern Geography
SENFTLEBEN, W. (1972) : "Ein Kanal durch die Landenge von Kra ?"; Zeitschrift
fur Wirtschaftsgeographic, Hagen, vol. 7, pp. 206-7
SUN, YAT-SEN (1953) : "The Vital Problems of China"; Taipei (reprinted)
TANG, MIN' -(19.74): "Exploration of off-shore `Oil in Asia"; Issues & Studies, a
monthly journal of Communist problems and world affairs, vol. X, December,
No. 15
TOLENTINO, A.M. (1975) : "Archipelagic Theory and the Law of the Sea"; Phil-
ippine Geographical Journal, vol. XIX, No. 4, pp. 158-170
WHITTWORE BOGGS, S. (1951) : "National Claims in Adjacent Seas"; Geogra-
phical Review, New York, vol. XLI, No. 2, pp. 185-209
WRIGHT, L.R. (1963) : "British Policy in the South China Sea Area - with special
reference to Sarawak, Brunei and North Borneo, 1860-1888", London School
of Oriental and African Studies. Ph.D. thesis
UNITED NATIONS THIRD CONFERENCE ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1973):
"Working paper on sea area within the limits of national jurisdiction submitted
by the Chinese delegation," Symbol No.: A/AC.138/SC.II/L.34 of 1.6 July 1973
UNITED NATIONS THIRD CONFERENCE ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1973) :
"Archipelagic principles as proposed by the delegations of Fiji, Indonesia, Mauri-
tius and Philippines;" Symbol No. A/AC.138/SC.II/L.15 of 14 March 1973
UNITED NATIONS THIRD CONFERENCE ON THE LAW OF THE SEA (1973) :
"Informal Single Negotiating Text", part II; Symbol No. A/CONF.62/WP.8/
Part II of 7 May 1975
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SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SQUATTER,
AND SLUM COMMUNITIES OF A MEDIUM-
SIZED CITY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA :
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS'
by
A large amount of social science research has been published re-
cently on population/roblems in the cities of the developing world.
The amount of wok completed on internal migration and conditions
in slum and squatter communities, for example, is significant. Most
of the work completed has been based upon research findings from
the primate cities of the . developing world ; lies has been completed.
on the medium-sized, or intermediate cities,/ l.e., those with popula-
tions of more than 100,000 but less than 1;000,000. This is, in part,
due to the fact that the primate cities ofost developing nations have
overshadowed the growth of most otter urban centers. Population
growth/in these primate cities is still rapid; however, population growth.
rates/in the intermediate cities are//imilar. Urban growth rates for
bot /types of cities are, of course, ix creasing at rates much more rapid
tha those, of usual areas and this is primarily a function of rural-to-
urban migration.
In Southeast Asia; for exa ? ple, the total population. increased from
171 million to 285 million, o by. 67 percent, between 1950 and 1970.
The nine Southeast Asian ities with a population of o.nr million or
more in 1970 had increased by more than 145 percent since 1950:
from 8.2 million to over 20 million. The 21 cities W/ith populations
of at least 100,000 in 19.0 but less than 1 million-in 1170 had increased
by nearly 134 percent between 1950 and 1970, or from 4 million to
nearly 9.5 million. T e number of intermediate-s' ed cities in South-
east Asia had increa ed from 27 to 53 between 1 50 and 1970 whereas
there were 3 cities of more than 1 million in 1950/hand 9 with 1 million or,
more, in 1970 (previous estimates are from Davis, 1969). In Southeast
Asia in 1970, 12 percent of the population lAred in the intermediate,
1 Expanded version of an unpublished paper presented at the 72nd annual meet-
ing of the Association of American Geographers, New York City, April 11-14, 1976.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky.
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