Territorial Disputes in South China Sea Abstract This diploma thesis deals with territorial disputes in the South China Sea and its participants. The aim of the thesis is to describe legal titles of all participants of the dispute and analyse their claims for areas in the South China Sea. The reason of the territorial dispute is based on the proximity of countries and the fact that the South China Sea contains a number of features that are claimed by surrounding countries whose claims exclude. Moreover, one of the participants - China, claims nearly 90% of the whole area. The thesis also describes provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that are significant for the territorial dispute, as well as, means of the conflict solutions of the dispute provided in the Convention. The Philippines as one of the participants of the dispute decided to initiate arbitrary trial in order to find amicable settlement. The arbitrary tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines in that matter, however as final chapter provides, China decided to ignore the arbitrary award and continues to supress other countries. Thus, an amicable solution of the dispute seems very unlikely in the near future. Key words South China Sea, exclusive economic zone, territorial dispute

Nos últimos anos, as disputas territoriais no Mar do Sul da China (MSCh) têm ganhado cada vez mais atenção dos estudiosos de Relações Internacionais, por envolver uma região que tem sido classificada como o mais recente centro dinâmico internacional. A questão do MSCh envolve desde potências mundiais como China, e marginalmente os Estados Unidos, até potências regionais, como Vietnã, Filipinas e Malásia. Muitas análises, entretanto, têm indicado cenários que parecem não condizer com a realidade ou com a evolução dos acontecimentos no MSCh: isso porque muitas delas desconsideram elementos históricos, políticos e culturais típicos da região asiática em sua interpretação. Entender o MSCh envolve também entender a própria percepção Asiática sobre as Relações Internacionais, em específico no Sudeste Asiático, buscando identificar os fatores que determinam e influenciam o modus operandi regional. O objetivo desta dissertação é, portanto, analisar a questão do MSCh a partir de uma perspectiva asiática, aqui representada pela China e pelo Vietnã. Este enfoque é o fio condutor da dissertação que apresenta os diversos elementos relacionados à questão do MSCh, buscando entender como a visão dos atores envolvidos é capaz de nos colocar uma nova forma de interpretar o objeto de estudo. No último capítulo, apresentam-se autores que mobilizam conceitos tipicamente asiáticos, como hierarquia e harmonia, para analisar as relações internacionais asiáticas. Na conclusão, expõe-se como a perspectiva asiática de análise, que mobiliza elementos históricos, culturais e políticos locais para a interpretação das relações regionais, oferece uma contribuição mais adequada à compreensão da questão do Mar do Sul da China. / In the last few years, the territorial disputes at the South China Sea (SCS) have attracted more attention from International Relations experts, since it involves the region considered as the new world’s dynamic center. The issue of the SCS involves world powers, such as China and, on a smaller scale, the United States, and regional powers, such as Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia. However, many studies have created scenarios that do not match with reality or with the conduct of events: this happens because many of them do not take into account historical, political and cultural aspects typical from the Asian region. In order to understand the SCS it is important to comprehend the Asian perception of International Relations, especially at Southeast Asia, identifying historical, political and cultural traits that support the regional modus operandi. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to analyze the SCS issue from an Asian perspective, here represented by China and Vietnam. This approach is the thread of the dissertation, which presents the different elements involving the SCS in an effort to understand how the Asian vision of the matter can present us with new ways of interpreting the object under study. In the last chapter, we mention authors who articulate some tipically Asian concepts, such as hierarchy and harmony, to study the Asian international relations. The conclusion brings the argument that the Asian perspective, while using historical, cultural and political elements whose origins come from Asian history, offers a more adequate contribution to comprehend the South China Sea issue.

Nos últimos anos, as disputas territoriais no Mar do Sul da China (MSCh) têm ganhado cada vez mais atenção dos estudiosos de Relações Internacionais, por envolver uma região que tem sido classificada como o mais recente centro dinâmico internacional. A questão do MSCh envolve desde potências mundiais como China, e marginalmente os Estados Unidos, até potências regionais, como Vietnã, Filipinas e Malásia. Muitas análises, entretanto, têm indicado cenários que parecem não condizer com a realidade ou com a evolução dos acontecimentos no MSCh: isso porque muitas delas desconsideram elementos históricos, políticos e culturais típicos da região asiática em sua interpretação. Entender o MSCh envolve também entender a própria percepção Asiática sobre as Relações Internacionais, em específico no Sudeste Asiático, buscando identificar os fatores que determinam e influenciam o modus operandi regional. O objetivo desta dissertação é, portanto, analisar a questão do MSCh a partir de uma perspectiva asiática, aqui representada pela China e pelo Vietnã. Este enfoque é o fio condutor da dissertação que apresenta os diversos elementos relacionados à questão do MSCh, buscando entender como a visão dos atores envolvidos é capaz de nos colocar uma nova forma de interpretar o objeto de estudo. No último capítulo, apresentam-se autores que mobilizam conceitos tipicamente asiáticos, como hierarquia e harmonia, para analisar as relações internacionais asiáticas. Na conclusão, expõe-se como a perspectiva asiática de análise, que mobiliza elementos históricos, culturais e políticos locais para a interpretação das relações regionais, oferece uma contribuição mais adequada à compreensão da questão do Mar do Sul da China. / In the last few years, the territorial disputes at the South China Sea (SCS) have attracted more attention from International Relations experts, since it involves the region considered as the new world’s dynamic center. The issue of the SCS involves world powers, such as China and, on a smaller scale, the United States, and regional powers, such as Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia. However, many studies have created scenarios that do not match with reality or with the conduct of events: this happens because many of them do not take into account historical, political and cultural aspects typical from the Asian region. In order to understand the SCS it is important to comprehend the Asian perception of International Relations, especially at Southeast Asia, identifying historical, political and cultural traits that support the regional modus operandi. Therefore, the aim of this essay is to analyze the SCS issue from an Asian perspective, here represented by China and Vietnam. This approach is the thread of the dissertation, which presents the different elements involving the SCS in an effort to understand how the Asian vision of the matter can present us with new ways of interpreting the object under study. In the last chapter, we mention authors who articulate some tipically Asian concepts, such as hierarchy and harmony, to study the Asian international relations. The conclusion brings the argument that the Asian perspective, while using historical, cultural and political elements whose origins come from Asian history, offers a more adequate contribution to comprehend the South China Sea issue.

Visible lesions on coral colonies are potential indicators that environmental stressors are influencing a reef. To test this hypothesis, pairs of near-shore reefs on Taiwan were surveyed along an anthropogenically influenced gradient that included locations near the cities of Taipei and Taitung, and more remote reefs off Green Island. Two fringing reefs at Sanya, Hainan Island, a popular Chinese resort area, were also assessed. Field surveys were undertaken to detect, quantify and visually describe the occurrence of lesions at each site. Coral mucus samples were collected from both normal-appearing polyps and lesion-afflicted areas of colonies to assess carbon requirements of associated microbes. Tissue samples were also collected to identify bacterial communities inhabiting healthy tissue for comparison with those associated with lesions; denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA sequencing for bacterial identification were utilized in these analyses. In addition, tissue samples were collected in the vicinity of lesions and prepared for histological examination. At sites in Taiwan, lesions were encountered twice as often at the sites near Taipei and Taitung than at Green Island. The fewest (15/72 sightings) lesions were encountered at the reefs near Sanya, primarily because there has been nearly an 80% loss of coral cover at Sanya in recent decades. Overall, tissue loss was the most common lesion recorded (52%), followed by pink discoloration (27%) and color loss (i.e., bleaching, 15%). Porites was the taxon most commonly observed with one or more lesions (45% of sightings). Microbes within mucus from lesioned areas utilized similar carbon sources as microbes from mucus from healthy polyps, but utilized those sources more than twice as often. Examples of carbon sources utilized by microbes in >50% of the lesion samples were D-cellobiose, D-mannitol, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, alpha-cyclodextrin, and glycogen. Bacterial assemblages on corals were significantly different between Taiwan and China, among sites, and between water samples and coral samples, but not between healthy samples and lesions. Bacterial sequences identified in tissue samples from lesions revealed the presence of well-known disease-related genera, such as Clostridium and Vibrio. Microbes specifically indicating anthropogenic sources, included Bacillus sp. (sewage sludge) and Geobacillus thermolevorans (irritable bowel syndrome). Histological examination of tissue samples, particularly those from lesions characterized as tissue loss, revealed fragmentation and detachment from the mesoglea of gastrodermis and epidermis, as well as brown granular material, and the presence of ciliates and small crustaceans. Corals are susceptible to a variety of diseases. For reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean, occurrences of lesions and characterization of coral diseases have been relatively well documented. In contrast, many areas in the vast Indo-Pacific, including the reefs of Taiwan and China, have received much less attention. This study of lesions and associated microbiomes on nearshore reefs of Taiwan and Hainan Island supports previous research that has revealed higher incidences of coral lesions and disease in reefs near extensive human populations. The results also support the hypothesis that many of the microbes associated with coral lesions are part of the natural coral microbiome and that some microbes can become opportunistic when the host corals are stressed.

The South China Sea is a sea with strategically important shipping lanes, an abundance of maritime resources, and potentially large amounts of oil and gas deposits. Because of the significance of the sea, China has claimed almost all of it, which has caused the Association of Southeast Asian Nation members (ASEAN) whose countries surround the sea (Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines) to take a stance against the encroachment. The most important non-Chinese claimant in the dispute is the Philippines, which shares a mutual defense treaty with the United States. The dispute has been analyzed from a bilateral perspective between China and the Philippines. A theoretical analysis of the dispute has been conducted through a Neorealist paradigm. How the two countries define international law and engage in diplomatic and military policies has also been closely examined. China has not sought foreign intervention whether from a nation or international organization, while the Philippines has preferred as much multilateralism as possible. A recent Scarborough Shoal dispute between the two countries has changed the dynamic of the dispute, and in examining the event and its outcome an inevitable conclusion of military action has been reached.

Bibliographic note STRAATSMA, Wietse. China's Maritime Lawfare in the South China Sea. Prague, 2018. 83 pages. Master's thesis (Mgr.) Charles University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Studies. Department of Security Studies. Supervisor PhDr. Vít Střítecký, M.Phil., Ph.D. Abstract The primary aim of this thesis is to examine if and how the People's Republic of China uses legal warfare to strengthen its maritime power in the South China Sea. To examine this, Dunlap's interpretation of lawfare has been combined with a lawfare typology from Kittrie to create a framework from which China's behavior has been examined. The paper posits that China's behavior in and related to the South China Sea meets the criteria of lawfare. China utilizes both instrumental lawfare and compliance-leverage disparity lawfare to justify its legal claims on the South China Sea's maritime sphere and the landforms that lie within it. This lawfare combined with enforcement has led to China gaining substantial maritime power. The islands China occupies and their militarization have granted it marine resources, naval power, and bases to project power from. The thesis contributes to the literature on China's behavior in the South China Sea by providing a lens through which to view its actions. Moreover, it contributes...

How do states determine which geographical areas will be included in their territorial and maritime claims? This article uses an in-depth case study of Taiwan's South China Sea claim to argue that national identity, as played out through party politics, is a dominant factor shaping Taiwan's territorial and maritime claims.

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The Asian renaissance in the twentieth first century, constituted by astronomical economic growth combined with the ambitious and authoritarian leadership of Xi Jinping's reign, has led China in the direction of proactive international policies. The South China Sea is one of the major arenas where such policies are taking place. This paper seeks to explain the case of  the Chinese expansionist initiative in the South China Sea through a case study with the structure of a systematic textual analysis. The study will further adopt the international political theory of realism as an explanatory model, which is commonly referred to as the most suited international political theory in explaining expansionist state behavior. Further concepts within the theoretical lens consist of; balance of power, regional hegemony and elements of national power. This paper finds that China seeks to militarize the South China Sea as an act of power-balancing towards the military presence of the U.S. The end-goal of the Chinese initiative is to establish regional hegemony in the region, where China seeks to dominate the waters in competitions with ASEAN states through the means of their maritime militia. Towards the United States, the effort of regional hegemony is mostly in the phase of verbal prompts and to some extent threatening. The initiative in the waters further serves to extract national elements of power, such as oil, natural gas and fishery to secure maintenance and growth of the Chinese nation.