2016

N E W YO R K
TIM ES

N O E N D I N SI G H T: SO U T H
C H I N A SE A C O N F L I C T
B Y: M A X B A N G E M A N N
it h t alk s ongoing bet w een Chinese officials and U S for eign secr et ar ies, it w ould seem
t hat an agr eem ent on t he Sout h China Sea conflict w ould be found and quick ly
im plem ent ed. Yet t he sit uat ion seem s t o st agenat e and no pr ogr ess has been seen. On
Tuesday June 7t h, a dialogue bet w een Ker r y and his Chinese count er par t had been held. The
out com es of t his long due m eet ing w er e m ixed, w it h bot h count r ies out lining differ ent and
opposing posit ions on t he issue. A senior Chinese st at e official had m ent ioned at t he end of t he
t alk s t hat China w ould oppose any cases put for w ar d by t he U S or ot her allied count r ies w hich
st ill disput e t he t er r it or ial claim s. On t he ot her hand, t he Whit e H ouse had ur ged for m or e
pat r ols along t he disput ed island. Pr esident Obam a has r elaesed a st at em ent , st r essing t he
im por t ance t hat China w or k w it h ot her Sout heast Asian count r ies t o r esolve t he ongoing issue.

1 | N ew Yor k Tim es

CH I N A
DAI LY ? ? ? ?

PH I L I PPI N E S C A U SE S
C H A O S I N SO U T H C H I N A
SE A
B Y: M A X B A N G E M A N N
I n anot her host ile m ove, t he Philippines has
cont inued t o claim m or e islands fr om t he
Spr at ly island gr oup. I n t ot al t he num ber of
islands claim ed has gr ow n t o eight . And it
does not seem t hat t he Philippines has any
plans t o negot iat e t hr ough t he difficult t im es.
I t has alr eady been m ade public t hat t he
Chinese gover nm ent is open for t alk s w it h
t he Philippine gover nm ent on t he issue facing
t he Sout h China Sea.

Philippines have been found t o have ver y

lit t le basis and legal gr ound. Aft er Japan had
sur ender ed in 1945, t he new m ar ine
boundar ies w er e dr aw n, and t hese included
t he " nine dash line" , nam ed aft er t he nine
dashes w hich m ar k ed t he t er r it or y t hat China
had gained in t he Sout h China Sea aft er
Wor ld War t w o. Thus t he act ions t hat t he
Philippines claim s ar e unlaw full ar e infact
w it hin China's sover eignt y.

Since t he end of Wor ld War t w o, t he t w o

count r ies of China and t he Philippines have
m anaged t o k eep r elat ions peaceful, but t his
is at st ak e w it h t he r ecent act ions
under t ak en by t he Philippines. I n conjunct ion
w it h t he U S, t he t w o count r ies have accused
China of unlaw fully claim ing t er r it or y in t he
Sout h China sea, as w ell as dest r oying
m ar ine ecosyst em s. These act ions cont inue t o
st r ain t he alr eady unst able sit uat ion in t he
r egion and m ay r esult in m ilit ar y act ion t hat
m ay need t o be t ak en.

Fur t her claim s t o do w it h t he envir onm ent

have also been m ade, and have been
answ er ed by t he Chinese gover nm ent .

The claim s m ade by t he U S as w ell as t he

1 | China Daily

" The Chinese gover nm ent t ak es sust ainable

m ar it im e developm ent ver y ser iously. I n over
30 year s of r efor m and opening up, it has
act ively advocat ed for t he concept s of
int egr at ed m ar it im e m anagem ent and
building of a m ar ine conser vat ion cult ur e,
pr om ot ing t he st r at egy of m ar it im e
developm ent t hr ough science and t echnology,
and advanced m ar it im e econom ic
developm ent "