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Scarborough Shoal

Coordinates: 15°11′N 117°46′E / 15.183°N 117.767°E / 15.183; 117.767 (Scarborough Shoal)
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Azload (talk | contribs) at 16:43, 16 May 2012 (The area been claimed by PRC, RC and Philippines, before it been settled, it is unneutral to put it under any of these countires.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Scarborough Shoal
Map
Other namesBajo de Masinloc
Huang​yan ​Island​
Minzhu Jiao
Panatag Shoal
Scarborough Reef
Geography
LocationSouth China Sea
Coordinates15°11′N 117°46′E / 15.183°N 117.767°E / 15.183; 117.767 (Scarborough Shoal)
Archipelagoland area: a few hectares or less at high tide; water area: about 150 square kilometres (58 sq mi)
Demographics
Populationnone

Scarborough Shoal or Scarborough Reef[1] (Chinese name: Huangyan Island; simplified Chinese: 黄岩岛; traditional Chinese: 黃岩島; pinyin: Huáng​yán​ Dǎo​; Philippine name: Panatag Shoal, Bajo de Masinlóc, Karburo), more correctly described as a group of rocks or very small islands plus reefs in an atoll shape, rather than as a shoal, is located between the Macclesfield Bank and Luzon Island in the South China Sea.

The shoal was named after the East India Company tea-trade ship Scarborough which was wrecked on one of its rocks with everyone perishing on board on 12 September 1784.[2][3]

Geography

The shoal forms a triangle-shaped chain of reefs and rocks or very small islands 55 kilometres (34 mi) around with a total area including shallow water areas of 150 square kilometers. It has a lagoon with area of 130 km² and depth of about 15 metres (49 ft). The shoal is a protrusion from a 3,500 m deep abyssal plain. Several of the rocks or small islands including "South Rock" are 1/2 m to 3 m high, and many of the reefs are just below water at high tide. Near the mouth of the lagoon are the ruins of an iron tower, 8.3 m high. To the east, the 5,000 - 6,000 meter deep Manila Trench separates the shoal from the Philippine archipelago.[4]

It is about 123 miles (198 km) west of Subic Bay. The nearest landmass is Palauig, Zambales, on Luzon Island in the Philippines, 137 miles (220 km) away.

Activities in the surrounding area

The shoal and its surrounding area are rich fishing grounds. A significant number of Chinese fishermen have been arrested by Philippine officials in this area, particularly during 1998-2001. Most arrests were for alleged using illegal methods of fishing and catching endangered and protected species. [citation needed]

There are thick layers of guano lying on the rocks in the area. Several Filipino-sponsored and Chinese-sponsored diving excursions and amateur ham radio operations, DX-peditions (1994, 1995, 1997 and 2007), have been carried out in the area.[5]

Sovereignty dispute

Claims by China and Taiwan

Map depicting China's territory in South China Sea, by the Republic of China's Ministry of the Interior, 1947

China (officially the People's Republic of China) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) claim that the shoal was first discovered and drawn in a map in the Yuan Dynasty as early as 1279[citation needed] and was historically used by Chinese fishermen. In 1279, Guo Shoujing, a Chinese astronomer, performed surveying of the South China Sea, and the surveying point was reported to be the Scarborough Shoal.[citation needed] In 1935, the Chinese government, at that point the Republic of China, regarded the shoal as part of the Zhongsha Islands. That position has since been maintained by both the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.[6] In 1947 the shoal was given the name Minzhu Jiao (meaning Democracy Reef). In 1983 the People's Republic of China renamed it Huangyan Island with Minzhu Jiao reserved as a second name.[7] In 1956 China, by then governed by the People's Republic of China, protested Philippine remarks that the South China Sea islands in close proximity to Philippine territory should belong to the Philippines. China's Declaration on the territorial Sea, promulgated in 1958, says in part,

The breadth of the Territorial Sea of the People's Republic of China shall be twelve nautical miles. This applies to all territories of the People's Republic of China, including the Chinese mainland and its coastal islands, as well as Taiwan and its surrounding islands, the Penghu Islands, the Dongsha Islands, the Xisha Islands, the Zhongsha Islands [italics added], the Nansha Islands and all other islands belonging to China which are separated from the mainland and its coastal islands by the high seas.[8]

China reaffirmed its claim of sovereignty over the Zhongsha Islands in its 1992 Law on the territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. China claims all the islands, reefs, and shoals within a U-shaped line in the South China Sea drawn in 1947 as its territory. Scarborough shoal lies within this area.[8]

China further asserted its claim shortly after the departure of the US Navy force from Subic, Zambales, Philippines. In the late 1970s, many scientific expedition activities organized by State Bureau of Surveying, National Earthquake Bureau and National Bureau of Oceanography were held in the shoal and around this area. In 1980, a stone marker reading "South China Sea Scientific Expedition" was installed on the South Rock, but was removed by Philippines in 1997.[5]

Claim by the Philippines

The Philippines claims that as early as the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, Filipino fishermen were already using the area as a traditional fishing ground and shelter during bad weather.[9] In 1957, the Philippine government conducted an oceanographic survey of the area and together with the US Navy force based in then U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay in Zambales, used the area as an impact range for defense purposes. An 8.3 meter high flag pole flying a Philippine flag was raised in 1965. A small lighthouse was also built and operated the same year.[10] In 1992, the Philippine Navy rehabilitated the lighthouse and reported it to the International Maritime Organization for publication in the List of Lights. As of 2009, the military-maintained lighthouse is non-operational.[11]

Territorial map claimed by the Philippines, showing internal waters, territorial sea, international treaty limits and exclusive economic zone. This is not fully recognised by other countries.

Several official Philippine maps published by Spain and United States in 18th and 20th centuries show Scarborough Shoal as Philippine territory. The 18th-century map "Carta hydrographica y chorographica de las Islas Filipinas" (1734) shows the Scarborough Shoal then was named as Panacot Shoal. The map also shows the shape of the shoal as consistent with the current maps available as today. During the 1900s, Mapa General, Islas Filipinas, Observatorio de Manila, and US Coast and Geodetic Survey Map include the Scarborough Shoal named as "Baju De Masinloc".[12] In 1792, another map drawn by the Malaspina expedition and published in 1808 in Madrid, Spain also showed Bajo de Masinloc as part of Philippine territory. The map showed the route of the Malaspina expedition to and around the shoal. It was reproduced in the Atlas of the 1939 Philippine Census, which was published in Manila a year later and predates the controversial 1947 Chinese South China Sea Claim Map that shows no Chinese name on it .[13] Another topographic map drawn in 1820 shows the shoal, named there as "Bajo Scarburo", as a constituent part of Sambalez (Zambales province).[14]

The Scarborough Shoal is not included within the territorial lines defined in the Treaty of Paris (1898)[15], Treaty of Washington (1900),[16] Convention Between the United States and Great Britain (1930),[17] 1935 Constitution of the Philippines,[18] Republic Act No. 3046 "Act to Define the Baselines of the Territorial Sea of the Philippines"(1961),[19], or the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) asserts that the basis of Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction over the rock features of Bajo de Masinloc are not premised on the cession by Spain of the Philippine archipelago to the United States under the Treaty of Paris, and argues that the matter that the rock features of Bajo de Masinloc are not included or within the limits of the Treaty of Paris as alleged by China is therefore immaterial and of no consequence.[20][21]

By virtue of the Presidential Decree No. 1599 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos on June 1978, the Philippines claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the baselines from which their territorial sea is measured.[22] In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enacted the Philippine Baselines Law of 2009 (RA 9522). The new law classifies the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal as a regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines.[23][24]

The DFA further cites the Island of Palmas Case, where the sovereignty of the island was adjudged in favor of the Netherlands because of effective jurisdiction and control despite the historic claim of Spain. The Philippines has exercised effective jurisdiction and effective occupation of the shoal since its independence.[25] It also explains that the Exclusive Economic Zone claim on the waters around Scarborough is different from the sovereignty exercised by the Philippines in the shoal. [20][21]

The Philippine government has proposed taking the issue to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), but the Chinese government has rejected this, insisting on bilateral discussions.[26] Part XV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for a comprehensive system for the settlement of disputes, requiring parties to settle their disputes by peaceful means and specifying four alternatives:

  • the ITLOS
  • the International Court of Justice
  • an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII to the convention
  • a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII to the convention

It is necessary, however, for the parties to agree on the choice of the method of settlement to be used.[27][28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The 'Spratly deal': facts & figures". The Philippine Star. March 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-06. [dead link‍]
  2. ^ Richard Bayly (Colonel.) (1896). Diary of Colonel Bayly, 12th Regiment, 1796-1830. Naval & Military Press. p. 108.
  3. ^ Various (1801). The Oriental Navigator: Or, New Directions for Sailing to and from the East Indies, China, New Holland &c. London UK, Laurie and Whittle. p. 454
  4. ^ "Phl and China seek diplomatic solution on Scarborough issue". Philippine Information Agency. 26 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b 陈若冰, 21 April 2012, 中国与菲律宾中沙黄岩岛之争 (The dispute between China and the Philippines over Zhongsha Huangyan Island), Sohu News. (English translation of original Chinese text available here.)
  6. ^ Zou 2005, p. 63.
  7. ^ Zou 2005, p. 62.
  8. ^ a b Zou 2005, p. 64.
  9. ^ Zou 2005, pp. 64–65.
  10. ^ What’s become of the MMDA?[dead link‍], Philippine Star, 2 April 2008
  11. ^ COAST GUARD DISTRICT NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION - CENTRAL LUZON LIGHTSTATIONS (archived from the original on 2010-01-16)
  12. ^ In a Troubled Sea: Reed Bank, Kalayaan, Lumbay, Galit, and Panacot - Yahoo! News Philippines
  13. ^ ‘Panatag Shoal ours since 1734’ | Top Stories
  14. ^ "Scarborough belongs to PH, old maps show". Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 23, 2012.
  15. ^ "Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain; December 10, 1898". Avalon Project.
  16. ^ "TREATY BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATE FOR CESSION OF OUTLYING ISLANDS OF THE PHILIPPINES" (PDF). University of the Philippines. November 7, 1900.
  17. ^ United States. Dept. of State; Charles Irving Bevans (1968). Treaties and other international agreements of the United States of America, 1776-1949. Dept. of State; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 473–476.
  18. ^ "1935 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES". Chan Robles Law Library.
  19. ^ "REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3046 (as amended by RA 5446) AN ACT DEFINE THE BASELINES OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA OF THE PHILIPPINES". Chan Robles Law library. June 17, 1961.
  20. ^ a b Philippine Position on Bajo de Masinloc and the Waters Within its Vicinity (18 April, 2012), The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines.
  21. ^ a b PH sovereignty based on Unclos, principles of international law (20 April, 2012), The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines (as reported by globalnation.inquirer.net).
  22. ^ "PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1599 ESTABLISHING AN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Chan Robles Law Library. June 11, 1978.
  23. ^ Philippine Baselines Law of 2009 (March 11, 2009), GMA News.
  24. ^ "AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3046, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5446, TO DEFINE THE ARCHIPELAGIC BASELINE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Chan Robles Law Library. March 10, 2009.
  25. ^ "Philippine Position on Bajo de Masinloc and the Waters Within its Vicinity". April 18, 2012.
  26. ^ "China deploys gunboat". Philippine Daily Inquirer. April 20, 2012.
  27. ^ Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas S. J. (April 22, 2012). "Scarborough Shoal". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  28. ^ PART XV : SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES, UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA : AGREEMENT RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PART XI OF THE CONVENTION, The United Nations.
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