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South China Sea Dispute

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South China Sea Dispute
ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the conflict of territory solving in the world causes many complicated problems among countries, as well as tensions in foreign policies. One of these conflicts is the dispute in South China Sea between China and six neighbor ASEAN countries. With the intervention of the United States, the issue turns to be more serious as it attracts a lot of concerns from international community. This research tries to find a clear way of understanding the South China Sea conflict, specifically about the effort of China and Vietnam to gain the control over the two groups of islands: Paracel and Spratly. The hypothesis intends to express the possibility about Vietnam’s victory in this conflict with the help of the United States. Hence, the authors want to discuss about causes and effects under the lens of international relations. In reality, the dispute is still up for debates and it still needs more and more talks and balancing policies from all sides.

South China Sea Dispute: An International or American Affair?

Introduction

In the Southeast Asian region lays a body of water and islands which have been disputed about for the possession of them. This area by international term is known as the “South China Sea.” (Keep in mind that they do not have any correlations with China but it is rather just an international name.) This body of water runs along territories belonging to China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, and many other countries. Within this body of water, there are well over 200 islands which are un-inhabited by people and contain useful resources. Considering that the sea does not surround just one country which can claim authority over it, it is difficult to determine who has the right to these islands. There are no laws on who these islands belong to. This dispute brings into many questions about sovereignty, law of the sea, and resource ownership rights on an international level if more than one country surrounds the sea and



References: 3. China, I. O. (2009, January). China 's National Defense in 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2010, from fas.org: http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/nukes/2008DefenseWhitePaper_Jan2009.pdf 4 7. Gates, R. M. (2008, May 31). International Institute for Strategic Studies (Singapore). Retrieved September 23, 2010, from Defense.gov: http://www.defense.gov/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1253 8 9. Gomez, J. (2010, Aug 18). US opposes use of force in South China Sea dispute. Retrieved Sep 2010, 12, from AP Associated Press: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ig7Ju23z9fBrSvPUrZK77jINOL2QD9HLTU981 10 14. Kaufman, S. (2010, July 23). Clinton Urges Legal Resolution of South China Sea Dispute. Retrieved September 12, 2010, from America.gov: Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands 15 16. Lam, T. (2010, Sep 8). Could Vietnam Be America’s New Counterweight to China? Retrieved Sep 13, 2010, from New America Media: http://newamericamedia.org/2010/09/could-viet-nam-be-americas-new-counterweight-to-china.php 17 23. Singh, R. (2010, September 22). ASEAN invites India, US to keep China in check. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from Hindustantimes.com: http://www.hindustantimes.com/ASEAN-invites-India-US-to-keep-China-in-check/Article1-603510.aspx 24 25. Vietnam-US relations grow fast, says diplomat. (2010, July 12). Retrieved September 24, 2010, from vietnamembassy-usa.org: http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/news/story.php?d=20100715113526 26 27. Wong, E. (2010, September 22). U.S influence in Asia Revives Amid China 's Disputes. Retrieved September 24, 2010, from nytimes.com: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/world/asia/23china.html?_r=1&ref=global-home 28 [7] See more at www.apeaweb.org/confer/sea06/papers/feng-wu.pdf, p15-19, 2006 [8] People’s Republic of China, China’s National Defense (2008). [9] Fumiaki Kubo University of Tokyo as cited in “China’s Disputes in Asia Buttress Influence of U.S” New York Time”( Sep, 2010) [10]  Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, ( June, 2008)

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