Spratley Islands, who owns it? Options

[redhotchili]

ok, who does?

there's china, the philippines, and vietnam.

NQSH says that it should be vietnam because they've been claiming it for a hundred years.

the philippines is there because it falls on its territory. (i think we already sent people to live on that island)

the size of the islands is miniscule but it has potential for producing fuel.

so?

EDIT:
says i:

there's also vietnam who sent tourists to the islands.

NQSH:

The Spratlys has never belonged to you guys. We claimed it for over a century until somehow Philippines "discovered" it 30 years ago.

halohalo:

Vietnam doesnt own Spratly Islands either

NQSH:

What crap are you talking about?

Go and do some research on the history of the Spratlys.

halohalo:

Spratly Island are claimed by different Asian nations. China, Taiwan also claim it in its entirety, not juz Vietnam, based on historical reason. Only portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.

NQSH:

Claiming it is one thing but the actual right to claim it is another. Vietnam claims it due to historical reasons and we were the first people to inhabit it. What's Pi's reason for claiming it?

halohalo:

The third important part of the UNCLOS is Part VI, which justifies claims by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Justification is based on proximity, not history; hence, China's and Taiwan's historical claims would not likely win arbitrated cases.

Asian Executives Poll:
In a 7 November 1996 poll, 47.6% of Asian business leaders indicated the Philippines had the strongest claim to the Spratly Islands. China accounted for 24.1% of the vote, while Vietnam claimed 13.9% of the vote, Malaysia picked up 9.6%, Taiwan carried 3.6%, and Brunei captured 1.2% of the business leaders' votes.(37)

Supposedly included in Spanish territory by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas....

This post has been edited by redhotchili: Jun 26 2004, 08:10 AM

[Suijen]

PRC claims on the Spratly Islands
The PRC bases its claim to the islands on historical grounds. They state that the Spratly Islands have been an integral part of China for nearly two thousand years and point to ancient manuscripts claiming to refer to the Spratly Islands and remains of Chinese pottery and coins on the islands as proof. Using this argument, the PRC has claimed that the Philippines have “taken” 410 000 square kilometres of its traditional maritime boundary, having taken advantage of the PRC’s poor condition during its exile from international affairs. A number of analysts question the veracity of these claims however;

“It is unconvincing to say that the findings of Han dynasty coins and ceramics in the Spratlys can alone be a justifiable basis of a Chinese 1990s territorial claim. The existence of these artifacts may merely indicate that there were trade relations between China and Southeast Asia rather than showing that there were Chinese settlements in the disputed Spratlys.”

No Chinese official is recorded as having visited the island and temporary contacts by fishermen are not enough to justify any claim based on historical grounds. However, many official records and maps dating back to Han, Yuan, and Qing Dynasties did include the Spratly Isalnds in Chinese territory (There are detailed names of each individual document and dates on the Chinese version of this page).