Tutorial Presentation - 992-0182-0636 This week we explored Zones of Security, in particular, the sea and cyberspace. This presentation will focus on one of these zones: the sea. As outlined in the lecture, seas have become the basis of a plethora of security issues for nations in Asia and the Pacific. Due to the significant impact, they have on multiple levels, affecting food security and energy supplies at the national level and state sovereignty at the international level. The South China Sea, in particular, is one of Asia's most complex and confusing flashpoints. And of the islets, rocks, and reefs in this area, one that is of special contention is the Scarborough Shoal. While the Shoal falls within Philippine's Exclusive Economic Zone, China and Taiwan claim sovereignty over it as well. Before I get into more contemporary issues about this area, I'm just going to provide a little bit of context. So, the dispute in the South China Sea, as we all know, has been ongoing, with China building islands and airstrips on reefs and islets within strategic parts of the region. Out of the three most prominent features in the sea, China has already gained control of, and built military outposts on two, making Scarborough the last point to complete China's triangle of control in the sea. In 2012 a 10-week
stand-off occurred between Chinese and Filipino vessels when the latter deployed its largest warship to detain Chinese fishermen in the Shoal. US officials helped resolve this situation via an arrangement dictating that both Chinese and Filipino vessels were to leave the Shoal simultaneously. China, of course, did not adhere to this, taking de-facto control of the area just sometime later. It was at this point that the Philippines involved the United Nations, taking the dispute to the Permanent Court for Arbitration, with the tribunal ruling that China had no legal claim to the South China Sea and that it was interfering with the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone at Scarborough. China, of course, ignoring the tribunal's decision continued to build an artificial island on the shoal, whilst simultaneously denying that it was involved in any construction in the area. The Shoal is of particular importance to China due to its close proximity to the capital of the Philippines and Taiwan. This is enhanced by the fact that Scarborough would be the final major step in securing Chinese control of the sea. So why is this concerning for the US? Well, Chinese control over the Shoal raises concerns for the US, as it would place China with striking distance of US forces stationed in the Philippines. To address this US senior officials have been attempting
to organise meetings with Chinese officials all of which have been cancelled. Indicating that tensions between the nations regarding the Scarborough Shoal are likely to escalate eventually leading to conflict. So, what does the future of this region look like? Well China, in the past, has demonstrated its willingness to resort to violence in order