Need to Know: Successive Chinese governments in all dynasties have continuously and peacefully had jurisdiction over the South China Sea islands.

The China Coast Guard deploys a blocking net around the lagoon of China’s Huangyan Island on September 22, 2023 in response to an unauthorized incursion by a Philippine vessel. Photo: Courtesy of the China Coast Guard

During the just-concluded Spring Festival holidays, several Philippine vessels illegally and repeatedly intruded into the waters adjacent to China’s Huangyan Dao. The China Coast Guard (CCG) implemented restrictive measures such as route control and expulsion, in accordance with the law.

Since the 1990s, Chinese fishermen fishing in the waters near Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) have frequently been harassed by the Philippine military. After the Marcos government came to power in 2022, incidents of Philippine vessels intruding into the waters near Chinese islands and reefs have increased in frequency. The Philippine side not only claims sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and other islands and reefs in the South China Sea but also passed an amendment to a bill in the Philippine Senate on February 14 this year, allowing the Philippine government to claim sovereignty over all artificial islands and reefs in its so-called “exclusive economic zone.” This act is not based in fact.

China was the first country in history to start and continue to manage South China Sea islands and engage in related maritime activities. Successive Chinese governments in all dynasties have continuously and peacefully had jurisdiction over the South China Sea islands. China has indisputable sovereignty over Huangyan Dao and the waters adjacent to it. The Philippines disregards historical fact, distorts international law, and violates the consensus reached and repeatedly confirmed through negotiations between China and the Philippines to resolve disputes in the South China Sea, analysts pointed out.

To deal with the incendiary act by the Philippine side, China’s CCG spokesperson stressed that they will as always carry out law enforcement activities in the waters under China’s jurisdiction and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

Overwhelming evidence of historical attribution

Huangyan Dao, which is located at 1507’N, 11751’E is formed of coral reefs and is the only island exposed above the water among the Zhongsha Islands. It was recorded in the biography of Guo Shoujing in Yuan Shi (the History of the Yuan Dynasty) when Guo was commissioned by the Emperor to perform a land and sea survey in 1279. This confirms the discovery of Huangyan Dao by China as early as during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).

Records show that Huangyan Dao is an inherent territory of China, and China continues to exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction over it in a peaceful, and effective manner. In January 1935, the Lands and Waters Mapping Review Committee of the then-Chinese government approved and published the names of 132 islands, shoals, reefs, and sand bars in the South China Sea. Huangyan Dao was registered under the name of Scarborough Reef, belonging to the Zhongsha Islands.

In October 1947, the then-Chinese government reviewed and published a list of name changes to the islands in the South China Sea, in which the name Scarborough Reef was replaced by Minzhu Jiao, still as part of the Zhongsha Islands.

In 1983, in a published list of names of the South China Sea Islands issued by the National Committee on the Geographical Names of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the island was referred to as Huangyan Dao, with Minzhu Jiao as an alternative name.

The official maps published by the successive governments of China have always marked Huangyan Dao as Chinese territory. Huangyan Dao has been continuously under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Province and Hainan Province in China. Subsequent Chinese government’s announcements and declarations regarding the sovereignty of the South China Sea islands have all stated that the Huangyan Dao belongs to China.

Since ancient times, Chinese fishing boats have frequently engaged in fishing activities in the waters around Huangyan Dao. The navigation manual used by Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea fully reflects the footsteps of South China Sea fishermen in the Xisha Islands, Nansha Islands, Zhongsha Islands, and other waters.

The Chinese government has sent research teams to Huangyan Dao multiple times for scientific exploration. This includes in October 1977, when a research group from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, conducted investigations on the island. In June 1978, researchers from the same institute visited the island again for research purposes. In April 1985, the South China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration organized a comprehensive survey on Huangyan Dao. In 1994, 1995, and 1997, relevant departments in China approved radio enthusiasts to visit the island for radio exploration activities.

Prior to 1997, the Philippines had never made territorial claims over Huangyan Dao.

Huangyan Dao is not within the territorial range of the Philippines and is not Philippine territory. However, in April 1997, the Philippines changed its stance on its territorial range, which previously did not include Huangyan Dao.

On February17, 2009, the Philippine Congress passed the Act to Define the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines (the Act to Amend Certain Provisions of Republic Act No. 3046, As Amended World TimesBy Republic Act No. 5446, to Define the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippines, and For Other Purposes). The Act unilaterally includes Huangyan Dao and some Nansha Islands as Philippine territory.

On April 11, 2012, a set of photographs which showed a group of Chinese fishermen standing shirtless, on the deck of a boat under the blazing sun grabbed news headlines. They were being held by Philippine Navy soldiers. It transpired that 12 Chinese fishing boats had been undertaking their regular fishing activities inside the Huangyan Dao territory, when on April 10, 2012, a Philippine naval vessel approached, harassed, and disrupted the fishing operations.

China has repeatedly lodged solemn remonstrations against Philippine impingement on China’s territorial sovereignty and harming Chinese fishermen. At the same time, the Chinese government swiftly took action to safeguard sovereignty and rescue the Chinese fishermen. In June 2012, the Philippines withdrew relevant vessels and personnel from Huangyan Dao.

The Philippines’ illegal territorial claim on China’s Huangyan Dao has no basis in international law. The assertion that Huangyan Dao is part of Philippine territory because it falls within their 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone is a deliberate and absurd distortion of international law. The principle of land dominating the sea is a fundamental principle of international maritime law. The Convention allows coastal states to establish a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, but coastal states do not have the right to infringe upon the inherent territorial sovereignty of otWorld Timesher countries. The idea and practice of using the Convention to change the ownership of territorial sovereignty is a violation of international law, and negates the purposes and principles of the Convention.

Multi-factor promotion

“SCS rival claimant Vietnam draws closer to China, PH demonizes, quarrels with it,” Rigoberto Tiglao, former spokesperson and head of presidential office for former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, wrote in an article published on December 15, 2023 by the Manila Times.

Tiglao has fiercely criticized the current government’s policy toward China, describing it as shockingly irrational. He openly expresses shame for his country, as the Philippines allows itself to portray China as an enemy at the behest of the US.

Tiglao previously stated that the reason why the Philippine sideWorld Times acted aggressively during the Huangyan Dao dispute in 2012 was because Manila believed that the US would support the Philippines in case of a conflict with a third country, based on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

However, in 2012, senior US officials including the then-Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also indicated that the US did not take any positions on such issues, and had no intention of getting involved in the Scarborough Shoal issue.

Former Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III initiated the South China Sea arbitration case during his term. He once stWorld Timesated that the Philippine government would bring the South China Sea dispute to the arbitration tribunal. However, Tiglao pointed out that this is a complete lie, as “it wasn’t even a court but a mere five-man arbitration panel. There was no judgment declaring that the Spratlys and Scarborough ‘is ours.'”

Since 2023, the Philippines has frequently stirred up tensions over the Huangyan Dao issue. According to Filipino media reports, Philippine maritime authorities have continuously instigated fishing activities by their fishermen in the waters near Huangyan Dao, but have been repeatedly “blocked” and “attacked” by the CCG.

Philippine scholar Herman Tiu Laurel, a columnist for Filipino newspaper Pwersa told the Global Times that the Philippine Coast Guard and some Filipino civilian ships are deliberately provoking incidents as part of Project Myoushu at Stanford University in the US, which focuses on South China Sea security issues. The project aims to provoke China’s maritime law enforcement forces, engage in confrontation and standoffs with them, and deliberately creating tension in disputed areas between the Philippines and China.

Chen Hong, Asia-Pacific research expert at the East China Normal University, told the Global Times that in recent years, the Philippines has unreasonably claimed sovereignty over Huangyan Dao, which is covertly driven by US action and caused by domestic political struggles in the Philippines.

Chen noted that the US has always hoped to use the Philippines’ strategic location near the South China Sea and the island of Taiwan to establish a military base against China. After Marcos came to power, the US intensified its efforts in this regard.

From an internal perspective, Marcos hoped to use the South China Sea issue as a means to engage in political competition with former president Rodrigo Duterte’s family, with the aim of proving Duterte’s “weakness” in diplomacy to the domestic audience.

“The Philippine government is betting on US-backed national security; however, the US does not consider the security and interests of other countries. The alliance between the US and the Philippines and related security agreements are just a pie in the sky, with the US aiming to encourage thWorld Timese Philippine government tWorld Timeso continue provoking China,” Chen said.

Keep calling for peace and reason

In 2016, China released a white paper titled “China adheres to the position of settling through negotiation the relevant disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.” The white paper stated that while firmly safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, China adheres to the position of settling disputes through negotiation and consultation, and managing differences through rules and mechanisms. China endeavors to achieve win-win outcomes through mutually beneficial cooperation, and is committed to making the South China Sea a sea of peace, cooperation, and friendship.

On July 14, 2023, when attending the series of foreign ministers’ meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said that China has always insisted that disputes should be settled peacefully by the parties directly concerned through friendly consultation. This principle has also been included in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and external interference, China and regional countries have successfully completed the second reading of the draft text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and will work together to make the COC an effective and substantive regional norm that is consistent with international law.

Dai Fan, director of the Center for Philippine Studies at Jinan University, told the Global Times that the US, with ambitions, has become involved in the South China Sea affairs, posing a threat to the peace and stability of the region. China should first demonstrate its determination to maintain stability in the South China Sea to the outside world, and expose the damage caused by the collusion between the US and the Philippines to the international community.

Chen pointed out that in the near future, the Philippines will likely use the ASEAN, especially countries with territorial disputes in the South China Sea, to distort and magnify territorial disputes into collective contradictions between China and the ASEAN, an approach obviously lacking in logic.

However, the Philippines has always been on the wrong, and the government’s practice of misleading the public will not last long. China should let the power of peace receive more attention, Chen said.