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Editor's Notes

• #13: Chinese called them Xisha Group (West Sandy Islands) and Nansha Group (South Sandy Islands)Vietnamese called it East Sea and named them differently.English names are given by European voyagers.
• #15: Chinese used to group it with Spratlys.
• #17: Not all of them have structures. Some just have flags or marks. In fact many are too small to hold any meaningful structure.China and Taiwan always have a united front on this issue.
• #19: Oil reserve: 7.7 billion barrels (proven), 28 billion (estimate). Chinese consumption of oil: 7.8 million barrels per day. Source: US Energy Information Administration. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/cabs /China/Oil.html>; SouthChinaSea.org http://www.southchinasea.org/docs/Chinese%20Territorial%20Assertion%20The%20Case%20of%20the%20Mischief%20Reef.htmAround 50% of the world¡¯s annual merchant fleet tonnage pass through this area, including China¡¯s import and export. Since the archipelagoes are documented in Chinese ancient history and geography books, the Chinese government can hardly convince the people of giving up the territories, which was the cause of revolutions in the early 20th century.Nationalism also exists in other countries. The governments of Philippines and Vietnam faced the same problem.UNCLOS ¨C counting 200 nautical miles from the ¡°baseline¡± which is the low water mark of a piece of land. If China has the right to occupy ItuAba, (the biggest island in the Spratlys occupied by Taiwan for half a century and with documentary prove of Chinese presence for hundreds of years) can the distance be measured from there? Source: UNCLOS <http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm>; Nansha.org.cn <http://www.nansha.org.cn/islandsdatabase/3/122_taiping_dao.html>
• #20: China has softened its stance on bilateral negotiation.But its stance is still clear that parties not having a dispute in the area should not be involved, e.g. USA.Officially, ASEAN held the same stance. USA¡¯s involvement was declined.
• #21: Difficulties faced by the countries (same for everyone):A soft stance will benefit all, say if there is oil, it can be exploited by joint venture.But nationalism prevents that from happening as it mean giving up part of the country¡¯s resources to foreigners.The Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking Accord among China, Philippines and Vietnam was the first cooperative effort under the Declaration of Conduct.It was however stalled because the Filipinos found that the arrangement made by their president was unconstitutional. (a) The undertaking was made secretly.(b) It involved an area which should be territories of the Philippines.(c) It violated the rule that any partner of a joint venture for exploitation of natural resources must be 60% Filipino owned.Source: GMANews.tv <http://www.gmanews.tv/story/85173>Nationalism always pushes for a hard line. But a hard line will mean conflicts which is not the governments want to see.
• #22: What would you do if you were the ASEAN governments?What would you do if you were China?What would you do if you were USA?
• #23: 1- Indonesia has just taken delivery of the last of six Russian fighter jets worth $300 million. Thailand has received the first of 96 Ukrainian armored personnel carriers ($125 million), with the first of six Swedish fighter jets and two other aircraft ($574 million) arriving in early 2011. Singapore will soon launch the second of two Swedish attack submarines ($128 million), while Malaysia has already spent $1 billion on two Franco-Spanish subs of its own. IMPLICATIONS: The acquisition of sophisticated weapons indicates two things: First, that Southeast Asian nations are more wary of each other than fraternal declarations at ASEAN meetings suggest. Second, that a region that publicly welcomes China's soft power is also quietly tooling up for the hard version. i.e. they are wary of China¡¯s assertiveness in the region. 2- US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates went to Vietnam where he held private talks with his Vietnamese counterpart during a conference of defense ministers from across the region. KEY ISSUES DISCUSSED: How to manage China¡¯s expanded claims of maritime rights in the South China Sea. China has backed those claims with threats of economic retaliation against some nations in the region. 3- This is an excerpt from THE MAINICHI DAILY NEWS which reports that many Asia-Pacific countries have benefited from U.S interest in the South China Sea and its commitment to keeping sea lanes open to enable free trade and commerce. The news highlights the conflict of U.S ¡°national interest¡± vs. China¡¯s ¡°Core Interest¡± in the region. Huntsman, U.S ambassador to China, touched on sensitive issues like ¡°resuming U.S-China military-to-military ties¡± which were suspended earlier this year as a result of US $6.4billion arms sales to Taiwan. He also spoke about the recent awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo signifying it as an important gesture to freedom and democracy.
• #24: 1- In private, officials from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, among others, all have pushed the United States to weigh in much more heavily on the South China Sea disputes. Vietnam, in particular, has sought a closer security relationship with the United States as a balance to China. The United States and Vietnam have launched an annual defense dialogue between the Pentagon and Hanoi's defense ministry, and the United States may be about to embark upon a deal to share nuclear fuel and technology with Hanoi. In fact, while the Obama administration came into office planning to make a drastically upgraded relationship with Indonesia the center of its Southeast Asia initiative, it may turn out that its greatest legacy in the region is a new security relationship with Vietnam that eventually could be on the level of the U.S. relationship with Singapore--not a treaty ally, but virtually one. US should also engage its multilateral organizations to seek projects viz-a-viz the USAID. This would further its aim and ambitions to increase its engagement in the region. 2-In the short term, the United States, China, and the key Southeast Asian nations could quietly agree to tamp down rhetoric over the South China Sea, keep the South China Sea off the agenda of regional meetings in the near term, and utilize track-two diplomacy to explore durable solutions.3- One which underscores the U.S strategic interest in Southeast Asia in general and in assuring a peaceful settlement of any South China Sea dispute in particular.