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BENEFICIALITY ARGUMENTS Theme: The Scarborough Shoal belongs to China and not the Philippines Thesis: Chinas actions and utilization of its economic and military powers has manifested its sovereign claim over the Scarborough Shoal Argument No. 1 CHINA COMMITTED SERIES OF ACTIONS THAT HAS MANIFESTED THE EXERCISE OF ITS JURISDICTION OVER THE HUANGYAN ISLAND. FOR THEIR PART, THE OTHER MAJOR DISPUTANTS (VIETNAM, THE PHILIPPINES, AND MALAYSIA) CAME TO THEIR LEGAL CLAIMS FAIRLY LATE IN THE GAME, MOSTLY AFTER SOUNDINGS SUGGESTED IN THE 1970S THAT HYDROCARBONS MAY BE PRESENT IN COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE QUANTITIES. a. CHINESE HAVE LONG COLONIZED HUANGYAN ISLAND The waters around Huangyan Island are traditional fisheries for Chinese fishermen. They have not only fished in the waters but also built docks and other facilities on the islets. The Chinese government has also sent several expeditions to Huangyan Island. In October, 1977 and June, 1978, scientists from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences twice conducted field surveys on the island. In April, 1985, the South China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration sent a research team to the island for a comprehensive investigation. In 1994, a research team erected a 1-meter-high cement monument on the island. Among the 132 islands, shoals, reefs and sand bars in the South China Sea in the list of geographical names approved and publicized by the Water and Land Mapping Review Committee of the Chinese government in 1935, Huangyan Island was listed as part of the Zhongsha Islands. The committee subsequently issued the Map of China's Islands in the South China Sea and included Huangyan Island into China's territory. The Internal Affairs Ministry of the Chinese government produced a Location Map of the South China Sea Islands in 1947,in which the geographical names of the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands were clearly marked, together with 172 islands, shoals, reefs and sand bars. Huangyan Island, then named Minzhu Jiao, was marked as part of the Zhongsha Islands. In 1948, this Location Map was officially publicized by the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Chinese government as an appendix to the Administrative Map of the Republic of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China has continued to exercise sovereignty over Huangyan Island. Chinese Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, in his 1951 statement on the US and UK's draft peace treaty with Japan and the San Francisco Conference, explicitly stated the following: " The Xisha Islands and Nanwei Island, just like the Nansha, Zhongsha and Dongsha islands, have always been China's territory. Although they had been occupied by Japan for some time during the war of aggression waged by Japanese imperialists, they were all taken back by the then Chinese government following Japan's surrender." Therefore, Huangyan Island as part of the Zhongsha Islands indisputably belongs to China. China issued the Statement of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea in 1958,in which China reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands. In 1959, the Office for Xisha, Nansha and Zhongsha Islands' Affairs under the government of Guangdong Province, was opened by the Chinese government on the Yongxing Island, which is a part of the Xisha Islands. The office became a part of the government of the newlyestablished Hainan Province in 1988.

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In the early 1980s, the Chinese government conducted a survey of the geographical names of the Nanhai Islands. In 1983, the Committee on Geographical Names of China was authorized to publicize the geographical names of selected islands in the South China Sea, in which Huangyan Island was included as the standard name and Minzhu Jiao as its alternative name. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone publicized in 1992 has explicitly provided in article 2 that " The land territory of the People's Republic of China includes the mainland of the People's Republic of China and its coastal islands; Taiwan and all islands appertaining there to including the Diaoyu Islands; the Penghu Islands; the Dongsha Islands; the Xisha Islands; the Zhongsha Islands and the Nansha Islands; as well as all the other islands belonging to the People's Republic of China." Once again, China reaffirmed its sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea, including Huangyan Island. It needs to be mentioned that not any country has ever opposed or disputed China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island. b. CHINA HAS LONG EXERCISED JURISDICTION OVER HUANGYAN ISLAND China's long-term effective jurisdiction over Huangyan Island offers an important proof for its sovereignty claim. There were a number of government actions involving the island, for instance, the territorial survey in the 13th century. Li Hongyun, expert with the Law School of the Peking University, told that the Chinese government officially announced the name of Huangyan Island respectively in 1935, 1947 and 1983 and all the official maps published by Chinese governments in different historical periods marked Huangyan Island as Chinese territory. The island has been consistently under administration of China's Guangdong province first and Hainan province later. It is currently administered by the administration office for the Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands under Hainan province. Since the 1970s, the Chinese government has approved many applications from foreign adventurers requesting to visit the island, Li said. These actions are entirely official and governmental, which directly proves China's sovereignty over the island, Li said. c. HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS HAS PROVIDED THE DETAILS THE MEANS THAT CHINA HAS DEVELOPED AND EXPLOITED THE HUANGYAN ISLAND Huangyan Island and its surrounding waters have been China's traditional fishing grounds since ancient times. Chinese fishermen have engaged in fishery activities for generations. In addition, they have used Huangyan Island as a safe haven in their voyage in the South China Sea. Genglubu, an ancient Chinese navigation log recording trips in the South China Sea, and other ancient documents and literature contain complete records of Chinese fishermen's activities around Huangyan Island. Since the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese people have never stopped developing and exploiting Huangyan Island and its surrounding waters and the Chinese government has exercised effective management and jurisdiction over their activities all these years. These historical facts are supported by official documents, local chronicles and official maps in the past centuries. The Chinese government has also sent out scientific expedition teams to Huangyan Island on many occasions. For instance, scientists of South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences landed on Huangyan Island for research activities in October 1977 and June 1978 respectively. The South China Sea Branch of the State Oceanic Administration organized a comprehensive survey on Huangyan Island in April 1985. The Chinese South China Sea Scientific Expedition Team stepped onto Huangyan Island for scientific research and erected a one-meter-high cement monument in 1994. The relevant department of the Chinese government approved the application by radio amateurs to embark on Huangyan Island for radio exploration activities in 1994, 1995, 1997 and 2007 respectively.

Argument No. 2: CHINESE NATIONALS FISHING ACTIVITIES IN THESE DISPUTED AREAS HAS RELEVANCE/SIGNIFICANCE IN MARITIME DISPUTES. a. China continues to rely on civilian surveillance ships and fishing boats to assert its sovereignty. b. Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea and the Scarborough Shoal do more than fishing. Observers say that fishing activities are civilian instruments of power that help stake out legal claims and establish national maritime rights. Thus, the Chinese government protects their fishermen to promote its concept of maritime rights and stake out its legal maritime claims. Chinas current behaviour in the Scarborough Shoal is part of its overall power projection. According to a report: Chinese officials are deliberately using civilian maritime law enforcement vessels, rather than the Peoples Liberation Army Navy---to enforce Chinas maritime rights and fishing laws. Whereas China resorted to using warship over Mishief Reef territorial disputes in the 1990s, the recent assertiveness of China in these waters has been prosecuted largely with civilian instruments of power. c. Several reported incidents of fishing or related fishing activities: i. On May 14, 2012, two Chinese marine surveillance ships and a fisheries patrol ship were reported to have patrolled the disputed area. ii. China also announced imposition of a unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea covering the area that includes the shoal, warning that action would be taken against foreign fishing vessels that violate the ban, with the ostensible purpose of protecting fishing stocks during the spawning season. The Philippines countered by refusing to recognize the validity of the Chinese ban, but issued its own fishing ban covering the shoal. iii. In late May China dispatched three additional civilian enforcement vessels to Scarborough Shoal accompanied by 10 Chinese fishing boats according to Philippine sources. China admitted that 20 fishing boats were at the shoal. The Philippines claimed that, when dinghies operating from the fishing boats were added up, China had nearly 100 vessels at the shoal. Chinese civilian authorities took no steps to prevent these craft from fishing while Chinas ban remained in force. Argument No. 3: IT IS WITHIN CHINAS NATIONAL INTEREST AS A SOVEREIGN NATION TO FULLY EXPLORE AND DEVELOP HUANGYAN ISLAND FOR IT WILL PROVIDE THE MEANS TO SUSTAIN ITS ECONOMIC GROWTH. The World Bank (WB) has declared China in 2011 as the worlds largest economy next to the United States. If its current growth of at least 8 percent annually continues, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that China could be the worlds largest economy by 2016. Fishermen of various national origins are attracted to the South China Sea because of its very rich marine resources. A recent study shows that fish stocks in the South China are a multi-billion dollar industry, which accounts for as much as one-tenth of the global catch. Since fish protein represents 22 percent of the average Asian dietary needs (much higher to the global average of 16 percent), fish demands from littoral states in the South China Sea grow.

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China, particularly, has already demonstrated its increased demands for fish. The increased demand for fish is directly proportional to the increased income of Chinese citizens resulting from its phenomenal economic growth. Thus, Chinas current fishing behaviour in the South China Sea is dictated by its growing demand for these resources resulting from the increased purchasing power of Chinese consumers. China is also convinced to assert its position in the South China Sea because of its increasing and incessant demand for oil. It would reduce dependency on oil imports It is estimated that the potential resources of the South China Seas is 213 billion barrels. Because of reported oil and gas resources, all claimants in the South China Sea have existing gas and oil exploration activities in the area. China has an exploration project in Vanguard Bank which is proximate to Indonesias Natural Gas Field. Fish and oily issues currently propel the assertive behaviour of China in the South China Sea. China, has, in fact, recently announced its plan to step up oil and natural gas exploration in the South China Sea by spending an average of 500 million yuan (75 million dollars) a year in the next two decades in order to meet the countrys growing imported energy needs, which in 2010 already reached 55 percent of total domestic consumption. It is forecasted that 60% of Chinas oil consumption will be imported by 2020 making gas and oil exploration in the South China Sea necessary to reduce dependence on oil imports. To underscore its determination in pursuing area claims, China announced in May that its first locally produced deep water mega oil-drilling rig would commence operations in the South China Sea, leading to protests in the Philippines. In fact, the oil rig is off the mouth of the Pearl River, south of Hong Kong, well within Chinas EEZ, where it will likely remain for years. CHINA AND PHILIPPINES ECONOMIC RELATIONS I. The Scarborough Shoal issue is just one aspect of the two countries bilateral relations: II. Relation with China has been productive: China is the Philippines second largest source of official development assistance, third largest trading partner and fourth largest source of foreign tourists. III. Chinas considerable economic strength has a leverage on its diplomatic dispute with the Philippines: a. Suspension of tours to the Philippines by Chinese tourist agencies. i. The National Tourism Administration issued "travel safety advice" and the Chinese embassy in the Philippines reported large-scale anti-China demonstrations in response to the dispute over Scarborough Shoal. ii. China is the Philippines fourth largest source of tourists and its fastest growing. In the first quarter of 2012, Chinese tourism grew by 77 percent. iii. China is the source of the fourth largest number of tourists to the Philippines. The average Chinese tourist stays for three days, spending $200 per day. In May, 1,500 Chinese tourists cancelled visits to the Philippines resulting in a loss of nearly $1 million to the tourist industry. b. Increased scrutiny of agricultural imports from the Philippines at Chinese ports. i. China has refused to allow 150 containers of bananas to enter its markets, saying that the bananas are "crawling with insects," The Manila Bulletin reports. Many of the bananas have already been destroyed, costing Filipino exporters $760,000 so far. ii. In 2011 the Philippines exported $60 million worth of bananas to China, its third largest banana export market. Losses of banana exports in May were estimated at around $34 million.

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Argument No. 4 CHINAS PRESENCE IN HUANGYAN ISLAND PROVIDES THE NECESSARY PROTECTION MEASURES AGAINST MARITIME SECURITY THREATS SUCH AS POLLUTION, ILLEGAL FISHING, PIRACY, SMUGGLING, MARITME TERRORISM AS WELL AS FOOD SECURITY THREAT SIGNIFICANCE OF THOSE ISLETS IN CHINAS MILITARY SECURITY Those islets can be used as air and sea bases for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities, and as base points for claiming the deeper part of the South China Sea for PLAN ballistic missile submarines and other vessels CHINAS MILITARY CAPACITY: 1. Chinas military expenditures are moderate but growing fast. It currently ranks 25th in the world for military spending. Since the 1990s, China has increased its military spending by an average of more than 10 percent per year as it seeks to modernize its defence forces. Beijing now has close to 50 modern diesel submarines, and is developing a new class of nuclear submarine. China also has new short-, intermediate-, and long-range ballistic missilesboth conventional and nuclear while its medium-range missiles can already reach many parts of Asia, including Japan and several US airbases. 2. China is already participating in international piracy controls in the Gulf of Aden. Further cooperation in areas such as disaster and humanitarian relief, counterterrorism, or other non-traditional threats would help boost the overall relationship. 3. China possessed naval and maritime law enforcement capabilities to conduct maritime patrols of the disputed waters in order to promote sustainable fishing practices in the South China Sea. 4. Possessing a credible sea-based nuclear deterrent is a priority for China's military strategy. Chinas single Type 092, or Xia-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, equipped with short-range JL-1 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), has never conducted a deterrent patrol from the Bohai Sea since its introduction in the 1980s. However, China is on the verge of acquiring credible second-strike capabilities with the anticipated introduction of JL-2 SLBMs (with an estimated range of 8,000 kilometres) coupled with DF-31 and DF-31A road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). In addition, China plans to introduce up to five Type 094, or Jin-class, SSBNs outfitted with the JL-2 missiles, while constructing an underwater submarine base on Hainan Island in the South China Sea. 5. China needs to secure its forces in the South China Sea and modify its maritime strategy and doctrine accordingly. Currently, the primary wartime missions of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy are: 1) securing sea approaches to Taiwan; 2) conducting operations in the western Pacific to deny enemy forces freedom of action; 3) protecting Chinese sea lines of communication; and 4) interdicting enemy lines of communication. With the introduction of the Type 094, protecting Chinese SSBNs will become another primary mission, and this mission will require China to kill enemy strategic antisubmarine forces and end the resistance of other claimants in the South China Sea. Chinese anti-access/area-denial capabilities, especially quieter nuclearpowered attack submarines, can be used to counter enemy forward antisubmarine warfare operations. Chinas aircraft carriers, when operational, will be deployed in the South China Sea to silence the neighbouring claimants.

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FOOD SECURITY ISSUES The resources in the areas surrounding Scarborough Shoal are being threatened according to Carl Thayer, an Emeritus Professor at the Australian Defense Force Academy. These areas are being overfished and polluted which threatened the food supply of millions of people. Thus, marine environment must be managed upon existence of the perception that fishermen from other countries are abusing resources in disputed waters and endangering livelihood and food supplies. Pursuant to such a situation, Beijing made an important goodwill gesture last November 2012 when it put up $475 million to create a China-ASEAN Maritime Co-Operation Funds which allowed several ASEAN-China expert working groups to deal with those concerns. Argument No.5 DIPLOMATIC DEADLOCK EXISTS IN DEALING WITH THE STANDOFF BETWEEN CHINA AND THE PHILIPPINES International Arbitration is not a feasible diplomatic solution to the standoff between the Philippines and China Both countries have different diplomatic solutions in mind to resolve the standoff. The Philippine prefers the arbitration process provided by the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which China and the Philippines have both ratified. China refuses to place the matter before an international court but rather prefers to resolve it on bilateral level. The international tribunal on the law of the Sea as a forum for arbitration is an improper forum for it can only decide matters of maritime jurisdiction but not questions of sovereignty which needed to be resolved first. ASEAN as the most logical intermediary that could mediate an immediate de-escalation of the standoff in the Scarborough Shoal does not manifest any indication of an interest to resolve the conflict. a. There exists conflicting interests within ASEAN and it pursues a cumbersome consensus-building process in its diplomatic dealing with its member-countries. b. The grim reality is that ASEAN does not have common position on the South China Sea problem, particularly in the context of regional power dynamics and intra-ASEAN territorial disputes. c. Beijing departed from the Declaration of Conduct for the South China Sea (DOC) of 2002 and further suggesting that Beijing was muscling its outlandish territorial claims individually against the three other major claimant states in the area, in violation of the DOC. d. The Philippines may have overplayed its hand with misguided expectations of receiving support from fellow ASEAN members and its US alliance. Some ASEAN members and even Filipino activists have expressed misgivings about how Manila confronted Beijing. In the words of one Filipino senator, the Philippines found itself an orphan. e. Existence of ASEAN individualism, whereby each member would resolve its problems with China bilaterally (as Vietnam and China now seem inclined to do). f. Chinas close economic ties with many ASEAN countries dissuade those not directly involved in the South China Sea disputes to strike a neutral tone over Chinas alleged incursions, while the conflicting claims of ASEAN countries militate against unified action.