RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT

RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT: AN ANALYSIS OF WEST

PHILIPPINE SEA DISPUTE
Czarina C. Totanes
Zandra Nicole Pineda
Juliene Osabel
Keith Saens
World Citi Colleges- Quezon City
RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researchers would like to thank all the people who helped and supported us in
writing this paper. To Mr.Padlan, our professor who gave time to check our papers an for
teaching us on how to unite a good term paper.
To our family, for their undying support spiritually and mentally. Who gave us
also inspiration to do better in my studies and gave me strength to finish this research
paper.

To our friends and block mates who have struggled along and inspired us to work
hard .
And above all our Almighty God, the grace and wisdom in guiding as to finish
and be successful in this research paper. He served as our guide, gave us the knowledge
to finish the paper and has helped us get through all the hardships along the way

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TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE

PAGE

Acknowledgement

Table of Content

Chapter I:

Introduction

Background of the study

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iii

Chapter II: Sociological and Anthropological Theory

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Chapter III: Conclusion

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Chapter IV: Recommendation

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION:
The South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) conflict between the Philippines and
China is more than a struggle of party claimants in exercise of sovereignty for self
preservation; it is a show of force, installation of fear and a manifestation of power and
control.
We always say that the Philippines play the role of underdog in its position
claiming its territory in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). Perhaps, this is just a
remark for others without basis but still we cannot deny the facts that the world is

controlled and dominated by power, for the philosophy of Plato, might is right, who is
more powerful whom is in control. Hence, regardless that the position of the Philippines
is an underdog, history proven that the Filipino people for the words of Ninoy Aquino,
are worth dying for.
Today, another Aquino is in office, and subscribed in his oath, to defend national
territory and sovereignty . President Benigno Aquino through its spokesperson Herminio
Coloma said that Philippines has the right to defend every inch of its territory amidst the
Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi remarks that his country would vigorously defend its
sovereignty against unreasonable demands from smaller countries.
The Philippines has also expressed growing concern at the increased
aggressiveness of the Chinese in pressing their claim to almost all of the waters,

RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT

even up to the coasts of its neighbors. The Philippine government has sought UN
arbitration under UNCLOS to settle the dispute but China has rejected the move. Last
February 2014, the Philippines lodged a protest after the Chinese coastguard allegedly
attacked Filipino fishermen off a disputed South China Sea shoal with water cannon on
Jan. 27. Due to continuous aggressiveness of China, in March 30, 2014, the Philippine
Department of Foreign Affairs submitted its Memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal that is
hearing the case it brought against China under the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (Cabulay, 2014).

The Philippines argued that China illegally occupied at least eight South China
Sea shoals, reefs and similar features belonging to the Philippines. It also said China's
claims that it owns the disputed territory did not conform to the principle and provisions
of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Sy-Egco , 2014). However, Beijing
has continuously ignored the arbitration process, even saying in its note verbal that it will
not participate in the proceedings. The China continuously reaffirming that they are just
enforcing the law in its own territory and waters. Constantly insisted that their aggressive
action in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is to protect its sovereignty and not
intended to bully other countries.
In the delight of this conflicting principles encompasses between the China and
the Philippines, this paper is intended to examines how the conflict in South

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China Sea (West Philippine Sea) can be resolved peacefully since both parties
have different means of solving the issues. More importantly, it is also intended to
examine the provisions of international law and its vagueness in the light of right and
responsibility to protect principle by the United Nations.

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

Over the past decade a highly significant development has attracted little
scholarly attention: the steady expansion of Chinese power in the South China Sea. There
were several excellent studies of this process through the very early 1980s, but these
ended well before China's push from the Paracel Islands to the Spratly Islands in 1988.
Indeed, they disagreed about whether China would actually do this. By the early 1990s

China had pushed into the Spratlys and built up a relatively strong base there. It is thus
time to look anew at China's activities in that region (Garver, 1992).
The weakness of the Philippine armed forces provided the People's Republic of
China with an opportunity to extend its claims in the South China Sea, avoiding the
possibility of military confrontation. The Philippines has pursued diplomacy to resolve
the disputes, employing both bilateral and multilateral negotiations. Whilst these
negotiations have met with some success, the primary issues remain unresolved. In its
dispute with the PRC, the Philippines received unprecedented support from ASEAN,
which viewed China's actions as damaging to regional stability. The United States
provided very limited support to the Philippines as its vital national interests were not
affected.

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So to speak, the basis in the claimants of a territory is not just limitedly in the
provision of the international law but to the exercises being done to the provision. Lowell
Bautista (2008) emphasizes that historic rights of title over land or maritime territories
are acquired by a State through a process of historical consolidation. This involves a long
period of continuous and undisturbed exercise of State sovereignty. In order to ripen into
a valid title in international law, historic rights require not only effective occupation but

more importantly (Summer, 2004), the acquiescence of the international community.

Meanwhile, the Philippines decided to brought the issue in the international tribunal and
awaits for its decision while the China on the other hand is keep on expanding and
developing a strong military bases in the region and further used the natural resources of
the areas for their own consumption without prior notice to the Philippines.

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A. The Chinese Position

In the review of territorial disputes , China has laid down its legal claim in the
argument of first discovery, which is made on the basis of its historical records,
(Garver, 2014) Beijing argues that the Spratly and Paracel island were first discovered by
the Chinese in the 2nd century AD, and since then have been exploited and occupied by

ethnic Chinese. China backs up this argument with 3rd and 18th century maps and
archaeological artifacts found on the island that bear similarities to Chinas Han Dynasty.
Although the arguments are subjective, and come at a time period before many
international law structures were set in place. This is important due to the colonial events
prior to the independence of the respective countries, pre-World War II events, and postWorld War II international structures that were set in place. For instance, in the 1930s,
France placed the Spratly Islands under French colonial Vietnamese territory and control.
To further advance their claim in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), the
Chinese government created 9-dashed lines and eventually changes it into 10-dashed
lines that cover almost all the territory in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).
Blatantly, aside from different local legislation made by the China to acquire the territory,
one of aggressive actions is the decision to occupy
permanently the disputed territory using military surveillance, patrol and
equipments in the place. Apparently, Rhoedes Mruphey (2000) said, that the military
build-up in the South China Sea does not necessarily indicate that Beijing will use force
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to occupy more islands, but rather that Beijing seeks to enhance its military
presence to augment its bargaining leverage in future negotiations.
B. The Philippines Position
The Philippines has a great deal at stake in the dispute, it lays a claim from the
principle of terra nullius (no mans island) The Philippines first claims that there was no

effective occupation or a legitimate exercise of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands by

any country before twentieth century. The government of the Philippines claims that
before naval technology progressed by the early 20th century, that the countries who
claimed to have been travelling there are false because of the long distances it would
have taken to travel there and the level of danger that those travels involved. Because
travel to the islands would have been arduous, the Spratly Islands were an unoccupied
territory and did not belong to any country .Furthermore, the Philippines uses res nullius
in its claim due to the discovery of Filipino navigator Thomas Cloma, which he name
Kalayaan. He owned Kalayaan as a Filipino citizen and then later on transferred in
1970s to the government of the Philippines (Granados, 2009).
The bottom line, the occupation being done already by the Philippines from
undisturbed, long period of time, and the activities done by the Philippines were never
been contested even or prior the World War II and after the 1980s.

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In fact, only in 1995 and the present, the issues in West Philippine Sea became
sensationalized. The long lasting sovereignty is being enjoyed by the Philippines in the
West Philippine Sea, before the China at present and in the past few years decided to
actively claim the territory.

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CHAPTER II : SOCIOLOGICAL & ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
In the communist society that Marx described, the government has supreme
authority through its total control of land and means of production. Because the

government distributes land and property among the people, communism sets a standard
of equality

both economically and socially

among its followers.. Adapting

Marxism/Leninism or whatever regime to a better suited system is far better than trying
to conform to something without any result. Marxism is a platform for other countries to
build powerful nations from and should be accepted as such. This theory applies the heart
of any Communist revolution is the abolition of private property. The Chinese
Communist Party's ultimate goal was same as that of Marx. They believed that under
common ownership, use of resources would be more efficient. They did not immediately
move the population into communes however. The Communists prepared the people in
small steps
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
We applied the anthropological perspective conflicting territorial claims over
islands, rocks, and reefs above water at high tide, as well as conflicting maritime claims
over maritime zones where the dispute in the South China Sea is rooted. The dispute
involves six countries bordering the South China Sea.

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Base on our further research, there is no legal basis under international law to
Chinas 9-dashed lines claim Chinas 9-dashed lines are not measured from baselines
along its coast, and thus do not comply with the basic requirement under UNCLOS for
validly drawing maritime zones. When approaching the issues of place, space and

identity, territory remains the principal ingredient in territoriality. Territory is an

inescapable agent of social and political differentiation and integration. In this mode of
argument, national identity and the nation-state have been made almost redundant given
the new flows, spaces of late modernity & late capitalism. But in the interaction of
nations and their states, it is still the case that the size, location and contours of territory
matter.

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CHAPTER III :CONCLUSION

To summarize the discussion, both the Philippines and the China have the right to
protect in the acclaim territory. What matter most here whose interest will advance in the
acquisition of its legal rights and control of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

The area is rich in the resources such as the oil and marine species. Several study is also
conducted that depict the disputed territory is also an important key for energy security, a
source of livelihood and ecological preservation. The West Philippine Sea also can able to
provide livelihood for the people and food for security issues. It is also identified as
viable features of marine sanctuary that serve for eco tourism.
The issue in South China Sea cannot be reduced in a small picture discussion. It is
more than a territorial dispute between China and the Philippines. The silent picture here
is the real story of struggle for power between big countries such as United States and the
China. This event is more than a premise on the provision of international law.
Appreciably, beyond what the discussion is made, the aggressiveness shows by the China
towards its claim in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) is an abstract of emotion
and nationalism of their people (Jie, 1994). Beyond the struggle for power to seize the
territory, is a showmanship of interest in the prevailing issues from the people and
government of China.

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On the other hand,this might be one of the weaknesses of the Philippines because
not all of the people are interested to the issue. One of the dilemmas is how the issue will
became a national cause that will open national consciousness of the people to be more
proactive and actively participate in the discussion and issue in the West Philippine Sea.

Although China has argued that Western requirements of formal declarations of

sovereignty should not apply in Asia, their suggested substitute long contact with a region
does not appear to be sufficient because it does not put others on the notice that a claim of
exclusion has been made. Beside, China has stated several times that it will resolve the
territorial issues according to the international law and the principles in the 1982 United
Nations Law of the Sea. Hence the problem is that they dont want to participate into the
international processes intended to pursue the same.

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CHAPTER IV : RECOMMENDATION

As a student, we should join some organizations that will help to sustain our
marine economy and resources: particularly fisheries, oil and gas, and other
mineral deposits.

As a student, we recommend that we should support the government that take

steps to establish or strengthen current institutions that shall: Undertake policy
formulation, strategic planning, policy coordination and assessments of the policy

environment.
As a student, we recommend that we should join some advocacy proposed by
our government

that develop a comprehensive, long-term program for

international legal action on issues relating to the disputes.

As a student, we recommend we should join some petitions about our legal

rights for the claims of our territory, the West Philippine Sea.
As a student, we recommend that we should support and aware in some programs
that will be undertaken to infuse archipelagic identity of the Philippines, and the
Filipinos as a maritime nation, including but not limited to preparation of studies
and wide dissemination of information about Philippine maritime interest

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REFERENCES

http://www.e-ir.info/2015/07/19/the-spratly-islands-dispute-a-discourse-analysis/
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2644968
http://www.mb.com.ph/the-rule-of-law-in-the-west-philippine-sea-dispute/
http://maxdefense.blogspot.com/2015/06/empowering-philippine-claims-inwest.html

. Bautista ,Lowell B (2008) Territorial integrity as an international legal norm.

The Historical Context and Legal basis of the Philippine Treaty Limits.(p.8)

Philippines,PH: Kalayaan Publishing

Cabulay, Danny Araneta (2014) The constitution is defined as the original &
fundamental principles of law. Philippine Tourism Laws 2nd Edition. (pp. 102-

105) Philippines, PH : Rex Bookstore

Garver ,John W. (1992) China's Push Through the South China Sea: The
Interaction of Bureaucratic and National Interests. The China Quarterly. (pp.132-

134) New York, NY : Thomas Publishing Company LLC

Murphey ,Rhoades (2000 ) Migration probably had begun by 2500 B.C or earlier
and continued to scattered spurts involving different people , into the 13th century
A.D. Peoples & Early Kingdoms of South East Asia (p.13-14) Singapore, SG :
N.U.S. Press Pte Ltd.