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China shares land borders with 14 countries and territories, most of which have territorial disputes with China. Many are small islands or atolls that are uninhabited or home to just a few hundred residents. This article examines five disputed territories that remain unresolved between China and its neighbouring countries. These territories have been called “Invisible Dragons” because they may not seem important today but could become crucial in the future if tensions over Maritime – Indonesia rights continue to escalate.
The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
The Senkaku Islands or Diaoyu Islands are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Japan controls the islands, but China and Taiwan have been claiming them. The dispute over these islands has been ongoing since the 1970s. The conflict began when the discovery of oil reserves surrounding the islands in the 1960s saw an increase in fishing boats entering the territory. Both countries are signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but neither has ratified the treaty. The UNCLOS provides exclusive economic zones (EEZ) extending up to 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastline. Fishing boats from both countries have frequently been found in territorial waters in the East China Sea, leading to frequent clashes between the coast guards. The incident that sparked the dispute between China and Japan was the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain in September 2012. The captain had been arrested for entering Japanese waters but released a few hours after being interrogated. In response, the Chinese government sent its coast guard vessel to the disputed territory and detained the captain of the Japanese boat.
Maritime -The Philippines
The Scarborough Shoal is an uninhabited reef off the maritime -The Philippines coast. The Chinese claim this is part of its sovereign territory because it is located within the “nine-dash line”. The nine-dash line is an arcane map drawn up by the Chinese government during the 1930s to show its claim to the South China Sea. Maritime -The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan claim the reef is part of their territory. The dispute between the two nations over the Scarborough Shoal began in 2012 when Filipino authorities arrested Chinese fishermen operating illegally in the area and confiscated their boats. The Chinese government sent naval vessels to the site and blocked Filipino fishing boats from entering the territorial waters. The stand-off at the Scarborough Shoal was resolved after both governments agreed to withdraw their ships from the area. However, the dispute over the Scarborough Shoal became more significant in 2016 when an international tribunal ruled in favour of the maritime -The Philippines in a dispute over the South China Sea.
Land – Nepal
Land – Nepal and China have territorial disputes over a small strip of land around the border area. The disagreement is over a piece of territory claimed by both countries. China’s land-Nepal border is not clearly defined, and the two countries disagree on where the border runs. The dispute is centred on a tract of land called the Lipulekh Pass, which sits at an altitude of 4,800 meters. The dispute dates back to the 1950s, when both countries signed an agreement about the border. In that agreement, the two countries disagreed about where the border ran through the Lipulekh Pass and decided to mark the border down the middle of the valley. However, neither country has entirely accepted the terms of the agreement, and border disputes have continued today.
Maritime-Indonesia
The most contentious issue in the maritime – Indonesia dispute between China and Indonesia is over the EEZ surrounding the Natuna Islands. These islands are located at the southern edge of the Chinese coast and close to the equator. Because of their location, the Natuna Islands generate much electricity from solar and wind power. These renewable energy resources are why the dispute over the EEZ has developed: the Chinese government wants access to this energy source. The dispute over the EEZ between Indonesia and China was triggered by an investment made by the Chinese government in 2015. The Chinese state-owned company focusing on building infrastructure and power plants in the developing world made a $1.8 billion investment in the Indonesian company building a solar power plant on the Natuna Islands.
Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The most significant territorial dispute between China and its neighbours is over the Spratly Islands EEZ. The Spratly Islands are a group of islands claimed by China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The dispute over the EEZ surrounding the Spratly Islands is between China and Vietnam. The conflict between China and Vietnam over the EEZ surrounding the Spratly Islands was triggered in 2014 when Chinese maritime authorities began a survey of the waters around these islands. After completing the study, China announced its “indisputable sovereignty” over these islands’ waters.
Taiwan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The most contentious issue that remains unresolved between China and Taiwan is over the EEZ surrounding the Dongsha Islands. The Dongsha Islands are a small group of islands located in the South China Sea. The Chinese government has claimed that the Dongsha Islands belong to its sovereign territory. However, Taiwan also claims that the islands fall under its jurisdiction because they are located in the EEZ surrounding the island. The dispute between China and Taiwan over the EEZ surrounding the Dongsha Islands was triggered in early 2016 when Taiwan discovered that a Chinese survey ship had been sent to the area. After completing the area survey, the Chinese government announced that Taiwan’s claim over the EEZ surrounding the Dongsha Islands was “unfounded”.
The dispute over the Spratly Islands between China and its neighbours dates to the 1970s when the Chinese government declared that the islands were part of its sovereign territory. The dispute between China and its neighbours escalated in 2016 when the Chinese government sent a survey ship to the Spratly Islands and announced that the area was Chinese territory. The Philippine government sent naval vessels to the site and asserted they had a claim to the islands.
Conclusion
The article discusses five territorial disputes between China and its neighbouring countries. The Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute between China and Japan, the dispute over the Scarborough Shoal between the Philippines and China, the dispute over the EEZ surrounding the Natuna Islands between maritime- Indonesia and China, the dispute over the Big Island and parts of the Marquesas Group between China and Japan, and the dispute over the Spratly Islands between China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have all been ongoing for many years. These territorial disputes are likely to continue for many years to come.
