Spratly Islands dispute

Spratly Islands dispute
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The Spratly Islands dispute is a over the ownership of the , a group of islands located in the China . States staking claims to various islands are: the Republic of , the of (Taiwan), , the , , and . All except Brunei occupy some of the islands.
The Spratly Islands are important for a number of reasons: the Spratly area holds significant reserves of and , it is a productive area for world fishing and commercial shipping, and coastal countries would get an continental . But some countries, like the People`s Republic of China, the Republic of China, and Vietnam make claims based on historical sovereignty over the islands.
Contents
 [] 
Reasons for the
.1
.2 Commercial
.3 Commercial
.4 Confrontations and other
.5 Extended continental shelf
Moves towards
.1 Diplomatic
.2 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea
.3 United States
Various
.1
.1.1 Basis of Brunei`s
.2
.2.1 Basis of Malaysia`s
.3 People`s Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan
.3.1 Basis for PRC`s and ROC`s
.3.2 Criticisms to the PRC`s and ROC`s
.4
.5
Tabular listing of features showing country
.1 Occupied
.2 Virtually occupied or
.3 Unoccupied
.4 Claimed features by country but occupied by other
20th century
See

Further
External

[] Reasons for the dispute
[] Hydrocarbons
There are multiple reasons why the neighboring nations would be interested in the Spratly Islands. In 1968 oil was discovered in the region. The Geology and Mineral Resources Ministry of the People`s Republic of China (PRC) has estimated that the Spratly area holds oil and natural gas reserves of 17.7 billion tons (1.60 × 1010 kg), as compared to the 13 billion tons (1.17 × 1010 kg) held by , placing it as the fourth largest reserve bed in the world. These large reserves assisted in intensifying the situation and propelled the territorial claims of the neighboring countries.
In 1968, the Philippines started to take their claims more seriously and stationed troops on three islands which had been claimed by the adventurer as part of 1In 1973 Vietnamese troops were stationed on five islands2
On 11 March 1976, the first major Philippine oil discovery occurred off the coast of , within the Spratly Islands territory, and these oil fields now account for fifteen percent of all petroleum consumed in the Philippines. In 1992, the PRC and Vietnam granted oil exploration contracts to U.S. oil companies that covered overlapping areas in the Spratlys. In May 1992, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and (a U.S. company based in , ) signed a cooperation contract for the joint exploration of the Wan`an Bei-21 block, a 25,155 km² section of the southwestern South China Sea that includes Spratly Island areas. Part of the Crestone`s contract covered Vietnam`s blocks 133 and 134, where PetroVietnam, PetroStar Energy(USA) and ConocoPhillips Vietnam Exploration & Production, a unit of , agreed to evaluate prospects in April 1992. This led to a confrontation between China and Vietnam, with each demanding that the other cancel its contract.
[] Commercial fishing
An additional motive is the region`s role as one of the world`s most productive areas for commercial fishing. In 1988, for example, the South China Sea accounted for eight percent of the total world catch, a figure which has certainly risen. The PRC has predicted that the South China Sea holds combined fishing and oil and gas resources worth one trillion dollars. There have already been numerous clashes between the PRC, the Philippines and other nations over "foreign" fishing vessels in its