Timeline of the South China Sea dispute

Territorial claims in the South China Sea

The article covers events that are related to the South China Sea dispute.

Timeline of events

3rd century BC

It has been claimed by the People's Republic of China on the argument that since 200 BC Chinese fishermen have used the Spratly islands.^[1]

3rd century

Two famous Chinese books authored by Wan Zhen of the Eastern Wu State and published during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) and a work titled Guangzhou Ji (Chronicles of Guangzhou) authored by Pei Yuan of the Jin Dynasties described the Paracel and Spratly islands.^[2] The local government of the Jin Dynasties exercised jurisdiction over the islands by sending patrolling naval boats to the surrounding sea areas.^[3]

5th–13th centuries

Naval forces of the Song State of the Southern Dynasties (420–479 AD) patrolled the Paracel and Spratly islands.^[4] In the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), the islands were placed under the administration and authority of the Qiongzhou Perfecture (now Hainan Province).^[4] Chinese administration of the South China Sea continued into the North and South Song dynasties (970–1279).^[4]

Archaeologists have found Chinese made potteries porcelains and other historical relics from the Southern dynasties (420–589), the Sui dynasties (581–618), the Tang dynasty (618–907), the Song Dynasties (960–1279), the Yuan dynasties (1206–1368), the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and later eras up to modern times on the South China Sea islands.^[4]

19th century

• 1816 – Vietnamese emperor Gia Long ordered a company to the Paracel Islands to make a survey and draw a map.^[5][6]
• 1835 – Vietnam erects a pagoda in the Paracel Islands^[7]
• 1876 – China makes its earliest documented claim to the Paracel Islands
• 1883 – When the Spratlys and Paracels were surveyed by Germany in 1883, China issued protests.^[8][9]
• 1884–1885 Sino-French War
• 1887 – In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually visited the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratlys.^[10][11]
• 1887 – The Convention Respecting the Delimitation of the Frontier Between China and Tonkin between France and the Qing Empire set the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Tonkin.^[12][13][14] The 1887 Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention signed between France and China after the Sino-French War said that China was the owner of the Spratly and Paracel islands.^[1][8][15]
• 1898 – The Philippine Islands were ceded by Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris following the Spanish–American War. The Spratly Islands were not part of the Philippines per the Treaty.

1901–1937

• 1902 – China sends naval forces on inspection tours of the Paracel Islands to preempt French claims.^[16]
• 1907 – China sends another naval force, this time to plan for resource exploitation.^[16]
• 1911 – The newly formed Republic of China, successor state to the Qing Dynasty, moves administration of the Paracel Islands to Hainan,^[16] which would not become a separate Chinese province until 1988.
• 1927 – Japan makes its earliest documented claim to the Paracel and Spratly Islands
• 1928 – The Republic of China states that the Paracel Islands are the southernmost limits of its territory
• 1931 – France claims the Paracel Islands

World War II

• 1939 – Japan occupies the islands and takes control of the South China Sea. The Spratlys and the Paracels were conquered by Japan in 1939. Japan had set military bases on Woody and Pattle islands in the Paracels and Itu Aba in the Spratlys. Japan administered the Spratlys via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction.^[17]

• On 2 July 1945, Woody Island surrendered to the USS Cabrilla submarine after having been attacked by US forces on 6 February and 8 March.^[18]

• On 20 November 1945, a US Navy reconnaissance mission landed on Itu Aba and found the Japanes forces had already pulled out.^[19]

1945–1959

China 1947 map

Territorial monument of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) on Southwest Cay, Spratly Islands, defining the cay as part of Vietnamese territory (to Phước Tuy Province). Used since 22 August 1956 until 1975, when replaced by another one from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (successor state after the Fall of Saigon)

• 1945 – In accordance with the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations and with American help, the armed forces of the Republic of China government at Nanjing accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrisons in Taiwan, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Nanjing then declared both archipelagoes to be part of Guangdong Province.^[20][21]
• 1946 – The R.O.C. established garrisons on both Woody (now Yongxing / 永兴) Island in the Paracels and Taiping Island in the Spratlys. France protested. The French tried but failed to dislodge Chinese nationalist troops from Yongxing Island/Woody Island (the only habitable island in the Paracels), but were able to establish a small camp on Pattle (now Shanhu / 珊瑚) Island in the southwestern part of the archipelago.^[21][22][23] The Republic of China drew up The Southern China Sea Islands Location Map, marking the national boundaries in the sea with 11 lines, showing the U shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, and showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947.^[16] The Americans reminded the Philippines at its independence in 1946 that the Spratlys was not Philippine territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratlys were not part of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with America.^[22]
• 1950 – After the Chinese nationalists were driven from Hainan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), they withdrew their garrisons in both the Paracels and Spratlys to Taiwan.
• 1952 – Japan renounced any claims of sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos in accordance with Article 2 Clause (f) of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, but no beneficiary was designated.^[24]
• 1954 – France ceased to be a factor when it accepted the independence of both south and north Vietnam and withdrew from Indochina.
• 1956 – North Vietnam Communist government formally accepted that the Paracel and Spratly islands were historically Chinese territory. About the same time, the PLA reestablished a Chinese garrison on Yongxing Island in the Paracels, while the Republic of China (Taipei) put troops back on Taiping Island in the Spratlys. But, that same year, South Vietnam reopened the abandoned French camp on Shanhu Island and announced that it had annexed the Paracel archipelago as well as the Spratlys.^[25] In 1956, Cloma proclaimed the establishment of a new country, “Freedomland” in the Spratly Islands. The sole function of Freedomland turned out to be issuing postage stamps to collectors. Cloma’s announcement of Freedomland caused both Beijing and Taipei to reiterate China’s claims to the Spratlys. Taipei sent troops to drive Cloma off Taiping Island. Its forces are still there. Cloma’s proclamation of Freedomland was legal in the Philippines because, as Manila noted in its reply to protests of Cloma’s actions from Beijing, Saigon, and Taipei, the Philippines had made no claim of its own to the Spratlys.
• 4 September 1958 – China published "Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China's Territorial Sea published on 4 September 1958" to lawfully describe true meaning of "nine-dotted line on South China Sea".
• 14 September 1958 – Communist Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong sent Premier Zhou Enlai a formal diplomatic saying respect China's decision on South China Sea.

1970s

• 1970 – China occupies Amphitrite Group of the Paracel Islands
• 1971 – Philippines announces claim to islands adjacent to its territory in the Spratlys, which they named Kalayaan, which was formally incorporated into Palawan Province in 1972. The Philippines President Marcos announced the claims after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.^[26]
• 1972 – Bureau of Survey and Cartography under the Office of the Premier of Vietnam printed out "The World Atlas" says "The chain of islands from the Nansha and Xisha Islands to Hainan Island, Taiwan Island, the Penghu Islands and the Zhoushan Islands ... are shaped like a bow and constitute a Great Wall defending the China mainland."^[27]
• 1974 – China ousts South Vietnamese forces from the Crescent Group of the Paracel Islands at the Battle of the Paracel Islands.
• 14 February 1975, regretting the agreement with China in 1956. The Communist Vietnamese government reclaims to the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.

1980s

1984年小平提出了两个选项：“一个办法是我们用武力统统把这些岛收回来；一个办法是把主权问题搁置起来，共同开发。” Translation: In 1984, Deng Xiaoping raised two options: "One method is that we use force to get these islands back. Another is to shelve the sovereignty issue, co-develop the place."

• March 1987, Mr Luo Yuru was China's State-Member Representative at the IOC - 14th Session of the Assembly (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Paris, 17 March - 1 April). It is not clear what mission had China in South China Sea; according Far Eastern Economic Review magazine, it had none.^[28] In April 1987, the PRC chose to build a weather station on Fiery Cross reef as the reef was large enough for the purpose, and it was isolated from other disputed islands and reefs. On the contrary, Johnson South Reef is inside Philippines claimed 200 NM EEZ and close to Sin Cowe Island inhabited by the Vietnamese in Union Banks drowned atoll; clearly a disputed area.

• 14 March 1988 – China defeats the Vietnamese navy in the Johnson South Reef Skirmish, killing 64 Vietnamese, after the Vietnamese tried to intercept a Chinese force commissioned by UNESCO to build an observation post.

1990s

• A Vietnamese ship was shot at by Taiwan in 1995.^[29]
• 1997 – Philippines begins to challenge Chinese sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal.^[30]
• 1999 – Under President Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan stated that "legally, historically, geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign ministry of Taiwan.^[31] Taiwan and China's claims "mirrors" each other.^[32] During international talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since both have the same claims.^[32][33]
• 9 May 1999 – The day after the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Philippine navy sent BRP Sierra Madre and ran her aground on Second Thomas Shoal. China issued official protest afterward. Philippine refused to withdraw the ship.^[34] Since then China deploys service ships to the corresponding water regularly.

2001

• 1 April, Hainan Island incident

2002

• ASEAN and China agree to a code of conduct in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea^[35]

2005

• 8 January – Chinese ships fired upon two Vietnamese fishing boats from Thanh Hoa province, killing 9 people and detaining one ship with 8 people on Hainan Island.^[36] Chinese Foreign Ministry claim they were pirates that opened fire first and obtained confession from the arrested members.^[37]

2009

• March 2009 – The Pentagon reported that Chinese ships harassed US surveillance ship. According to the report, five Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in dangerously close proximity to USNS Impeccable, in an apparent coordinated effort to harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in international waters." The crew members aboard the vessels, two of which were within 50 feet, waved Chinese flags and told the US ship to leave the area, the statement said.^[38]
• 13 May 2009 – The deadline for states to make seabed hydrocarbon claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This is suspected to have caused ancient island claims to surface and become inflamed.^[39]

2011

• 25 February – The Chinese frigate Dongguan fired three shots at Philippine fishing boats in the vicinity of Jackson atoll. The shots were fired after the frigate instructed the fishing boats to leave, and one of those boats experienced trouble removing its anchor.^[40][41]
• 26 May – The clash involved the Vietnamese Binh Minh 02 oil and gas survey ship and three Chinese maritime patrol vessels occurred 120 km (80 miles) off the south-central coast of Vietnam and some 600 km south of China's Hainan island. Vietnam says the Chinese boats deliberately cut the survey ship's cables in Vietnamese waters. China denies the allegation.^[42] The event stirred up unprecedented anti-China protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city.^[43]
• 9 June – A Norwegian-flagged seismic conducting ship hired by Vietnam Oil & Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) clashed with another three Chinese fishery patrol vessels within Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone. Vietnam once again claimed its exploration cables were deliberately cut.^[44]

“	"China's systematic action is aimed at turning the undisputed area belonging to Vietnam into an area under dispute in order to materialize China's nine-dotted line claim in the East Sea. This is unacceptable"	”
	— Vietnamese spokeswoman Pham Phuong Nga, following the June 9th incident

• 10 October – Vietnam and China agree to a new set of principles on settling maritime disputes^[35]
• November – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad believed Malaysia could profit from China's economic growth through co-operation with China, and said that China was not a threat to anyone and was not worried about aggression from China, accusing the United States of provoking China and trying to turn China's neighbours against China.^[45][46]
• 17 November – Obama made a policy announcement to Australian Parliament about US pivot or rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific.

2012

• April – The Philippine warship Gregorio del Pilar was involved in a standoff with two Chinese surveillance vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, an area claimed by both nations.^[47] The Philippine navy had been trying to arrest Chinese fishermen who were allegedly taking government-protected marine species from the area, but the surveillance boats prevented them.^[48] On 14 April 2012, US and the Philippines held their yearly exercises in Palawan, Philippines.^[49] On 16 April 2012, the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged a Philippine archaeological ship to immediately leave the waters of the Scarborough Shoal, which China claims is an "integral part of its territory."^[50] On 7 May 2012, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying called a meeting with Alex Chua, Charge D'affaires of the Philippine Embassy in China, to make a serious representation over the current incident at the Scarborough Shoal. China also warned its nationals against travel to the Philippines and raised trade barriers on imported pineapples and bananas.^[51][52] On 16 May 2012, a fishing ban in the Scarborough Shoal by the governments of China and the Philippines became effective.^[53][54] By mid June 2012, both nations had withdrawn their vessels from the waters around the disputed Shoal due to the arrival of the typhoon season.^[55] By July 2012, China had erected a barrier to the entrance of the shoal,^[56][57] and that vessels belonging to Beijing's China Marine Surveillance and Fisheries Law Enforcement Command were observed nearby the disputed shoal;^[58] as of December 2012, Chinese government ships remain around the shoal and have been turning away Filipino vessels;^[59][60] additionally, China has stated it would interdict, and board,^[61] any foreign vessel that entered waters it claimed.^[62] China later clarified that it would only conduct interdiction, and boarding, vessels within 12 nautical miles for which China has announced baselines.^[63]
• May – Taiwan rejected a pan-Chinese approach of co-ordinating with the PRC in asserting claims to the South China Sea.^[64]
• June – Indian Navy vessels sailing in the South China Sea received an unscheduled escort by a People's Liberation Army Navy frigate for 12 hours.^[65][66]

Dongguan aground on the Half Moon Shoal.

• 11 July – a Jianghu-V type frigate of the PLA Navy, 560 Dongguan, ran aground on Half Moon Shoal just 60 nmi west of Rizal, well within the Philippines' 200 nmi-EEZ.^[67] By 15 July the ship had been refloated and was returning to port with no injuries and only minor damage.^[68] The 2012 ASEAN summit was taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the same time, where the mood was already tense over the escalating aggression in the region.^[68]
• July – The National Assembly of Vietnam passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea borders to include the Spratly and Paracel islands.^[69][70]
• July – Citing reports from diplomats on-hand, Reuters wrote that Cambodia "batted away repeated attempts to raise the issue about the disputed waters during the ASEAN Meeting last week as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum."^[71]
• 22 July – The Central Military Commission (China) decided to establish the Sansha garrison.^[72] The move was criticised by the Philippines and Vietnam.^[73] China responded by calling in a senior US diplomat and reiterating their "absolute sovereignty" over the region.^[74]
• 1 September – Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island on September 2012, reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the "imaginary enemy" in the drill.^{[75][76][77][78][79][80]} Vietnam protested against the exercises as violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the drill.^{[81][82][83][84]} Taiwan rejected Vietnam's protests, and Taiwan's Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs declared that "Taiping Island is part of the Republic of China's territory....We have noted Vietnam's dissatisfaction over the drill...No one has the right to protest over Taiwan's exercise of its sovereign rights there", while China voiced its approval and support of Taiwan's military drill on the island.^[85][86] Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said, "Our sovereignty over the island is undisputable and all of our activities and deployments on the island are legal and will never cause regional tensions." in response to Vietnamese claims on the island.^[87][88] Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions.^{[89][90][91][92]}
• 5 September – Philippine president Aquino promulgated Administrative Order No. 29, naming maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago as the West Philippine Sea. The order declares that the Philippines exercises "sovereign jurisdiction" in its exclusive economic zone, an area declared by Presidential Decree No. 1599 of 11 June 1978 to extend to a distance of two hundred nautical miles beyond and from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.^[93][94][95] The Philippine Baselines are defined by Republic Act No. 3046, as amended.^[96] Official PRC media responded that this was a "fond dream".^[97]
• 23 September – China launched a program to increase the number of UAVs monitoring the Scarborough Shoal, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and East China Sea, which follows a national marine zoning program approved by the State Council during the previous year as a part of China's 12th five year plan.^[98]
• December – In an interview with the Times of India, Philippines Vice-President Binay welcomed the statement made by Indian Navy Admiral Joshi who stated that the Indian Navy is prepared to operate in the South China Sea.^[99]

2013

• March – Malaysia displayed no concern over China conducting a military exercise at James Shoal on March 2013.^[100]
• August – Malaysia suggested that it might work with China over their South China Sea claims and ignore the other claimants, with Malaysian Defence Minister Hishamuddin Hussein saying that Malaysia had no problem with China patrolling the South China Sea, and telling ASEAN, America, and Japan that "Just because you have enemies, doesn't mean your enemies are my enemies".^[101][102]

2014

• 10 January – China imposes a "fishing permit" rule in the South China Sea, over the objections of the United States, the Philippines, and Vietnam.^[103]
• 11 March – Two Philippine ships are expelled by the Chinese Coast Guard from Ayungin Shoal in the Spratly group of islands.^[104]
• 30 March – The Republic of the Philippines invokes the compulsory settlement of dispute clause under the Law of the Sea Convention, by submitting a case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in its case against China over competing South China Sea claims.
• 2 May – Vietnamese naval ships and Chinese vessels collide in the South China Sea. The incident occurred as China set up an oil rig in an area to which both nations lay claim.^[105] On 26 May, a Vietnamese fishing boat sank near the oil rig, after colliding with a Chinese vessel. As both sides imputed the blame to each other, Vietnam released video footage a week later, showing the Vietnamese boat being rammed by the Chinese vessel before sinking.^[106] Meanwhile, ASEAN leaders expressed "serious concerns" over the tensions, calling for self-restraint and peaceful acts from both sides. Many observed that this marked a change in tone by ASEAN members, who had previously avoided a collision of their economic interests with China.^[107]
• 19 August – A Shenyang J-11 intercepts a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine warfare aircraft flying in international waters the South China Sea.^[108]
• 7 December – the United States State Department released a report concluding that China's 9-dash-line claim does not accord with the international law of the sea.

2015

• 8 April – China is transforming Mischief Reef into an island.^[109] According to UNCLOS, artificial islands do not afford the occupying nation territorial waters.^[110]
• 8 June – Chinese coast guard vessel anchored at Luconia Shoals (Betting Patinggi Ali), leading to a protest by Malaysia.^[111]
• 7 July - Philippines v. China is a pending arbitration case concerning the legality of China's "nine-dotted line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Philippines asked the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to invalidate China's claims. The hearings were also attended by observers from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.^[112] The case has been compared to Nicaragua v. United States due to similarities of the parties involved such as that a developing country is challenging a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in an arbitral tribunal.^[113] On 29 October 2015, the court ruled that it had the power to hear the case. It agreed to take up seven of the 15 submissions made by Manila, in particular whether Scarborough Shoal and low-tide areas like Mischief Reef can be considered islands. It set aside seven more pointed claims mainly accusing Beijing of acting unlawfully to be considered at the next hearing on the case's merits. The tribunal is due to report in 2016.^[114]
• 15 August – Malaysia continues its protest as China did not move their vessel by sending diplomatic notes. In a statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim, “We have never received any official claims from them (China) and they said the island (Beting Patinggi Ali) belongs to them but the country is 400,000 kilometres away. We are taking diplomatic action but in whatever approach, they have to get out of our national waters”.^[115]
• 27 October – US destroyer USS Lassen navigates within 12 nautical miles of the emerging land masses in the Spratly Islands as the first in a series of "Freedom of Navigation Operation".^[116]
• 14 November – Indonesia announces that it is planning to take China to court over the Natuna Islands.^[117]

The Republic of China (Taiwan)

• 1945 – In accordance with the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations and with American help, the armed forces of the Republic of China government in Nanjing accepted the surrender of the Japanese garrisons in Taiwan, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Nanjing then declared both archipelagoes to be part of Guangdong Province.
• 1946 – The R.O.C. established garrisons on both Woody (now Yongxing / 永兴) Island in the Paracels and Taiping Island in the Spratlys. France protested. The French tried but failed to dislodge Chinese nationalist troops from Yongxing Island (the only habitable island in the Paracels), but were able to establish a small camp on Pattle (now Shanhu / 珊瑚) Island in the southwestern part of the archipelago.
• 1950 – After the Chinese nationalists of the R.O.C. were driven from Hainan by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), they withdrew their garrisons in both the Paracels and Spratlys to Taiwan.
• 1956 – The Republic of China (Taipei) put troops back on Taiping Island, the only naturally habitable island in the Spratlys.
• 1975 – the R.O.C. claims to be the only legitimate sovereign of the Spratlys. For the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, successively seized the Spratly Islands.
• 28 January 2000 – The establishment of the Coast Guard Administration to take over the Pacific Island

Vietnam

• 1956 – North Vietnam formally accepted that the Paracel and Spratly islands were historically Chinese. But, that same year, South Vietnam reopened the abandoned French camp on Shanhu Island in the Paracels and announced that it had annexed the Paracel archipelago as well as the Spratlys.
• 1974 – South Vietnam attempted to enforce its claims to sovereignty by placing settlers in the Spratlys and expelling Chinese fishermen from the southwestern Paracels. In the ensuing naval battle at Shanhu Island, China defeated Vietnamese forces. This enabled Beijing to extend its control to the entire Paracel archipelago, where it has not been effectively challenged since.
• 1979 – Hanoi (now the capital of a united Vietnam) repudiated its earlier deference to China’s claims, adopted South Vietnam’s position, and claimed sovereignty over all the islands in the South China Sea. In the early 1980s, as Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Taipei protested, Vietnam resumed vigorous settlement and garrisoning of the Spratlys.

The People's Republic of China

• 1956 – The People's Republic of China reestablished a Chinese garrison on Yongxing Island (the only naturally habitable island in the Paracels), while the Republic of China (Taipei) put troops back on Taiping Island (the only naturally habitable island in the Spratlys).
• 1974 – South Vietnam attempted to enforce its claims to sovereignty by placing settlers in the Spratlys and expelling Chinese fishermen from the southwestern Paracels. In the ensuing naval battle at Shanhu Island, China defeated Vietnamese forces. This enabled Beijing to extend its control to the entire Paracel archipelago, where it has not been effectively challenged since.
• 1988 – Johnson South Reef Skirmish with Vietnam, China took seven Spratly reefs.
• 1997 – China reaffirmed the U-shaped area in the South China Sea as Chinese territorial waters and Chinese sovereignty over of all reefs within the area.
• 2012 – Handover of political leadership in China leads to a greater assertiveness in pressing territorial claims.^[118] China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) estimated that extracting from South China sea could double China's oil and gas reserves.^[119]

Reference

1. Wortzel, Larry M.; Higham, Robin D.S. (1 January 1999). Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-313-29337-5. Retrieved 21 August 2014. China's claim to the islands are based on historic usage by Chinese fisherman as early as 200 B.C.E. and on the 1887 Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary Convention, while Vietnam claims historic links with the islands based primarily on having inherited modern French territory.
2. Nordquist & Moore 1998, pp. 154–155
3. Nordquist & Moore 1998, p. 155
4. Nordquist & Moore 1998, p. 156
5. "Chapter II-3 Sovereignty Over the Paracel and Spratly Islands". Scribd. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
6. Samuels, Marwyn S. (1982). Contest for the South China Sea. New York: Methuen and Company. p. 61.
7. United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs (1974). Oil and Asian Rivals: Sino-Soviet Conflict; Japan and the Oil Crisis. US Government Printing Office. p. 442. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
   Park, Choon-ho (1985). East Asia and the law of the sea. Seoul National University Press. p. 188. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
8. Myron H. Nordquist; John Norton Moore; University of Virginia. Center for Oceans Law and Policy (30 September 1998). Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation ; [twenty-first Annual Seminar Held at the UN Plaza Hotel in New York City from February 7 – 8, 1997]. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 173–. ISBN 90-411-1056-9.
9. Shicun Wu (30 September 2013). Solving Disputes for Regional Cooperation and Development in the South China Sea: A Chinese Perspective. Elsevier Science. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-1-78063-355-8.
10. ed. Kivimäki 2002, p. 9.
11. Bateman, Emmers 2008, p. 43.
12. Samuels, Marwyn S. (1982). Contest for the South China Sea. New York: Methuen and Company. p. 52.
13. "Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin". Retrieved 30 July 2015. doi:10.1080/009083299276177
14. Hiebert, Murray (30 June 1994). "Hanoi's Tit for Tat". Far Eastern Economic Review: 20–21.
15. Rodolfo Severino (2011). Where in the World is the Philippines?: Debating Its National Territory. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 76–. ISBN 978-981-4311-71-7.
16. Severino 2011, p. 76.
17. ed. Kivimäki 2002, p. 10.
18. Bill Hayton (12 June 2015). "The importance of evidence: Fact, fiction and the South China Sea". Thanh Niên.
19. Bill Hayton (25 May 2015). "The importance of evidence: Fact, fiction and the South China Sea". Asia Sentinel.
20. ed. Morley, Nishihara 1997, p. 124.
21. Severino 2011, p. 74.
22. ed. Kivimäki 2002, p. 11.
23. "The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica.". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
24. "San Francisco Peace Treaty". Retrieved 30 July 2015.
25. Paracel and Spratly Islands
26. Pak 2000, p. 92.
27. "The Operation of the HYSY 981 Drilling Rig: Vietnam's Provocation and China's Position". 2014-06-09.
28. "South China Sea Treacherous Shoals", magazine Far Eastern Economic Review, 13 Août 92: p14-17
29. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/spratly-clash.htm
30. Law of the Sea in East Asia: Issues and Prospects, Keyuan Zou, 2005, Univ. of Singapore. pg 58
31. STRATFOR's Global Intelligence Update (14 July 1999). "Taiwan sticks to its guns, to U.S. chagrin". Asia Times. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
32. Sisci, Francesco (29 June 2010). "US toe-dipping muddies South China Sea". Asia Times. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
33. Pak 2000, p. 91.
34. "菲"搅局，东盟会议未发公报 (in Chinese). 搜狐. 15 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
35. "China and Vietnam agree principles for resolving maritime disputes – Durham University". Retrieved 30 July 2015.
36. "Chinese ships "shot to kill" Vietnamese fishermen; survivor". Vietnam Seaports Association. 17 January 2005. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
37. "Vietnam Accuses China of Violating Law After Fishermen Killed". Bloomberg. 23 January 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
38. "Pentagon says Chinese vessels harassed U.S. ship" CNN
39. Taylor, Tim. "The rights stuff in oil islands now." The Lawyer, 15 October 2012.
40. Tessa Jamandre (3 June 2011). "China fired at Filipino fishermen in Jackson atoll". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
41. Bill Gertz (8 August 2012). "Inside the Ring: China warship grounded". Washington Times. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
42. "Vietnam accuses China in seas dispute". BBC News. 30 May 2011.
43. "Anti-China Protests Continue in Vietnam, Despite Police Opposition". China Digital Times (China). Retrieved 15 November 2011.
44. China boats violate Vietnam sea, cut cables again (9 June 2011), tuoitrenews.vn.
45. "Mahathir: China no threat to Malaysia". The Star. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
46. Kazuto Tsukamoto (9 November 2011). "Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat". The Asahi Shimbun. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
47. "China, Philippines locked in naval standoff". CNN. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
48. "Philippines and China to impose fishing bans amid standoff". The Telegraph (London). 14 May 2012.
49. "US, Philippines hold war games" Hindustan Times
50. "China urges Philippine archaeological vessel to leave Huangyan Island". Xinhua. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
51. Damian Grammaticas (9 May 2012). "China bangs the war drum over South China Sea". BBC. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
52. Barbara Demick (10 May 2012). "China cancels tours to Philippines over South China Sea dispute". Los Angeles Times.
53. "China to enforce fishing ban in disputed waters". The Jakarta Post. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
54. "Philippines imposes fishing ban in disputed waters". ABC Radio Australia. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
55. Jane Perlez (18 June 2012). "Philippines and China Ease Tensions in Rift at Sea". New York TImes. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
56. Michaela Del Callar (18 July 2012). "DFA: China boats blocking PHL vessels from Panatag Shoal". GMA News. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
57. Jim Gomez (18 July 2012). "Indonesia scrambles to end ASEAN rift over sea". Associated Press. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
58. Fat Reyes (27 July 2012). "3 Chinese government vessels spotted at Scarborough Shoal — DFA". Global Nation Inquirer. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
59. "3 Chinese ships seen in Scarborough – PCG". ABS-CBN News (Manila, Philippines). 12 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
60. "Philippines insists Chinese ships must go; historical claim cited". Business World Online. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
61. Rouchelle R. Dinglasan (1 December 2012). "China’s 'new rule' in South China Sea is threat to all countries — DFA". GMA News. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
62. Amanda Lago (3 December 2012). "No moves to redeploy patrol vessels to Panatag Shoal yet — DFA chief". GMA News. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
63. Jeremy Page; Vu Trong Khanh (5 December 2012). "China Sheds Light on New Sea Rules". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
64. "Taiwan will not work with China on South China Sea issues: official" ROC Central News Agency, 21 May 2012.
65. Ananth Krishnan (14 June 2012). "In South China Sea, a surprise Chinese escort for Indian ships". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 21 June 2012.
66. "China's Great White Fleet – Will China's Secret Fleet Soon Outnumber The U.S. Navy?". Forbes. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
67. Laude, Jamie. "China ship runs aground near Phl" The Philippine Star. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
68. "Stranded naval frigate refloated." AFP. 15 July 2012
69. Perlez, Jane (23 June 2012). "China gets tough as Vietnam claims disputed islands". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012.
70. "- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 23 September 2012.
71. Manuel Mogato and Stuart Grudgings, "ASEAN Way" founders in South China Sea storm, Reuters, 17 July 2012.
72. "China to formally garrison disputed South China Sea." Reuters, 22 July 2012.
73. "Philippines Slams China's Establishment of Sansha City in South China Sea." VOA, 23 July 2012.
74. "China calls in U.S. diplomat over South China Sea." Reuters, 4 August 2012.
75. "Photo: Taiwan military exercises with Vietnam as an imaginary enemy generals admit Taiping Island". 5 September 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
76. "Taiwan holds live-fire drill in Spratlys: official" 2013.
77. "PTI 2013.". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
78. Staff Writers, Taipei (AFP) (1 March 2013). "Taiwan to stage live-fire drill on disputed island". Space Daily. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
79. PTI. "PTI 2013.". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
80. Yeh, Joseph (23 April 2013). "Drills held on Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in South China Sea". The China Post. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
81. Bloomberg News (23 August 2012). "Vietnam Demands Taiwan Cancel Spratly Island Live Fire Drill". Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
82. "Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island". Thanh Nien News. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
83. "thanhniennews 2012.". Vietnam Breaking News. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
84. Agence France-Presse (1 March 2013). "Taiwan to hold live-fire drill in Spratlys". InterAksyon. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
85. CNA and Staff Reporter (5 September 2012). "Taiwan unmoved by Vietnam's protest against Taiping drill". Want China Times. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
86. (AFP) (12 August 2012). "Vietnam's angry at Taiwan as it stages live-fire drill in the Spratlys". Philippines News. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
87. CNA (21 August 2012). "Taiwan to conduct live-fire Taiping Island drill in Sept.". The China Post. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
88. Staff writer, with CNA (21 August 2012). "Taiwan plans live-fire drill on Taiping in South China Sea". Taipei Times. p. 3. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
89. Carpenter, Ted Galen (28 February 2013). "Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors". The National Interest. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
90. "Carpenter 2013.". Cato Institute. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
91. "Carpenter 2013.". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
92. "Carpenter 2013.". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
93. "It’s official: Aquino signs order on West Philippine Sea". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 13 September 2012.
94. "Anministrative Order No. 29". Official Gazette. Office of the President of the Philippines. 5 September 2012.
95. "Presidential Decree No. 1599 of 11 June 1978 establishing an Exclusive Economic Zone and for other purposes" (PDF). Maritime Space: Maritime Zones and Maritime Delimitation. Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS), Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations Secretariat. 11 June 1978.
96. "AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3046, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5446, TO DEFINE THE ARCHIPELAGIC BASELINE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES". Chan Robles Law Library. 10 March 2009.
97. "Commentary: Philippine renaming of South China Sea willful move, fond dream." Xinhua, 13 September 2012.
98. J. Michael Cole, 2012-09-24, China increases territorial UAVs, Taipei Times
99. Indrani Bagchi (18 December 2012). "Asean nations lap up Navy chief's South China Sea comment". Times of India. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
100. Shahriman Lockman (24 April 2013). "Why Malaysia isn't afraid of China (for now)". The Strategist: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
101. Haslinda Amin (29 August 2013). Malaysia Breaks Ranks on South China Sea (video). First Up. Bloomberg. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
102. "Malaysia splits with ASEAN on China Sea threat". Bloomberg. Business Mirror. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
103. "Beijing brushes off US criticism of its tough new fishing rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
104. "DND confirms report on expulsion of PH vessels by Chinese ships". Retrieved 10 May 2014.
105. "Vietnam and China ships 'collide in South China Sea'". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
106. Bloomberg News (6 June 2014). "Vietnam Says China Still Ramming Boats, Airs Sinking Video". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
107. "ASEAN balks on singling out China in communique". Japan Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
108. Capaccio and Greiling Keane, Tony and Angela (August 22, 2014). "Chinese Jet Barrel-Rolls Over U.S. Plane Bringing Protest". Bloomberg.
109. "Piling Sand in a Disputed Sea, China Literally Gains Ground". New York Times. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
     "'Great Wall Of Sand': China Builds Islands In Contested Waters". WPSU (Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States). 11 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
110. "China Building Artificial Islands in South China Sea". Washington Free Beacon (United States). Reuters. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015. The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea does not legally allow for reclaimed land to be used to demarcate 12-nautical-mile territorial zones, but some officials fear China will not feel limited by that document and will seek to keep foreign navies from passing close by.
     Thomas Dux (2011). Specially Protected Marine Areas in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): The Regime for the Protection of Specific Areas of the EEZ for Environmental Reasons Under International Law. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 156. ISBN 978-3-643-11127-2.
111. "Malaysia Toughens Stance With Beijing Over South China Sea". World Street Journal. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
112. "Philippines asks tribunal to invalidate China’s sea claims". The Washington Post. 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
113. Esmaquel, Paterno II (July 11, 2015). "PH lawyer vs China: 'Giant slayer' who defeated US". Rappler. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
114. "Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China". PCA Case Repository (Press Release). Permanent Court of Arbitration. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
115. "Malaysia lodges diplomatic protest against intrusion at Beting Patinggi Ali". Bernama. The Rakyat Post. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
116. "After Months of Waiting, US Finally Begins Freedom of Navigation Patrols Near China's Man-Made Islands". The Diplomat. October 27, 2015.
117. Daiss, Tim (November 12, 2015). "Indonesia Ups The Ante In Disputed South China Sea, Oil And Gas Lurks In The Background". Forbes.
118. Liu, Melinda. "Political Uncertainty Roils the Chinese Military." Newsweek, 29 October 2012.
119. "Gas finds give impetus to China sea claim.". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 October 2014.