WORLD

Seven countries lay claim to parts of the South and East China Sea, the strategic waters through which 50 percent of the world’s shipping tonnage passes, and under which vast deposits of oil and gas may lie. Taiwan is pushing its first-ever mapping project to back up its own claims—which are as large as mainland China’s. (Christian Science Monitor)

Use our MapMaker Interactive to identify and map the claims of Taiwan and the other six countries in dispute.

For reference, the good folks at the Council on Foreign Relations have put together a fantastic feature on China’s maritime disputes. They also have standards-aligned educational resources if you want to dig deeper into the issue.

Discussion Ideas

• What nations are claiming exclusive economic zones in the South China Sea and East China Sea? Use the polygon tool on our MapMaker Interactive to estimate and bookmark the territory claimed by each. Interact with the Council on Foreign Relations map here to learn more. (Or take a look at these maps, which offer slightly different estimates: BBC, Reuters, NPR, the Economist, Asia-Pacific Journal, or the Australian.)
  • China
  • Vietnam
  • Philippines
  • Malaysia
  • Brunei
  • Taiwan
  • Japan
  • Here’s an example of what your map might look like. (This is just an amateur estimate using a National Geographic tool, and not a National Geographic map! Also keep in mind that Japan’s maritime claims extend beyond the East China Sea; this is just the region in dispute.)

• Why is this such a disputed body of water? Read through the Christian Science Monitor article or the Council on Foreign Relations feature for some help.
  • There are actually two areas of conflict. In the words of Shen Dingli (interviewed in the CFR video), disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea are very different. The “East China Sea [dispute] is more political. . . For the South China Sea, it’s about economics.”
  • Historic Claims. China and Japan been claiming sovereignty over islands in the East China Sea for hundreds of years.
    • Check out the Council on Foreign Relations timeline here.
  • Trade. The South China Sea contains some of the busiest, most lucrative shipping lanes in the world. According to the White House, $5.3 trillion in trade passes through the South China Sea every year—that’s a whopping 23% of U.S. trade.
  • Oil. There are untapped reserves of oil and natural gas in the South China Sea. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there are 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the region.
  • Fisheries. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China all have multi-million dollar fishing fleets in the tropical waters of the South China Sea. Even Indonesia, who has not yet entered the regional dispute, may seek to assert its position as a “global maritime nexus” by protecting its fisheries from foreign ships.

• According to the Christian Science Monitor article, China and Taiwan both use the so-called “nine-dash line” to claim sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea. (Read the interesting cartographic history of the nine-dash line here.) Why would the expensive, extraordinarily detailed satellite maps being created for Taiwan make a difference in this dispute?
  • It’s surveillance. Taiwan’s mapping strategy may put it “one step ahead in the knowledge game of who is doing what in the contested waters.” It allows Taiwan to see covert actions rival countries are taking to stake their claims in the region.
    • For instance, Taiwan has been surprised not by China, but by Vietnam’s aggressive action in the region. The new map has revealed that Vietnam is developing landfills along shallow coastlines, creating artificial reefs and islands, and even building homes on some disputed islands. (Use our resources to learn more about artificial reefs and artificial islands.) “Everyone is talking about mainland China, but Vietnam is going all out,” says the Taiwanese official interviewed in the article.
    • China is also investing in island-building. Read through this terrific feature from the BBC on how Filipino settlers are disrupting “China’s Island Factories.”