Can Conflicts Be Solved by Shelving Disputes?

1 Three geographical features also fall within the Exclusive Economic Zone claimed by Brunei, but Brunei has not specifically claimed sovereignty over the features as such.

2 Ian Townsend-Gault, `Preventive Diplomacy and Pro-Activity in the South China Sea', Contemporary Southeast Asia, vol. 20, no. 2, 1998, pp. 171-190.

3 Tim Huxley, `A Threat in the South China Sea?', Security Dialogue, vol. 29, no. 1, March 1998, pp. 113-118.

4 Francisco A. Magno, in his article `Environmental Security in the South China Sea' (vol. 28, no. 1, March 1997, pp. 97-112), listed the environmental problems requiring multilateral cooperation. Then Ji Guoxing tried to defuse anxieties regarding the PRC's intentions in `China Versus South China Sea Security' (vol. 29, no. 1, March 1998, pp. 101-112). Tim Huxley contributed his pertinent rejoinder from the perspective of a South-east-Asianist (see note 3 above).

5 Numerous news reports after the Foreign Ministry of the Philippines made a press release with photographs on 6 November 1998.

6 South China Morning Post, 22 March 1999.

7 Ji Guoxing (see note 4 above), p. 101.

8 See note 4 above.

9 See Greg Austin, China's Ocean Frontier (Canberra: Allen & Unwin, 1998), p. 14, note 6.

10 Ji Guoxing (see note 4 above), p. 103.

11 The largest of the islands in the Spratly area, Itu Aba, is under occupation by the ROC.

12 The PRC and the ROC could use collaboration in resolving the South China Sea conflict as a means of defining Taiwan's status. See Christopher C. Joyner, `The Spratly Islands Dispute: What Role for Normalizing Relations between China and Taiwan?', New England Law Review, vol. 32, no. 3, Spring 1999, pp. 819-852.

13 Ji Guoxing (see note 4 above), p. 103.

14 The only archipelagic states in the region are the Philippines and Indonesia. China drew baselines around the Paracels in 1996, but that has led to protests from other states.

15 Mark J. Valencia, Jon M. Van Dyke & Noel A. Ludwig, Sharing the Resources of the South China Sea (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1997), pp. 46-48.

16 For maps showing how the South China Sea might be divided into maritime zones, ignoring the Spratlys, see Valencia et al. (note 15 above), pp. 264-265.