Murasheva Galina

Is there an alternative to status-quo in the territorial dispute in the South-China Sea?

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2013, №20, 5-16

 
Annotation: The researcher analyses factors that prevent the resolution of the territorial disputes in the South-China Sea, involving such countries as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei. The author evaluates the legal basis of settlement – the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that according to experts should be improved in accordance with the specific local features of the South-China Sea. It is concluded that the factors active in the South-China Sea on the global level (the US-China), on the regional level (ASEAN-China) as well as on the bilateral level (China-Vietnam) are aimed at maintaining status-quo. The chances to resolve the territorial disputes are assessed as vague and remote.

Keywords: SOUTH-CHINA SEA, TERRITORIAL DISPUTE, UNCLOS, ASEAN, CHINA