MFA: PRC HISTORICAL CLAIMS TO SOUTH CHINA SEA NOT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003499

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2033
TAGS: PBTS PHSA PREL PGOV ECON CH TW XC
SUBJECT: MFA: PRC HISTORICAL CLAIMS TO SOUTH CHINA SEA NOT
SUBJECT TO UNCLOS

REF: BEIJING 924

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons 1.
4 (b/d).


1. (C) Summary: According to a MFA Treaty and Law Department
official, China's territorial claims in the South China Sea
outlined on PRC maps by the nine-segment dotted line (called
"Cow's Tongue" or "Nine Dashes") do not contradict the 1982
UN Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). As a "reflection
of history," the official argued, China's claims predate
UNCLOS, and though these claims conflict with those of
neighboring countries in the region, China will not submit
its claims to the UNCLOS' dispute settlement mechanism.
While both the MFA official and a Chinese Asia scholar claim
historical evidence exists to justify the "Nine Dashes,"
neither could identify for PolOff specific references. End
Summary.

China's SCS claim
--------------


2. (C) MFA Department of Treaty and Law Oceans and Law of the
Sea Division Deputy Director Yin Wenqiang reiterated to
PolOff August 30 China's well-known position on the South
China Sea (SCS),saying "China has indisputable sovereignty
over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent
waters." Yin stated that China's jurisdictional claims in
the region -- defined by the so-called "Nine Dashes" or
"Cow's Tongue," a nine-segment dotted line on PRC maps of the
SCS first published by the Kuomintang Government in 1947 --
"do not contradict" the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS). (Note: The SCS claims of China -- and because
of the claim's original historical antecedent, Taiwan --
overlap exclusive economic zone and continental shelf claims
of Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines.)
Adhering to the MFA's official presentation of its position
(reftel),Yin avoided using the term "historic waters" to
refer to China's SCS claim, saying that this may be a term
used by some
scholars, but not the Chinese Government.

UNCLOS and historical claims
--------------


3. (C) MFA's Yin stated that as a signatory nation of UNCLOS,
China "could certainly claim" rights in the SCS through
UNCLOS. China, in fact, declared a 12-nautical-mile baseline
around the Paracel Islands and along its mainland coast in

1996. Yin added that China has no plans to declare a
baseline around any of the Spratly Islands. He said that
China's sovereignty over the islands and "rights to utilize
economically and exercise jurisdiction" over China's claim
"came much earlier than UNCLOS." Stating the area contained
by the "Nine Dashes" is a "reflection of history," Yin said
that "UNCLOS does not deny historical claims." Yin pointed
to the various territorial disputes extant in the SCS, saying
"UNCLOS cannot clarify everything." Hence, China continues
to promote the "shelve differences, mutual development"
approach to addressing economic development activities in the
SCS and other disputed areas. China will not refer its SCS
claim to dispute settlement procedures established in UNCLOS,
because, Yin said, "it is not in China's tradition" to submit
to such compulsory or binding decision mechanisms. When
queried as to why China acceded to UNCLOS, Yin commented that
China became a signatory nation because neighboring countries
in the SCS joined, and China believes its SCS claim is not
threatened by UNCLOS.

Basis of historical claim unclear
--------------


4. (C) Yin admitted he is not aware of the historical basis
for the "Nine Dashes," though he said Chinese historical
documents indicate the basis for placement of the dashes on
SCS maps. Beijing University Asia scholar Yang Baoyun told
PolOff separately that China's SCS claims date back to
ancient times, prior to the development of the modern
nation-state. Hence, as the modern Chinese nation-state
developed in the 20th century, under the Kuomintang and then
Communist rule, China became increasingly confident of its
identity and its borders. Neither MFA's Yin nor Beijing
University's Yang could specify a historical document that
indicated the basis for the demarcation of the "Nine Dashes."
Yang referred to a 2000 MFA "white paper" on the SCS. This
document provides a survey of China's historical and legal
claims in SCS but focuses mainly on evidence of Chinese
sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands and other
reefs and features. For example, the white paper cites
Japan's relinquishment of sovereignty over the islands in the

BEIJING 00003499 002 OF 002


SCS after World War II to support China's claim to
sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. However,
the white paper devotes little attention to the history of
the "Nine Dashes," providing, for example, only vague
references to areas frequented by Chinese fisherman from
Hainan.
RANDT