historical sovereignty of the islands is the basis of china in claiming spratly islands.
historical sovereignty of the islands is the basis of china in claiming spratly islands.
what is the basis of china in claiming spratly islands?
historical sovereignty of the islands
the spratly islands are important for economic and strategic reasons. the spratly area holds potentially significant, but largely unexplored, reserves of oil and natural gas, it is a productive area for world fishing, it is one of the busiest areas of commercial shipping traffic, and surrounding countries would get an extended continental shelf if their claims were recognised. in addition to economic incentives, the spratlys sit astride major maritime trade routes to northeast asia, giving them added significance as positions from which to monitor maritime activity in the south china sea and to potentially base and project military force from. in 2014, china drew increased international attention due to its dredging activities within the spratlys, amidst speculation it is planning to further develop its military presence in the area. in 2015 satellite imagery revealed that china was rapidly constructing an airfield on fiery cross reef within the spratlys whilst continuing its land reclamation activities at other sites. only china (prc), taiwan (roc), and vietnam have made claims based on historical sovereignty of the islands. the philippines, however, claims part of the area as its territory under unclos, an agreement parts of which have been ratified by the countries involved in the spratly islands dispute.
spratly islands dispute
section::::today.:territorial disputes.:spratly islands dispute.









































the spratly islands dispute is a territorial dispute over the ownership of the spratly islands, a group of islands located in the south china sea. states staking claims to various islands are brunei, malaysia, the philippines, taiwan, vietnam, and people's republic of china. all except brunei occupy some of the islands in dispute. the people's republic of china conducted naval patrols in the spratly islands and established a permanent base.









































on 14 march 1988, chinese and vietnamese naval forces clashed over johnson south reef in the spratly islands, which involved three plan frigates/
people's liberation army navy