Editing Spratly Islands (section)

==History==
Evidence of human presence in the region extends back nearly 50,000 years at [[Tabon Caves]] on Palawan. Therefore, it is difficult to say when humans first came upon this island group. Within historical times, several groups may have passed through or occupied the islands. Between 600&nbsp;BC to 3&nbsp;BC there was an east to west migration by members of the seafaring [[Sa Huỳnh culture]]. This may have led them through the Spratly Islands on their way to Vietnam. These migrants were the forebears of the [[Cham people]], an [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian-speaking]] people that founded the Old [[Champa]] empire that ruled what was known for centuries as the Champa Sea.<ref>{{Cite book
|last=Thurgood
|first=Graham
|title=From Ancient Cham to Modern Dialects: Two Thousand Years of Language Contact and Change
|publisher=University of Hawaii Press
|year=1999
|isbn=978-0-8248-2131-9
|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC&pg=PA16 16]
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC
|access-date=16 December 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521043053/https://books.google.com/books?id=MBGYb84A7SAC
|archive-date=21 May 2016
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="NatGeo 2015-06-18">{{cite magazine |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |title=The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines |access-date=29 June 2015 |date=18 June 2014 |magazine=National Geographic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924055038/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-date=24 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Early records and cartography===
In the [[Song Dynasty]] work ''[[Zhu fan zhi]]'' by [[Zhao Rugua]], the name "Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] Stretch of Sands" (''Qianli Changsha'', {{lang|zh-hant|千里長沙}}) and the "Ten-Thousand [[Li (unit)|Li]] of Stone Pools/Beds" (''Wanli Shitang'' {{lang|zh-hant|萬里石塘}}, or ''Wanli Shichuang'' {{lang|zh|{{linktext|萬里|石|床}}}}) were given, interpreted by some to refer to [[Paracel Islands|Paracel]] and Spratly respectively.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA157 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |author=Jianming Shen |editor=Myron H. Nordquist |editor2=John Norton Moore |pages=156–159 |publisher=Brill |year=1998 |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016023230/https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>  ''Wanli Shitang'' is also recorded in the ''[[History of Yuan]]'' to have been explored by the Chinese during the Mongol-led [[Yuan dynasty]] and may have been considered by them to have been within their national boundaries.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Jianming Shen |editor1-last=Nordquist |editor1-first=Myron H. |editor2-last=Moore |editor2-first=John Norton |chapter=Territorial Aspects of the South China Sea Island Disputes |date=1998 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |pages=165–166 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&q=%22wang+dayuan%22+spratly&pg=PA163}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Evidence To Support China's Sovereignty over Nansha Islands |date=2000-11-17 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/3754/t19231.htm |access-date=2 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220023649/http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/topics/3754/t19231.htm |archive-date=20 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Yuan Dynasty Territorial Map">[[History of Yuan]] geographical records: ''Yuan Dynasty Territorial Map'' (元代疆域图叙)</ref> However, the Yuan also ruled over [[Korea]], [[Mongolia|Outer Mongolia]], and parts of modern [[Russia]]. They are also referenced, sometimes with different names, in the Ming dynasty.<ref name="Hainan Commandery Comprehensive Public Memorial Records">{{Citation|script-title=zh:《海南卫指挥佥事柴公墓志铬》|trans-title=[[Hainan]] [[Commandery (China)|Commandery]] Comprehensive Public Memorial Records}}</ref><ref name="miscrec">''Miscellaneous Records of the South Sea Defensive Command'' 《海南卫指挥佥事柴公墓志》</ref> For example, in the [[Mao Kun map]] dating from [[Zheng He]]'s voyage of the early 15th century, ''Shixing Shitang'' ({{lang|zh|石星石塘}}) is taken by some to mean Spratly,<ref name="security">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA168 |title=Security Flashpoints: Oil, Islands, Sea Access and Military Confrontation |author=Jianming Shen |editor1=Myron H. Nordquist |editor2=John Norton Moore |pages=168–169 |publisher=Brill |year=1998 |isbn=978-90-411-1056-5 |access-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510102428/https://books.google.com/books?id=DKXRRfWtkw8C&pg=PA168&lpg=PA168 |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> however different authors interpret the identities of these islands differently.<ref name="mills" /> Another Ming text, ''Haiyu'' (海語, On the Sea), uses ''Wanli Changsha'' ({{lang|zh|萬里長沙}}) for Spratly and noted that it is located southeast of ''Wanli Shitang'' (Paracels).<ref name="security" /> When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the [[Qing dynasty]] continued to include the territory in maps compiled in 1724,<ref>''Qing dynasty provincial map from [[tianxia]] world map'' 《清直省分图》之《天下总舆图》</ref> 1755,<ref>''Qing dynasty circuit and province map from Tianxia world map'' 《皇清各直省分图》之《天下总舆图》</ref> 1767,<ref>''Great Qing of 10,000-years Tianxia map'' 《大清万年一统天下全图》</ref> 1810,<ref>'' Great Qing of 10,000-years general map of all territory'' 《大清万年一统地量全图》</ref> and 1817,<ref name="Great Qing tianxia overview map">''Great Qing tianxia overview map'' 《大清一统天下全图》</ref> but did not officially claim jurisdiction over these islands. 

An early European map, ''A correct chart of the China Seas'' of 1758 by William Herbert, left the Spratly Islands region (known then as the Dangerous Ground) as largely blank, indicating that region has yet to be properly surveyed, although some islands and shoals at its western edge were marked (one appears at the same place as [[Thitu Island]]).<ref name="hancox">{{cite journal |journal=Maritime Briefing |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=31–32 |author=David Hancox and Victor Prescott|year=1995 |title=A Geographical Description of the Spratly Islands and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Herbert |first=William |year=1758 |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232145983/view |title=A correct chart of the China Seas: containing the coasts of Tsiompa Cochin China, The Gulf of Tonquin, Part of the coast of China and the Philippine Islands |via=Trove, National Library of Australia |access-date=19 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140019/http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-232145983/view |archive-date=12 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> A number of maps of the South China Sea were later produced, but the first map that gives a reasonably accurate delineation of the Spratly Islands region (titled ''[South] China Sea, Sheet 1'') was only published in 1821 by the hydrographer of the East India Company James Horsburgh after a survey by Captain Daniel Ross. A later 1859 edition of the map named the Spratly Island as Storm Island.<ref name="hancox" /> The islands were sporadically visited throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries by mariners from different European powers (including [[Richard Spratly]], after whom the island group derives its most recognisable English name, who visited the group in the 1840s in his [[whaler]] [[Cyrus (1800 whaler)|''Cyrus'']]).<ref>MARITIME BRIEFING, Volume I, Number 6: A Geographical Description of the Spratly Island and an Account of Hydrographic Surveys Amongst Those Islands, 1995 by David Hancox and Victor Prescott. Pages 14–15</ref> However, these nations showed little interest in the islands.  In 1883, German boats surveyed the Spratly and the Paracel Islands but eventually withdrew the survey, after receiving protests from the [[Guangdong]] government representing the [[Qing dynasty]].  China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands.<ref name="Severino2011">{{cite book |title=Where in the World is the Philippines?: Debating Its National Territory |first=Rodolfo |last=Severino |edition=illustrated |year=2011 |publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83BIxG7Ig2cC&pg=PA76 |isbn=978-981-4311-71-7 |pages=74, 76 |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101102529/https://books.google.com/books?id=83BIxG7Ig2cC&pg=PA76 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A Vietnamese map from 1834 also combines the Spratly and Paracel Islands into one region known as "Vạn Lý Trường Sa", a feature commonly incorporated into maps of the era ({{script|Hani|萬里長沙}}) ‒ that is, the same as the aforementioned Chinese island name ''Wanli Changsha''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nansha.org.cn/maps/7/da_nan_yi_tong_quan_tu.html|title=大南一统全图|work=nansha.org.cn|access-date=7 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303074856/http://www.nansha.org.cn/maps/7/da_nan_yi_tong_quan_tu.html|archive-date=3 March 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> According to [[Hanoi]], Vietnamese maps record Bãi Cát Vàng (''Golden Sandbanks'', referring to both the Spratly and Paracel Islands), which lay near the coast of the central Vietnam, as early as 1838.<ref name="KING" /> In ''Phủ Biên Tạp Lục'' (''The Frontier Chronicles'') by scholar [[Lê Quý Đôn]], both [[Hoàng Sa]] and [[Trường Sa]] were defined as belonging to the Quảng Ngãi District. He described it as where sea products and shipwrecked cargoes were available to be collected. Vietnamese text written in the 17th century referenced government-sponsored economic activities during the [[Lê dynasty]], 200&nbsp;years earlier. The Vietnamese government conducted several geographical surveys of the islands in the 18th century.<ref name="KING" /> Despite the fact that China and Vietnam both made a claim to these territories simultaneously, at the time, neither side was aware that its neighbour had already charted and made claims to the same stretch of islands.<ref name="KING">{{wikicite|reference=King C. Chen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C China's War with Vietnam] (1979) [https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C&pg=PA42 ''Dispute over the Paracels and Spratlys'', pp. 42–48].|ref={{harvid|King|1979}}}}</ref>

In 1888 the Central Borneo Company were granted a lease to work guano "on Sprattly island and Amboyna Cay".<ref>{{Cite web |title=FO 881/5741 |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3652759 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220012213/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3652759 |archive-date=20 February 2020 |access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref> During the [[Second World War]] troops from [[French Indochina]] and [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japan]] were in occupation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline |url=http://www.spratlys.org/history/spratly-islands-history-timeline.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140321055855/http://www.spratlys.org/history/spratly-islands-history-timeline.htm |archive-date=21 March 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014 |work=History of the Spratlys}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Chemillier-Gendreau |first=Monique |title=Sovereignty Over the Paracel and Spratly Islands |publisher=Kluwer Law International |year=2000 |isbn=978-90-411-1381-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.ukho.gov.uk/PRODUCTSANDSERVICES/PAPERPUBLICATIONS/Pages/NauticalPubs.aspx |title=China Sea pilot |publisher=UKHO – United Kingdom Hydrographic Office |year=2010 |edition=8th |volume=1 |location=Taunton |access-date=21 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321094148/https://www.ukho.gov.uk/PRODUCTSANDSERVICES/PAPERPUBLICATIONS/Pages/NauticalPubs.aspx |archive-date=21 March 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1956 Filipino adventurer [[Tomás Cloma|Tomás Cloma Sr.]] decided to "claim" a part of Spratly islands as his own, naming it the "[[Free Territory of Freedomland]]".<ref>{{cite news |date=13 January 2014 |title=China and Philippines: The reasons why a battle for Zhongye (Pag-asa) Island seems unavoidable |url=http://chinadailymail.com/2014/01/13/the-reasons-why-a-battle-for-zhongye-pag-asa-island-seems-unavoidable/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302121950/http://chinadailymail.com/2014/01/13/the-reasons-why-a-battle-for-zhongye-pag-asa-island-seems-unavoidable/ |archive-date=2 March 2014 |access-date=21 March 2014 |newspaper=China Daily Mail}}</ref>

In the 1950s, a group of individuals claimed sovereignty over the islands in the name of Morton F. Meads, supposedly an American descendant of a British naval captain who gave his name to Meads Island (Itu Aba) in the 1870s. In an affidavit made in 1971, the group claimed to represent the Kingdom of Humanity/[[Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuels|first1=Marwyn|title=Contest for the South China Sea|date=1982|publisher=Methuen|location=UK|isbn=978-0-416-33140-0|page=81|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Qz8AQAAQBAJ|access-date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=8Qz8AQAAQBAJ|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> which they asserted was in turn the successor entity for a supposed Kingdom of Humanity established between the two world wars on Meads Island, allegedly by the son of the British captain. This claim to this would-be [[micronation]] fell dormant after 1972, when several members of the group drowned in a typhoon.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuels|first1=Marwyn|title=Contest for the South China Sea|date=1982|publisher=Methuen|location=UK|isbn=978-0-416-33140-0|pages=168–172}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The United States in Asia: A Historical Dictionary|last=Shavit|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWdZTaJdc6UC&pg=PA285|page=285|year=1990|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-26788-8}}</ref><ref name="fowler">{{cite book |last1=Fowler |first1=Michael |last2=Bunck |first2=Julie Marie |title=Law, Power, and the Sovereign State |pages=54–55 |year=1995 |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |isbn=978-0-271-01470-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAp_97VvpMIC&q=%22James+George+Meads%22&pg=PA54}}</ref><ref name="latimes">{{cite news|last=Whiting|first=Kenneth|title=Asian Nations Squabble Over Obscure String of Islands|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A2|date=2 February 1992}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:MAO KUN MAP-19.jpg|In the [[Mao Kun map]], Spratly Islands are suggested to be the islands at the bottom right ({{zh|labels=no |c=石星石塘 |p=shíxīng shítáng}}).<ref name="security" /> Others however believe they referred to the [[Paracel Islands]] or [[Macclesfield Bank]].<ref name="mills">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DjQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA272|title=Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores |author=J.V. Mills |pages=Appendix 1 and 2|publisher=White Lotus Press |isbn=978-974-8496-78-8|year=1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/32-33/EAH32-33_05.pdf |title=The South China Sea and Its Coral Reefs during the Ming and Qing Dynasties: Levels of Geographical Knowledge and Political Control |author=Ulises Granados |journal=East Asian History |volume=32/33 |year=2006 |pages=109–128 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801234520/http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/32-33/EAH32-33_05.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2019}}</ref>
File:Carta_Hydrographica_y_Chorographica_de_las_Yslas_Filipinas_Dedicada_al_Rey_Nuestro_Señor_por_el_Mariscal_d._Campo_D._Fernando_Valdes_Tamon_Cavallº_del_Orden_de_Santiago_de_Govor._Y_Capn.jpg|The [[Velarde map]] shows Galit, Pancot, and Lumbay, which the Philippines identifies as the [[Scarborough Shoal]] and islands off of [[Palawan]]. It was used in the [[South China Sea Arbitration]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 September 2019 |title=Ever heard of the 1734 Murillo Velarde map and why it should be renamed? |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/240646-why-we-should-rename-1734-murillo-velarde-map |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190927034721/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/240646-why-we-should-rename-1734-murillo-velarde-map |archive-date=27 September 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020}}</ref>
File:Bajos_de_Paragua,_detail_in_Carta_Hydrographica_y_Chorographica_de_las_Yslas_Filipinas.jpg|The Spratlys labeled as ''"Los Bajos de Paragua"'' off the coast of [[Palawan]] (''Paragua'') on the [[Velarde map]]
File:1801 Cary Map of the East Indies and Southeast Asia ( Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Philippines) - Geographicus - EastIndies-cary-1801.jpg|An 1801 Cary Map of the East Indies and Southeast Asia showing Panacot, the Scarborough Shoal, Amphitrite, the Paracels, and what is now known as the Spratlys
File:DaiNamNhatThongToanDo 1834-1838.jpg|An 1838 Unified Dai Nam map marking [[Trường Sa]] and [[Hoàng Sa]], which are considered as Spratly and [[Paracel Islands]] by some Vietnamese scholars
File:China Sea - Southern Portion - Eastern Sheet.png|A British chart of the sea in northern Borneo, first issued in 1881 and corrected in 1935
</gallery>

===Military conflicts and diplomatic dialogues===
{{Further|Spratly Islands dispute}}

The following are political divisions for the Spratly Islands claimed by various area nations (in alphabetical order):

* Brunei: Part of Brunei's Exclusive Economic Zone<ref name="Brunei">[https://web.archive.org/web/20080228205656/http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html Borneo Post: When All Else Fails](archived from [http://www.icriforum.org/secretariat/press_061303.html the original] on 28 February 2008) Additionally, pages 48 and 51 of "The Brunei-Malaysia Dispute over Territorial and Maritime Claims in International Law" by R. Haller-Trost, Clive Schofield, and Martin Pratt, published by the [http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ International Boundaries Research Unit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018082015/http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/ |date=18 October 2009}}, University of Durham, UK, points out that this is, in fact, a "territorial dispute" between Brunei and other claimants over the ownership of one above-water feature (Louisa Reef)</ref>
*China: Part of [[Sansha]], [[Hainan]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Romero|first=Alexis|title=China fishing boats cordon off Spratlys|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/05/08/939648/china-fishing-boats-cordon-spratlys|access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=The Philippine Star|date=8 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125134046/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/05/08/939648/china-fishing-boats-cordon-spratlys|archive-date=25 January 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Malaysia: Part of [[Sabah]] state
* Philippines: Part of [[Kalayaan, Palawan|Kalayaan]], [[Palawan]] province
* Taiwan: Part of [[Kaohsiung]] municipality
* Vietnam: Part of [[Trường Sa District|Trường Sa]], [[Khánh Hòa Province]]

==== Conflicts in the 19th century ====
In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from [[Hainan]] annually sojourned on the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched the first modern legal claims to the Spratly Islands.<ref name="Kivimaki2002">{{cite book |title=War Or Peace in the South China Sea? |editor-first=Timo |editor-last=Kivimäki |issue=Issue 45 of NIAS reports |issn=0904-597X |edition=illustrated |year=2002 |others=Contributor: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies |publisher=NIAS Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNVf9R_L5FAC&pg=PA9 |isbn=978-87-91114-01-4 |access-date=10 March 2014 |pages=9–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403224917/http://books.google.com/books?id=CNVf9R_L5FAC&pg=PA9 |archive-date=3 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Taylor & Francis">{{cite book |title=Security and International Politics in the South China Sea: Towards a co-operative management regime |editor1-first=Sam |editor1-last=Bateman |editor2-first=Ralf |editor2-last=Emmers |edition=illustrated |year=2008 |page=43 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-88524-6 |access-date=10 March 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VrMXX3CgBMC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424071301/https://books.google.com/books?id=9VrMXX3CgBMC |archive-date=24 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some Chinese scholars and officials argue that the 1887 Sino-French Tonkin Boundary convention<ref>{{cite web |date=26 Jun 1887 |title=Convention relative à la délimitation de la frontière entre la Chine et le Tonkin, signée à Pékin |trans-title=Full text of Convention relative to the delimitation of the frontier between China and Tonkin, signed in Beijing |url=http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=NUMM-95886&I=307&M=tdm |access-date=12 Jul 2023 |publisher=Gallica |language=French |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806234826/http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/CadresFenetre?O=NUMM-95886&I=307&M=tdm |url-status=dead}}</ref> signed after the [[Sino-French War]] recognised the sovereignty of China over the Paracel and Spratly islands.<ref name="Wortzel" /> The line mentioned in the convention can be more accurately described as a shorthand for dividing islands between China and Vietnam in the [[Gulf of Tonkin]], but not its maritime waters. In the 1950s amid warming ties between the two countries, [[Mao Zedong]] decided to hand over [[Bạch Long Vĩ Island]], which lies to the west of the dividing line and had Chinese inhabitants, to Vietnam. In 1933 and 1937 France sent diplomatic notes to China maintaining that the 1887 treaty determined the ownership of islands near the [[Móng Cái]] area only not anywhere beyond that.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pedrozo |first=Raul (Pete) |year=2014 |title=China versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea |url=https://www.cna.org/reports/2014/iop-2014-u-008433.pdf |series=U.S. policy options in the South China Sea |publisher=CNA Corporation's Strategic Studies |page=86 |location=Arlington, VA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keyuan |first=Zou |date=15 Dec 2010 |title=Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/009083299276177 |journal=Ocean Development & International Law |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=235–254 |doi=10.1080/009083299276177 |issn=0090-8320}}</ref>

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also try to claim that a 1883 incident involving a German ship conducting surveys in the South China Sea without China's consent was protested with Berlin and the Germans terminated the survey.<ref name="Severino2011" />  Western scholars have determined, however, that this incident is not based on verifiable references and is inconsistent with other Chinese inaction during the same time period given that, in 1885, the German Admiralty published a two‐sheet chart entitled ''Die Paracel‐Inseln'' (The Paracel Islands). The chart documented the work of a German expedition to the Paracels between 1881 and 1884.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chemillier-Gendreau |first=Monique |date=2000 |title=Sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands |location=The Hague, The Netherlands |publisher=Brill/Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |page=99 |isbn=978-90-411-1381-8}}</ref>

==== Conflicts in the 20th century until 1945 ====
China sent naval forces on inspection tours in 1902 and 1907 and placed flags and markers on the islands. The Qing dynasty's successor state, the Republic of China, claimed the Spratly and Paracel islands under the jurisdiction of Hainan.<ref name="Severino2011" />

In 1933, France asserted its claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} on behalf of its then-colony [[French Indochina]].<ref name="encarta">[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582978/Spratly_Islands.html Spratly Islands] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029063837/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761582978/Spratly_Islands.html |date=29 October 2009}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2011}}, [http://encarta.msn.com/ Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091031074236/http://encarta.msn.com/ |date=31 October 2009}}. All Rights Reserved.</ref> It occupied a number of the Spratly Islands, including [[Taiping Island]], built weather stations on two of the islands, and administered them as part of French Indochina.{{Failed verification|date=September 2024}} This occupation was protested by the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] (ROC) government because France admitted finding Chinese fishermen there when French warships visited nine of the islands.<ref>Todd C. Kelly, [http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/todd.html Vietnamese Claims to the Truong Sa Archipelago], Explorations in Southeast Asian Studies, Vol.3, Fall 1999. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402164512/http://www.hawaii.edu/cseas/pubs/explore/todd.html |date=2 April 2013}}</ref> In 1935, the ROC government also announced a sovereignty claim on the Spratly Islands. [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] occupied some of the islands in 1939 during World War II, and it used the islands as a [[submarine]] base for the occupation of Southeast Asia. During the Japanese occupation, these islands were called ''Shinnan Shoto'' ({{lang|ja|新南諸島}}), literally the New Southern Islands, and together with the Paracel Islands ({{lang|zh-hans|西沙群岛}})<!--do not change! only Simplified Chinese uses this form of 岛/島-->, they were put under the governance of the Japanese authority in [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Taiwan]] on 30 March 1939.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.combinedfleet.com/SouthChinaSea_t.htm|title=Japanese Occupation South China Sea Islands - 1937-1941|year=2012|website=combinedfleet.com}}</ref>

Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratly Islands from February 1939 to August 1945.<ref name="king1979p43">{{harvnb|King|1979|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vY4tBfqGvZ4C&pg=PA43 43]}}</ref> Japan annexed the Spratly Islands via Taiwan's jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction.<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> Parts of the Paracels and Spratly Islands were again controlled by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan,<ref name="ed. Morley, Nishihara 1997">{{cite book|last1=Morley|first1=James W.|last2=Nishihara|first2=Masashi|title=Vietnam Joins the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=taOrjN83rLEC&pg=PA124|date=1997|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-3306-4|page=124|access-date=16 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=taOrjN83rLEC&pg=PA124|archive-date=1 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area,<ref name="Severino2011" /> however no successor was named to the islands.<ref name="ed. Morley, Nishihara 1997" />

==== Conflicts in the 20th century after World War II ====
[[File:1947_Nanhai_Zhudao.png|alt=Map of the South East China|thumb|290x290px|[[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]'s (now [[Taiwan|ROC]] and [[China|PRC]]) [[nine-dash line]] illustrated in a 1947 map of the South China Sea]]

In November 1946, the ROC sent naval ships to take control of the islands after the [[surrender of Japan]].<ref name="king1979p43" /> It had chosen the largest and perhaps the only inhabitable island, [[Taiping Island]], as its base, and it renamed the island under the name of the naval vessel as Taiping. Also following the defeat of Japan at the end of World War II, the ROC re-claimed the entirety of the Spratly Islands (including Taiping Island) after accepting the Japanese surrender of the islands based on the [[1943 Cairo Declaration|Cairo]] and [[Potsdam Declaration]]s. The Republic of China then garrisoned Itu Aba (Taiping) island in 1946 and posted Chinese flags.<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> The aim of the Republic of China was to block the French claims.<ref name="Severino2011" /><ref name="The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |author1=Das, Darshana |author2=Lotha, Gloria |name-list-style=amp |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561209/Spratly-Islands |title=Spratly Islands |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520232007/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/561209/Spratly-Islands |archive-date=20 May 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Republic of China drew up the map showing the U-shaped claim on the entire South China Sea, showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947.<ref name="Severino2011" /> Japan had renounced all claims to the islands in the 1951 [[San Francisco Peace Treaty]] together with the Paracels, Pratas and other islands captured from the Chinese, and upon these declarations, the government of the Republic of China reasserted its claim to the islands. At the peace conference, South Vietnam declared Vietnamese sovereignty over the Spratlys, but North Vietnam supported China's authority.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ma |first=Xuechan |chapter=Introduction |date=2021-11-20 |title=The Spratly Islands and International Law |pages=1–12 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004504332/BP000001.xml |access-date=2024-09-20 |publisher=Brill Nijhoff |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-50433-2}}</ref> The Chinese [[Kuomintang]] force withdrew from most of the Spratly and Paracel Islands after they retreated to Taiwan from the opposing [[Chinese Communist Party]] due to their losses in the [[Chinese Civil War]] and the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.<ref name="encarta" /> Taiwan quietly withdrew troops from Taiping Island in 1950, but then reinstated them in 1956 in response to [[Tomás Cloma]]'s sudden claim to the island as part of [[Free Territory of Freedomland|Freedomland]].<ref>Kivimäki, Timo (2002), War Or Peace in the South China Sea?, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS), {{ISBN|87-91114-01-2}}</ref> {{as of|2013}}, Taiping Island is administered by Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/taiwans-power-grab-in-the-south-china-sea/|title=Taiwan's Power Grab in the South China Sea|access-date=24 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201084632/https://thediplomat.com/2013/09/taiwans-power-grab-in-the-south-china-sea/|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

After pulling out its garrison in 1950 when the Republic of China evacuated to Taiwan, when the Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratly Islands and, Taiwan again regarrisoned Itu Aba in 1956.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morley|Nishihara|1997|pp=125–126}}</ref> In 1946, the Americans allegedly reminded the Philippines at its independence that the Spratly Islands were not Philippine territory, both to not anger [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in China and because the Spratly Islands were not part of the Philippines per the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|1898 treaty Spain signed with the United States]].<ref name="Kivimaki2002" /> However, no document was found to that effect. The Philippines then claimed the Spratly Islands in 1971 under [[Ferdinand Marcos|President Marcos]], after Taiwanese troops attacked and shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.<ref name="Pak2000">{{cite book |title=The Law of the Sea and Northeast Asia: A Challenge for Cooperation |first=Hŭi-gwŏn |last=Pak |volume=35 of Publications on Ocean Development |edition=illustrated |year=2000 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szcywfgKySAC&pg=PA92 |isbn=978-90-411-1407-5 |pages=91–92 |access-date=16 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101132938/https://books.google.com/books?id=szcywfgKySAC&pg=PA92 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Taiwan's garrison from 1946 to 1950 and 1956-now on Itu Aba represents an "effective occupation" of the Spratly Islands.<ref name="Pak2000" /><ref name="Lin2008">{{cite news |last=Lin |first=Cheng-yi |date=22 February 2008 |title=Buffer benefits in Spratly initiative |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JB22Ad02.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019105844/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JB22Ad02.html |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China established a coastal defence system against Japanese pirates or smugglers.<ref name="Pak2000p81">{{Harvnb|Pak|2000|p=81}}</ref>

[[File:Bia VNCH Truong Sa - Republic of Vietnam Spratly Islands Territorial Marker.JPG|thumb|upright|Territorial monument of the [[Republic of Vietnam]] (South Vietnam) on [[Southwest Cay]], Spratly Islands, defining the cay as part of Vietnamese territory ([[Phước Tuy Province]]). Used from 22 August 1956 until 1975, when replaced by another one from the [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]] (successor state after the [[Fall of Saigon]])]]

In 1958, China issued a declaration defining its territorial waters that encompassed the Spratly Islands. [[North Vietnam]]'s prime minister, [[Phạm Văn Đồng]], sent a formal note to [[Zhou Enlai]], stating that the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) respected the Chinese decision regarding the {{convert|12|nmi|km mi|adj=on|abbr=on}} limit of territorial waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zyxw_602251/W020140608602937535933.zip|title=中华人民共和国外交部|access-date=9 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124004920/http://www.mfa.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zyxw_602251/W020140608602937535933.zip|archive-date=24 January 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> While accepting the 12-nmi principal with respect to territorial waters, the letter did not actually address the issue of defining actual territorial boundaries.
North Vietnam recognised China's claims on the Paracels and Spratly Islands during the [[Vietnam War]] as it was being supported by China. Only after winning the war and conquering [[South Vietnam]] did [[North Vietnam]] retract its recognition and admitted it recognised them as part of China to receive aid from China in fighting the Americans.<ref>{{Harvnb|Morley|Nishihara|1997|pp=126–127}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/late-vietnam-pms-letter-gives-no-legal-basis-to-chinas-island-claim-26821.html |title=Late Vietnam PM's letter gives no legal basis to China's island claim |author=Thao Vi |date=2 June 2014 |publisher=Thanh Nien News |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315081937/http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/late-vietnam-pms-letter-gives-no-legal-basis-to-chinas-island-claim-26821.html |archive-date=15 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1987, China installed a small military structure on [[Fiery Cross Reef]] under the pretext of building an oceanic observation station and installing a [[tide gauge]] for the [[Global Sea Level Observing System]].<ref>Chanda, Nayan. "Treacherous Shoals." [[Far Eastern Economic Review]]. 13 August 1992: p14-17</ref>{{verify source|date=October 2021}} After a [[Johnson South Reef Skirmish|deadly skirmish]] with the Vietnamese Navy, China installed some military structures on more reefs in the vicinity of the Philippines and Vietnamese occupied islands and this led to escalating tensions between these countries and China over the status and ownership of reefs.

In 1988, the Vietnamese and Chinese navies engaged in a [[Johnson South Reef Skirmish|skirmish in the area of Johnson South Reef]] (also called Gạc Ma Reef in Vietnam and Yongshu Reef in China).<ref>{{cite news|last=Malig|first=Jojo|title=Chinese ships eye 'bumper harvest' in Spratly|url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/16/12/chinese-ships-eye-bumper-harvest-mabini-reef|access-date=29 October 2013|newspaper=ABS CBN News|date=17 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006054737/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/16/12/chinese-ships-eye-bumper-harvest-mabini-reef|archive-date=6 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Under President [[Lee Teng-hui]], Taiwan stated that "legally, historically, geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign ministry of Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news |author=STRATFOR |date=14 July 1999 |title=Taiwan sticks to its guns, to U.S. chagrin |publisher=Asia Times |work=STRATFOR's Global Intelligence Update |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/AG15Ad01.html |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150303/http://www.atimes.com/china/AG15Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Taiwan and China's claims "mirror" each other; during international talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since both have the same claims.<ref name="Pak2000" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Sisci |first=Francesco |date=29 June 2010 |title=US toe-dipping muddies South China Sea |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad01.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20130710122041/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad01.html |archive-date=10 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

It was unclear whether France continued its claim to the islands after World War II, since none of the islands, other than Taiping Island, was habitable. The [[South Vietnam]]ese government took over the [[Trường Sa]] administration after the defeat of the French at the end of the [[First Indochina War]]. "The French bestowed its titles, rights, and claims over the two island chains to the Republic of Vietnam (RoV) in accordance with the [[1954 Geneva Conference|Geneva Accords]]", said Nguyen Hong Thao, Associate Professor at Faculty of Law, Vietnam National University.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nguyen |first=Hong Thao |date=4 May 2012 |title=Vietnam's Position on the Sovereignty over the Paracels & the Spratlys: Its Maritime Claim |url=http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc49212/nrcc49212.pdf |journal=Journal of East Asia International Law, V JEAIL (1) 2012 |access-date=7 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306081414/http://archive.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc49212/nrcc49212.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref>

In 1999, a Philippine navy ship (Number 57 – [[BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57)|BRP ''Sierra Madre'']]) was purposely run aground near [[Second Thomas Shoal]] to enable establishment of an outpost. {{As of|2014}} it had not been removed, and Filipino marines have been stationed aboard since the grounding.<ref>{{cite news|last=Keck|first=Zachary|title=Second Thomas Shoal Tensions Intensify|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/03/second-thomas-shoal-tensions-intensify/|access-date=17 March 2014|newspaper=The Diplomat|date=13 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317085745/https://thediplomat.com/2014/03/second-thomas-shoal-tensions-intensify/|archive-date=17 March 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A game of shark and minnow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/|access-date=17 March 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=24 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827062045/http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/10/27/south-china-sea/|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status=live|last1=Himmelman |first1=Jeff |last2=Gilbertson |first2=Ashley}}</ref>

==== Conflicts in the 21st century ====
Taiwan and mainland China are largely strategically aligned on the Spratly islands issue, since they both claim exactly the same area, so Taiwan's control of Itu Aba (Taiping) island is viewed as an extension of China's claim.<ref name="Wortzel">{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Military History |first1=Larry M. |last1=Wortzel |author-link1=Larry Wortzel |first2=Robin D. S. |last2=Higham |edition=illustrated |year=1999 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA180 |page=180 |isbn=978-0-313-29337-5 |access-date=16 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101102529/https://books.google.com/books?id=rfu-hR8msh4C&pg=PA180 |archive-date=1 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Taiwan and China both claim the entire island chain, while all the other claimants only claim portions of them. China has proposed co-operation with Taiwan against all the other countries claiming the islands. Taiwanese lawmakers have demanded that Taiwan fortify Itu Aba (Taiping) island with weapons to defend against the Vietnamese, and both China and Taiwanese NGOs have pressured Taiwan to expand Taiwan's military capabilities on the island, which played a role in Taiwan expanding the island's runway in 2012.<ref name="KastnerAug2012">{{cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jens |date=10 August 2012 |title=Taiwan pours cement on maritime dispute |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NH10Ad01.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150413/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NH10Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China has urged Taiwan to co-operate and offered Taiwan a share in oil and gas resources while shutting out all the other rival claimants. Taiwanese lawmakers have complained about repeated Vietnamese aggression and trespassing on Taiwan's Itu Aba (Taiping), and Taiwan has started viewing Vietnam as an enemy over the Spratly Islands, not China.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jens |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NF13Ad01.html |title=Taiwan circling South China Sea bait |newspaper=Asia Times Online |date=13 June 2012 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140325150328/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/NF13Ad01.html |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Taiwan's state run oil company [[CPC Corporation]]'s board director Chiu Yi has called Vietnam as the "greatest threat" to Taiwan.<ref name="KastnerAug2012" /> Taiwan's airstrip on Taiping has irritated Vietnam.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Peter |date=29 July 2010 |title=US goes fishing for trouble |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad03.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |page=2 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153132/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/LG29Ad03.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> China views Taiwan's expansion of its military and airstrip on Taiping as benefiting China's position against the other rival claimants from southeast Asian countries.<ref name="Lin2008" /> China's claims to the Spratly Islands benefit from legal weight because of Taiwan's presence on Itu Aba, while America on the other hand has regularly ignored Taiwan's claims in the South China Sea and does not include Taiwan in any talks on dispute resolution for the area.<ref>{{cite news |last=Womack |first=Brantly |date=14 February 2013 |title=Rethinking the US-China-Taiwan triangle |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHINA-01-140213.html |newspaper=Asia Times Online |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214094938/http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHINA-01-140213.html |archive-date=14 February 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island in September 2012; reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the "imaginary enemy" in the drill. Vietnam protested against the exercises as violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the drill. Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions.<ref>
* {{cite news |date=5 September 2012 |title=Photo: Taiwan military exercises with Vietnam as an imaginary enemy generals admit Taiping Island |url=http://www.newshome.us/news-2144953-Photo:-Taiwan-military-exercises-with-Vietnam-as-an-imaginary-enemy-generals-admit-Taiping-Island.html |publisher=newshome.us |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517134232/http://www.newshome.us/news-2144953-Photo:-Taiwan-military-exercises-with-Vietnam-as-an-imaginary-enemy-generals-admit-Taiping-Island.html |archive-date=17 May 2014}}
* {{cite web |date=23 April 2013 |title=Taiwan holds live-fire drill in Spratlys: official |url=http://www.roc-taiwan.org/LV/ct.asp?xItem=372040&ctNode=7925&mp=507 |publisher=Taipei Mission in the Republic of Latvia |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814162557/http://www.roc-taiwan.org/LV/ct.asp?xItem=372040&ctNode=7925&mp=507 |archive-date=14 August 2014}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to stage live-fire drill on disputed island |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Taiwan_to_stage_live-fire_drill_on_disputed_island_999.html |newspaper=Space Daily |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121024/http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Taiwan_to_stage_live-fire_drill_on_disputed_island_999.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |agency=Press Trust of India |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to stage live-fire drill on disputed island |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/taiwan-to-stage-livefire-drill-on-disputed-island/article4465611.ece |newspaper=Business Line |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153025/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/international/taiwan-to-stage-livefire-drill-on-disputed-island/article4465611.ece |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Yeh |first=Joseph |date=23 April 2013 |title=Drills held on Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in South China Sea |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/04/23/376779/Drills-held.htm |newspaper=China Post |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122222/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/04/23/376779/Drills-held.htm |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |publisher=Bloomberg News |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam Demands Taiwan Cancel Spratly Island Live Fire Drill |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-23/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-spratly-island-live-fire-drill.html |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153329/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-23/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-spratly-island-live-fire-drill.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |publisher=thanhniennews |date=27 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175907/http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |archive-date=25 March 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |newspaper=Thanh Nien News |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132601/http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=1 March 2013 |title=Taiwan to hold live-fire drill in Spratlys |url=http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56128/taiwan-to-hold-live-fire-drill-in-spratlys |newspaper=InterAksyon |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824223619/http://www.interaksyon.com/article/56128/taiwan-to-hold-live-fire-drill-in-spratlys |archive-date=24 August 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=5 September 2012 |title=Taiwan unmoved by Vietnam's protest against Taiping drill |url=http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120905000091&cid=1101 |newspaper=Want China Times: "Knowing China through Taiwan" |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175721/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120905000091&cid=1101 |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=12 August 2012 |title=Vietnam angry at Taiwan as it stages live-fire drill in the Spratlys |url=http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |newspaper=Philippines News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175801/http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=21 August 2012 |title=Taiwan to conduct live-fire Taiping Island drill in September |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/08/21/351637/Taiwan-to.htm |newspaper=China Post |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122233/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/foreign-affairs/2012/08/21/351637/Taiwan-to.htm |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |date=21 August 2012 |title=Taiwan plans live-fire drill on Taiping in South China Sea |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/08/21/2003540824 |newspaper=Taipei Times |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152246/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/08/21/2003540824 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors-8164 |newspaper=The National Interest |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151657/http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors-8164 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors |newspaper=The National Interest |publisher=Cato Institute |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152742/http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=4 March 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/03/04/taiwan_challenges_its_neighbors_117254.html |newspaper=Real Clear Politics |publisher=Cato Institute |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121758/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/03/04/taiwan_challenges_its_neighbors_117254.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Ted Galen |date=28 February 2013 |title=Taiwan Challenges Its Neighbors |url=http://libertyvoter.org/2013/02/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors/ |publisher=LibertyVoter.org |access-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082519/http://libertyvoter.org/2013/02/taiwan-challenges-its-neighbors/ |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |author=thanhniennews |date=27 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |newspaper=Vietnam Breaking News |access-date=1 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034439/http://www.vietnambreakingnews.com/2012/08/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island/ |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}
* {{cite news |author=(AFP) |date=12 August 2012 |title=Vietnam's angry at Taiwan as it stages live-fire drill in the Spratlys |url=http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |newspaper=Philippines News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175801/http://www.philippinenews.com/read/latest-news/8067-vietnams-angry-at-taiwan-as-it-stages-live-fire-drill-in-the-spratlys.html |archive-date=25 March 2014}}
* {{cite news |date=23 August 2012 |title=Vietnam protests Taiwan's fire drill exercise plan on island |url=http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |newspaper=Thanh Nien News |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517132601/http://thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-protests-taiwans-fire-drill-exercise-plan-on-island-5633.html |archive-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In May 2011, Chinese patrol boats attacked two Vietnamese oil exploration ships near the Spratly Islands.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Also in May 2011, Chinese naval vessels opened fire on Vietnamese fishing vessels operating off East London Reef (Da Dong). The three Chinese military vessels were numbered 989, 27 and 28, and they showed up with a small group of Chinese fishing vessels. Another Vietnamese fishing vessel was fired on near [[Fiery Cross Reef]] (Chu Thap). The Chief Commander of Border Guards in Phú Yên Province, Vietnam, reported that a total of four Vietnamese vessels were fired upon by Chinese naval vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/chinese-boats-cause-thousands-of-dollars-in-damage-to-vietnamese-fishermens-nets-11182015161046.html|title=Chinese Boats Cause Thousands of Dollars in Damage to Vietnamese Fishermen's Nets|access-date=16 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731144540/http://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/chinese-boats-cause-thousands-of-dollars-in-damage-to-vietnamese-fishermens-nets-11182015161046.html|archive-date=31 July 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2016}} These incidents involving Chinese forces sparked mass protests in Vietnam, especially in [[Hanoi]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]],<ref>{{cite news |title=South China Sea: Vietnamese hold anti-Chinese protest |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13661779 |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=BBC News Asia-Pacific |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613163003/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13661779 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and in various Vietnamese communities in the West (namely in the US state of California and in Paris) over attacks on Vietnamese citizens and the intrusion into what Vietnam claimed was part of its territory.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2011/06/110605_viet_protest_la.shtml |date=June 2011 |publisher=BBC News Tiếng Việt |language=vi |title=Người Việt biểu tình chống TQ ở Los Angeles |access-date=14 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525035141/http://www.bbc.co.uk/vietnamese/vietnam/2011/06/110605_viet_protest_la.shtml |archive-date=25 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2011, the Philippines began officially referring to parts of the South China Sea as the "[[West Philippine Sea]]" and the [[Reed Bank]] as "Recto Bank".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/13833/%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-west-philippine-sea%E2%80%99 |date=11 June 2011 |access-date=28 June 2012 |title=It's West Philippine Sea |newspaper=Inquirer.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230122359/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/13833/%E2%80%98it%E2%80%99s-west-philippine-sea%E2%80%99 |archive-date=30 December 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/14685/name-game-ph-now-calls-spratly-isle-%E2%80%98recto-bank%E2%80%99 |date=14 June 2011 |access-date=28 June 2012 |title=Name game: PH now calls Spratly isle 'Recto Bank' |newspaper=Inquirer.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807112049/http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/14685/name-game-ph-now-calls-spratly-isle-%E2%80%98recto-bank%E2%80%99 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In July 2012, the [[National Assembly of Vietnam]] passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea borders to include the Spratly and Paracel Islands.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/world/asia/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands.html |title=Vietnam Law on Contested Islands Draws China's Ire |date=21 June 2012 |author=Jane Perlez |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508182907/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/world/asia/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands.html |archive-date=8 May 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands-641399/ China Criticizes Vietnam in Dispute Over Islands] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623063435/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/china-criticizes-vietnam-in-dispute-over-islands-641399/ |date=23 June 2012}}, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette<!-- Bot generated title --></ref>

In 2010, it was reported that the former Malaysian Prime Minister [[Mahathir Mohamad]] believed Malaysia could profit from China's economic growth through co-operation with China,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/27/business/6136931&sec=business |title=Mahathir: China no threat to Malaysia |newspaper=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |date=27 April 2010 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430165347/http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2010%2F4%2F27%2Fbusiness%2F6136931&sec=business |archive-date=30 April 2010}}</ref> and said that China "was not a threat to anyone and was not worried about aggression from China", as well accusing the [[United States]] of provoking China and trying to turn China's neighbours against China.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/around_asia/AJ2011110916910|title=Malaysia's Mahathir says China is no threat|author=Kazuto Tsukamoto|newspaper=[[The Asahi Shimbun]]|date=9 November 2011|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517120553/https://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/around_asia/AJ2011110916910|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> Malaysian authorities displayed no concern over China conducting a military exercise at James Shoal in March 2013,<ref name="philstarDiola2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-malaysia-isnt-afraid-of-china-for-now/|title=Why Malaysia isn't afraid of China (for now)|author=Shahriman Lockman|publisher=The Strategist: The Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog|date=24 April 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152545/http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-malaysia-isnt-afraid-of-china-for-now/|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> with its [[Ministry of Defence (Malaysia)|Defence Minister]] [[Hishammuddin Hussein]] suggested they might work with China and saying that Malaysia had no problem with China patrolling the South China Sea, and telling ASEAN, America, and Japan that "Just because you have enemies, doesn't mean your enemies are my enemies".<ref>
* {{cite AV media|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/video/malaysia-breaks-ranks-on-south-china-sea-wLpV4lb3SnmNuf~~2KQzfA.html|title=Malaysia Breaks Ranks on South China Sea|author=Haslinda Amin|publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]|date=29 August 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|medium=video|series=First Up|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153342/http://www.bloomberg.com/video/malaysia-breaks-ranks-on-south-china-sea-wLpV4lb3SnmNuf~~2KQzfA.html|archive-date=17 May 2014|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/world/18640-malaysia-splits-with-asean-on-china-sea-threat|title=Malaysia splits with ASEAN on China Sea threat|work=Business Mirror|date=29 August 2013|access-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517153540/http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/world/18640-malaysia-splits-with-asean-on-china-sea-threat|archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref> However, until present Malaysia still maintained a balance relations with the countries involved in this dispute.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/06/25/1338864/why-malaysia-unlike-philippines-keeps-quiet-sea-row|title=Why Malaysia, unlike Philippines, keeps quiet on sea row|author=Camille Diola|newspaper=[[The Philippine Star]]|date=25 June 2014|access-date=25 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627165932/http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/06/25/1338864/why-malaysia-unlike-philippines-keeps-quiet-sea-row|archive-date=27 June 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> But since China has started encroaching its territorial waters,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/09/27/presence-of-china-coast-guard-ship-at-luconia-shoals-spooks-local-fishermen/|title=Presence of China Coast Guard ship at Luconia Shoals spooks local fishermen|newspaper=[[The Borneo Post]]|date=27 September 2015|access-date=28 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929005731/http://www.theborneopost.com/2015/09/27/presence-of-china-coast-guard-ship-at-luconia-shoals-spooks-local-fishermen/|archive-date=29 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Malaysia has become active in condemning China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/15/malaysia-lodges-diplomatic-protest-against-intrusion-at-beting-patinggi-ali/|title=Malaysia lodges diplomatic protest against intrusion at Beting Patinggi Ali|work=[[Bernama]]|publisher=The Rakyat Post|date=15 August 2015|access-date=16 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929024442/http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/08/15/malaysia-lodges-diplomatic-protest-against-intrusion-at-beting-patinggi-ali/|archive-date=29 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-slams-china-s/2200744.html|title=Malaysia slams China's 'provocation' in South China Sea|author1=Ben Blanchard|author2=Richard Pullin|agency=Reuters|publisher=[[Channel News Asia]]|date=18 October 2015|access-date=20 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019120244/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/malaysia-slams-china-s/2200744.html|archive-date=19 October 2015}}</ref>

The editorial of the Taiwanese news website ''Want China Times'' accused America of being behind the May 2014 flareup in the South China Sea, saying that Vietnam rammed a Chinese vessel on 2 May over an oil rig drilling platform and the Philippines detained 11 Chinese fishermens occurred because of Obama's visit to the region and that they were incited by America "behind the scenes". ''Want China Times'' claimed America ordered Vietnam on 7 May to complain about the drilling platform, and noted that a joint military exercise was happening at this time between the Philippines and America, and also noted that the American ''New York Times'' newspaper supported Vietnam.<ref>[http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1701&MainCatID=17&id=20140513000104 Editorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517152216/http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1701&MainCatID=17&id=20140513000104 |date=17 May 2014}}, 13 May 2014, ''Want China Times''</ref>

In a series of news stories on 16 April 2015, it was revealed, through photos taken by [[Airbus]], that China had been building an airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef, one of the southern islands. The {{convert|10000|ft|0|adj=mid|-long}} runway covers a significant portion of the island, and is viewed as a possible strategic threat to other countries with claims to the islands, such as [[Vietnam]] and the [[Philippines]].

Champa historically had a large presence in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese broke Champa's power in [[Cham–Vietnamese War (1471)|an invasion of Champa in 1471]], and then finally conquered the last remnants of the Cham people in an invasion in 1832. A Cham named Katip Suma who received Islamic education in Kelantan declared a [[Jihad]] against the Vietnamese, and fighting continued until the Vietnamese crushed the remnants of the resistance in 1835. The Cham organisation Front de Libération du Champa was part of the [[United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races]], which waged war against the Vietnamese for independence in the [[Vietnam War]] along with the [[Degar|Montagnard]] and [[Khmer Krom]] minorities. The last remaining FULRO insurgents surrendered to the United Nations in 1992.

The Vietnamese government fears that evidence of [[Champa]]'s influence over the disputed area in the South China Sea would bring attention to human rights violations and killings of ethnic minorities in Vietnam such as in the 2001 and 2004 uprisings, and lead to the issue of Cham autonomy being brought into the dispute, since the Vietnamese conquered the Hindu and Muslim [[Cham people]] in a war in 1832.<ref name="Bray">{{cite journal |last=Bray |first=Adam |date=16 June 2014 |title=The Cham: Descendants of Ancient Rulers of South China Sea Watch Maritime Dispute From Sidelines |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924055038/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140616-south-china-sea-vietnam-china-cambodia-champa/ |archive-date=24 September 2014 |journal=National Geographic News |access-date=3 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Japanese scholar Taoka Shunji said in a journal article that the assumption amongst many Japanese people that the territory of the Philippines was being invaded by China, was incorrect. He pointed out that the Spratly islands were not part of the Philippines, when the US acquired the Philippines from Spain in the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris in 1898]], and when the Japanese-ruled Taiwan itself had annexed the Spratly islands in 1938, the US-ruled Philippines did not challenge the move and never asserted that it was their territory. He also pointed out that other countries did not need to do full land reclamation since they already control islands, and that the reason China engaged in extensive land reclamation is because they needed it to build airfields since China only has control over reefs.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Taoka |first=Shunji |others=Translated by Rumi Sakamoto |date=21 September 2015 |title='China Threat Theory' Drives Japanese War Legislation |url=http://www.japanfocus.org/-Taoka-Shunji/4380/article.html |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus |volume=13 |issue=38–5 |access-date=26 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016034439/http://www.japanfocus.org/-Taoka-Shunji/4380/article.html |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The "Moro" as "people", is used to describe both the Filipino Muslims and their homeland. Ancestors of Moro people were the owners of Spratly Islands prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonials in the 16th century, according to the Sultan of Sulu in the southern Philippines reported in a local paper. "China has no right over the Spratly Islands in what it calls the South China Sea because that is part of our ancestral domain," Majaraj Julmuner Jannaral, Sultanate information officer, told the Philippine Star. "The Spratly Archipelago is part of the Sulu Sea (the inner area around the islands in the southern Philippines, which is part of the [[West Philippine Sea]] (designation of parts of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines to be part of its EEZ)," Jannaral concluded. "Exploration of the marine territory and the waters around the Spratly Archipelago, Palawan in southwestern Philippines and the southern Philippines, belong to the residents in those areas," he added. The Sultanate of Sulu claims historic proprietary rights over the Spratly Islands since before the Spanish colonial era.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/philippines/spratly-islands-long-part-of-filipino-muslims-ancestral-domain-1.838413 |title=Spratly Islands long part of Filipino-Muslim's ancestral domain |date=14 July 2011}}</ref>

Various incidents of fishing boats being harassed by Chinese warships have occurred.<ref name="Archived copy">{{Cite news|last1=Chaudhury|first1=Dipanjan Roy|title=Chinese aggression in South China Sea & East China Sea face strong pushback|newspaper=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/chinese-aggression-in-south-china-sea-east-china-sea-face-strong-pushback/articleshow/75344181.cms|url-status=live|access-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517092736/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/chinese-aggression-in-south-china-sea-east-china-sea-face-strong-pushback/articleshow/75344181.cms|archive-date=17 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/philippines-backs-vietnam-china-sinks-fishing-boat-200409022328432.html |title=Philippines backs Vietnam after China sinks fishing boat |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423010710/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/philippines-backs-vietnam-china-sinks-fishing-boat-200409022328432.html |archive-date=23 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Vietnam-protests-China-s-new-South-China-Sea-districts |title=Vietnam protests China's new South China Sea districts |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422220653/https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Vietnam-protests-China-s-new-South-China-Sea-districts |archive-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> At least 2 vessels were rammed or sunk. One was a Vietnamese ship attacked by a Chinese coastguard vessel, and another was a Filipino ship rammed and sunk by a Chinese fishing boat who let the Filipino fishermen drift at sea without giving aid. The stranded fishermen were later rescued by a Vietnamese ship.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-philippines.html |title=Sinking of Philippine Boat Puts South China Sea Back at Issue |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 June 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422141850/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-philippines.html |archive-date=22 April 2020 |url-status=live |last1=Gutierrez |first1=Jason |last2=Beech |first2=Hannah}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/15/19/how-the-vietnamese-rescued-pinoy-fishermen-rammed-by-chinese-vessel |title=How the Vietnamese rescued Pinoy fishermen rammed by Chinese vessel |date=14 June 2019 |access-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414012449/https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/15/19/how-the-vietnamese-rescued-pinoy-fishermen-rammed-by-chinese-vessel |archive-date=14 April 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, the United States despite not being a claimant in the Spratly dispute, reported using [[Freedom of Navigation Operations|freedom of navigation operations]] (FONOPs) to challenge what it deemed as excessive and illegal maritime claims from multiple Asia-Pacific states including Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Vietnam.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Panda|first=Ankit|title=In 2017, US Freedom of Navigation Operations Targeted 10 Asian Countries — Not Just China|url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/01/in-2017-us-freedom-of-navigation-operations-targeted-10-asian-countries-not-just-china/|access-date=2021-12-08|website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2022, Vietnam demanded that Taiwan cease conducting [[live fire exercise]]s at the Spratly Islands.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vu |first1=Minh |title=Vietnam demands Taiwan cancel military drills in Spratlys |url=https://hanoitimes.vn/vietnam-demands-taiwan-cancel-military-drills-in-spratlys-320214.html |website=Hanoi Times |access-date=22 March 2022 |language=en |date=12 March 2022|quote='The fact that Taiwan continues to hold live-fire drills in the waters around Ba Binh in Vietnam's Truong Sa Islands is a serious violation of Vietnam's sovereignty over these islands, threatening peace, maritime stability, safety and security, causing tension, and complicating the situation in the East Sea (referring to the South China Sea),' Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said Friday}}</ref>

===2016 arbitration===
{{main|Philippines v. China}}

In January 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration proceedings against China under the [[United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea]] (UNCLOS) across a range of issues, including the latter's historic rights claims over parts or all of the Spratly Islands inside the [[nine-dash line]].<ref name="pressrelease">{{cite web |url=https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf |title=Press Release: The South China Sea Arbitration (''The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China'') |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=PCA |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712201412/https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PH-CN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf |archive-date=12 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aa32a224-480e-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab.html |title=Timeline: South China Sea dispute |date=12 July 2016 |work=Financial Times |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20161214224551/https://www.ft.com/content/aa32a224-480e-11e6-8d68-72e9211e86ab |archive-date=14 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4400671/philippines-south-china-sea-arbitration-case/?xid=homepage |magazine=TIME |title=China's Global Reputation Hinges on Upcoming South China Sea Court Decision |first=Hannah |last=Beech |date=11 July 2016 |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713195604/http://time.com/4400671/philippines-south-china-sea-arbitration-case/?xid=homepage |archive-date=13 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> A tribunal of arbitrators constituted under Annex VII of [[UNCLOS]] appointed the [[Permanent Court of Arbitration]] (PCA) as registry to the proceedings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/227 |title=Press Release: Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China: Arbitral Tribunal Establishes Rules of Procedure and Initial Timetable |date=27 August 2013 |publisher=PCA |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160721161722/http://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/227 |archive-date=21 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 12 July 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions. While it would not "rule on any question of sovereignty over land territory and would not delimit any maritime boundary between the Parties", it concluded that China had not historically exercised exclusive control within the nine-dash line, hence has "no legal basis" to claim "historic rights" to resources.<ref name="pressrelease" /> It also concluded that China's historic rights claims over the maritime areas (as opposed to land masses and territorial waters) inside the nine-dash line would have no lawful effect outside of what is entitled to under UNCLOS.<ref name="PCA Award">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcacases.com/pcadocs/PH-CN%20-%2020160712%20-%20Award.pdf |title=PCA Case Nº 2013–19 |publisher=Permanent Court of Arbitration |date=12 July 2016}}</ref>{{refn|PCA Award, Section V(F)(d)(264, 266, 267), p. 113.<ref name="PCA Award" />}}{{refn|PCA Award, Section V(F)(d)(278), p. 117.<ref name="PCA Award" />}} It criticized China's land reclamation projects and construction of artificial islands in the Spratly Islands, saying that they had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china |title=Beijing rejects tribunal's ruling in South China Sea case |author=Tom Phillips |author2=Oliver Holmes |author3=Owen Bowcott |date=12 July 2016 |work=The Guardian |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712220441/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/12/philippines-wins-south-china-sea-case-against-china |archive-date=12 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Finally, it characterized [[Taiping Island]] and other features of the Spratly Islands as "rocks" under UNCLOS, and therefore are not entitled to a 200 nautical mile [[exclusive economic zone]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-rejects-south-china-sea-ruling-says-will-deploy-another-navy-vessel-to-itu-aba |work=[[The Straits Times]] |date=12 July 2016 |first=Jermyn |last=Chow |title=Taiwan rejects South China Sea ruling, says will deploy another navy vessel to Taiping |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015244/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/taiwan-rejects-south-china-sea-ruling-says-will-deploy-another-navy-vessel-to-itu-aba |archive-date=17 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The award was ruled as final and non-appealable by either country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/news/china/21702069-region-and-america-will-now-anxiously-await-chinas-response-un-appointed-tribunal |title=A UN-appointed tribunal dismisses China's claims in the South China Sea |date=12 July 2016 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=14 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913091610/https://www.economist.com/news/china/21702069-region-and-america-will-now-anxiously-await-chinas-response-un-appointed-tribunal |archive-date=13 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-hague-ruling-philippines.html |title=Beijing's South China Sea Claims Rejected by Hague Tribunal |first=Jane |last=Perez |date=12 July 2016 |work=The New York Times |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712152027/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/world/asia/south-china-sea-hague-ruling-philippines.html |archive-date=12 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> China rejected the ruling, calling it "ill-founded".<ref name="BBC 2016">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36771749 |title=South China Sea: Tribunal backs case against China brought by Philippines |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620040633/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36771749 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Taiwan, which currently administers Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly Islands, also rejected the ruling.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1988990/taiwan-controlled-taiping-island-rock-says |title=Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island is a rock, says international court in South China Sea ruling |date=12 July 2016 |work=South China Morning Post |author=Jun Mai |author2=Shi Jiangtao |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715074244/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1988990/taiwan-controlled-taiping-island-rock-says |archive-date=15 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|November 2023}}, 26 governments support the ruling, 17 issued generally positive statements noting the ruling but not called for compliance, and eight rejected it.<ref name="AMTI2023">{{Cite web |url=https://amti.csis.org/arbitration-support-tracker/ |title=Arbitration Support Tracker {{!}} Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative |publisher=Center for Strategic and International Studies |access-date=25 August 2024 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715042422/https://amti.csis.org/arbitration-support-tracker/|archive-date=15 July 2024}}</ref> The governments in support were [[Australia]], [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Canada]], the [[Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Greece]], [[India]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Italy]], Japan, the [[Netherlands]], [[New Zealand]], the Philippines, [[Poland]], [[Portugal]], [[Romania]], [[Slovakia]], [[South Korea]], [[Spain]], [[Sweden]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the United States; the eight in opposition were China, [[Montenegro]], [[Pakistan]], Russia, [[Sudan]], [[Syria]], Taiwan, and [[Vanuatu]].<ref name="AMTI2023" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180209060419/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/07/15/south-china-sea-arbitration/ Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the Award rendered in the Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China] (archived from [https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/07/15/south-china-sea-arbitration the original] on February 9, 2018)</ref> The [[United Nations]] itself does not have a position on the legal and procedural merits of the case or on the disputed claims, and the Secretary-General expressed his hope that the continued consultations on a Code of Conduct between [[ASEAN]] and China under the framework of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea will lead to increased mutual understanding among all the parties.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/db160712.doc.htm |title=Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=12 July 2016 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>