China issues white paper on South China SeaWord格式.docx

1、China issues white paper on South China Sea The State Council Information Office of the Peoples Republic of China on July 13 published a white paper titled China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.Fol

2、lowing is the full text of the white paper:#China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea Contents Introduction I.Nanhai Zhudao are Chinas Inherent Territory i.Chinas sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao is esta

3、blished in the course of history ii.China has always been resolute in upholding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea iii.Chinas sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao is widely acknowledged in the international community II.Origin of the Relevant Disputes Betw

4、een China and the Philippines in the South China Sea i.The Philippines invasion and illegal occupation caused disputes with China over some islands and reefs of Nansha Qundao ii.The Philippines illegal claim has no historical or legal basis iii.The development of the international law of the sea gav

5、e rise to the dispute between China and the Philippines over maritime delimitation III.China and the Philippines Have Reached Consensus on Settling Their Relevant Disputes in the South China Sea i.It is the consensus and commitment of China and the Philippines to settle through negotiation their rel

6、evant disputes in the South China Sea ii.It is the consensus of China and the Philippines to properly manage relevant disputes in the South China Sea IV.The Philippines Has Repeatedly Taken Moves that Complicate the Relevant Disputes i.The Philippines attempts to entrench its illegal occupation of s

7、ome islands and reefs of Chinas Nansha Qundao ii.The Philippines has increasingly intensified its infringement of Chinas maritime rights and interests iii.The Philippines also has territorial pretensions on Chinas Huangyan Dao iv.The Philippines unilateral initiation of arbitration is an act of bad

8、faith V.Chinas Policy on the South China Sea Issue i.On the territorial issues concerning Nansha Qundao ii.On maritime delimitation in the South China Sea iii.On the ways and means of dispute settlement iv.On managing differences and engaging in practical maritime cooperation in the South China Sea

9、v.On freedom and safety of navigation in the South China Sea vi.On jointly upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea Introduction 1.Situated to the south of Chinas mainland,and connected by narrow straits and waterways with the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west,th

10、e South China Sea is a semi-closed sea extending from northeast to southwest.To its north are the mainland and Taiwan Dao of China,to its south Kalimantan Island and Sumatra Island,to its east the Philippine Islands,and to its west the Indo-China Peninsula and the Malay Peninsula.2.Chinas Nanhai Zhu

11、dao（the South China Sea Islands）consist of Dongsha Qundao（the Dongsha Islands）,Xisha Qundao（the Xisha Islands）,Zhongsha Qundao（the Zhongsha Islands）and Nansha Qundao（the Nansha Islands）.These Islands include,among others,islands,reefs,shoals and cays of various numbers and sizes.Nansha Qundao is the

12、 largest in terms of both the number of islands and reefs and the geographical area.3.The activities of the Chinese people in the South China Sea date back to over 2,000 years ago.China is the first to have discovered,named,and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao and relevant waters,and the first t

13、o have continuously,peacefully and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over them.Chinas sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea have been established in the long course of history,and are solidly grounded in history and law.4.As neighbor

14、s facing each other across the sea,China and the Philippines have closely engaged in exchanges,and the two peoples have enjoyed friendship over generations.There had been no territorial or maritime delimitation disputes between the two states until the 1970s when the Philippines started to invade an

15、d illegally occupy some islands and reefs of Chinas Nansha Qundao,creating a territorial issue with China over these islands and reefs.In addition,with the development of the international law of the sea,a maritime delimitation dispute also arose between the two states regarding certain maritime are

16、as of the South China Sea.5.China and the Philippines have not yet had any negotiation designed to settle their relevant disputes in the South China Sea.However,the two countries did hold multiple rounds of consultations on the proper management of disputes at sea and reached consensus on resolving

17、through negotiation and consultation the relevant disputes,which has been repeatedly reaffirmed in a number of bilateral documents.The two countries have also made solemn commitment to settling relevant disputes through negotiation and consultation in the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties i

18、n the South China Sea（DOC）that China and the ASEAN Member States jointly signed.6.In January 2013,the then government of the Republic of the Philippines turned its back on the above-mentioned consensus and commitment,and unilaterally initiated the South China Sea arbitration.The Philippines delibera

19、tely mischaracterized and packaged the territorial issue which is not subject to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea（UNCLOS）and the maritime delimitation dispute which has been excluded from the UNCLOS dispute settlement procedures by Chinas 2006 optional exceptions declaration pursu

20、ant to Article 298 of UNCLOS.This act is a wanton abuse of the UNCLOS dispute settlement procedures.In doing so,the Philippines attempts to deny Chinas territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.7.This paper aims to clarify the facts and tell the truth behind th

21、e relevant disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea,and to reaffirm Chinas consistent position and policy on the South China Sea issue,in order to get to the root of the issue and set the record straight.I.Nanhai Zhudao are Chinas Inherent Territory i.Chinas sovereignty over

22、 Nanhai Zhudao is established in the course of history 8.The Chinese people have since ancient times lived and engaged in production activities on Nanhai Zhudao and in relevant waters.China is the first to have discovered,named,and explored and exploited Nanhai Zhudao and relevant waters,and the fir

23、st to have continuously,peacefully and effectively exercised sovereignty and jurisdiction over them,thus establishing sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and the relevant rights and interests in the South China Sea.9.As early as the 2nd century BCE in the Western Han Dynasty,the Chinese people sailed in

24、the South China Sea and discovered Nanhai Zhudao in the long course of activities.10.A lot of Chinese historical literatures chronicle the activities of the Chinese people in the South China Sea.These books include,among others,Yi Wu Zhi（An Account of Strange Things）published in the Eastern Han Dyna

25、sty（25-220）,Fu Nan Zhuan（An Account of Fu Nan）during the period of the Three Kingdoms（220-280）,Meng Liang Lu（Record of a Daydreamer）and Ling Wai Dai Da（Notes for the Land beyond the Passes）in the Song Dynasty（960-1279）,Dao Yi Zhi L e（A Brief Account of the Islands）in the Yuan Dynasty（1271-1368）,Dong

26、 Xi Yang Kao（Studies on the Oceans East and West）and Shun Feng Xiang Song（Fair Winds for Escort）in the Ming Dynasty（1368-1644）and Zhi Nan Zheng Fa（Compass Directions）and Hai Guo Wen Jian Lu（Records of Things Seen and Heard about the Coastal Regions）in the Qing Dynasty（1644-1911）.These books also rec

27、ord the geographical locations and geomorphologic characteristics of Nanhai Zhudao as well as hydrographical and meteorological conditions of the South China Sea.These books record vividly descriptive names the Chinese people gave to Nanhai Zhudao,such as Zhanghaiqitou（twisted atolls on the rising s

28、ea）,Shanhuzhou（coral cays）,Jiuruluozhou（nine isles of cowry）,Shitang（rocky reefs）,Qianlishitang（thousand-li rocky reefs）,Wanlishitang（ten thousand-li rocky reefs）,Changsha（long sand cays）,Qianlichangsha（thousand-li sand cays）,and Wanlichangsha（ten thousand-li sand cays）.11.The Chinese fishermen have

29、 developed a relatively fixed naming system for the various components of Nanhai Zhudao in the long process of exploration and exploitation of the South China Sea.Under this system,islands and shoals have become known as Zhi;#reefs Chan,Xian,or Sha;#atolls Kuang,Quan or Tang;#and banks Shapai.Geng L

30、u Bu（Manual of Sea Routes）,a kind of navigation guidebook for Chinese fishermens journeys between the coastal regions of Chinas mainland and Nanhai Zhudao,came into being and circulation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties,and has been handed down in various editions and versions of handwritten copies an

31、d is still in use even today.It shows that the Chinese people lived and carried out production activities on,and how they named Nanhai Zhudao.Geng Lu Bu records names for at least 70 islands,reefs,shoals and cays of Nansha Qundao.Some were named after compass directions in Chinese renditions,such as

32、 Chouwei（Zhubi Jiao）and Dongtou Yixin（Pengbo Ansha）;#some were named after local aquatic products in the surrounding waters such as Chigua Xian（Chigua Jiao,chigua means red sea cucumber）and Mogua Xian（Nanping Jiao,mogua means black sea cucumber）;#some were named after their shapes,such as Niaochuan（

33、Xiane Jiao,niaochuan means bird string）and Shuangdan（Xinyi Jiao,shuangdan means shoulder poles）;#some were named after physical objects,such as Guogai Zhi（Anbo Shazhou,guogai means pot cover）and Chenggou Zhi（Jinghong Dao,chenggou means steelyard hook）;#still some were named after waterways such as Liumen Sha（Liumen Jiao,liumen means six doorways）.12.Some of the names given by the Chinese people to Nanhai