III 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 217 

Calling for a peaceful and multilateral resolution to maritime territorial 

disputes in Southeast Asia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 27, 2011 

Mr. WEBB (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. LIEBERMAN, and Mr. INOUYE) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for a peaceful and multilateral resolution to maritime 

territorial disputes in Southeast Asia. 

Whereas, on June 9, 2011, 3 vessels from China, including 

1 fishing vessel and 2 maritime security vessels, ran into 

and disabled the cables of an exploration ship from Vietnam, the VIKING 2; 

Whereas that use of force occurred within 200 nautical miles 

of Vietnam, an area recognized as its Exclusive Economic 

Zone; 

Whereas, on May 26, 2011, a maritime security vessel from 

China cut the cables of another exploration ship from 

Vietnam, the BINH MINH, in the South China Sea in 

waters near Cam Ranh Bay; 

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•SRES 217 ATS 

Whereas, in March 2011, the Government of the Philippines 

reported that patrol boats from China attempted to ram 

1 of its surveillance ships; 

Whereas those incidents occurred within disputed maritime 

territories of the South China Sea, including the Spratly 

Islands, composed of 21 islands and atolls, 50 submerged 

land atolls, and 28 partly submerged reefs over an area 

of 340,000 square miles, and the Paracel Islands, a 

smaller group of islands located south of China’s Hainan 

Island; 

Whereas China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, 

and Brunei have disputed territorial claims over the 

Spratly Islands, and China and Vietnam have a disputed 

claim over the Paracel Islands; 

Whereas the Government of China claims most of the 

648,000 square miles of the South China Sea, more than 

any other nation involved in those territorial disputes; 

Whereas, in 2002, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China signed a declaration on the code of conduct of parties in the South China Sea; 

Whereas that declaration committed all parties to those territorial disputes to ‘‘reaffirm their respect for and commitment to the freedom of navigation in and overflight above 

the South China Sea’’ and to ‘‘resolve their territorial 

and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to the threat or use of force’’; 

Whereas the South China Sea contains vital commercial shipping lines and points of access between the Indian Ocean 

and Pacific Ocean; 

Whereas, although not a party to these disputes, the United 

States has a national economic and a security interest in 

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•SRES 217 ATS 

ensuring that no party uses force unilaterally to assert 

maritime territorial claims in East Asia; 

Whereas, in September 2010, the Government of China also 

deliberately provoked a controversy within the waters of 

the Senkaku Islands, territory under the legal administration of Japan in the East China Sea; 

Whereas the actions of the Government of China in the South 

China Sea have also affected United States military and 

maritime vessels transiting through international air 

space and waters, including the collision of a fighter 

plane of the Government of China with a United States 

surveillance plane in 2001, the harassment of the USNS 

IMPECCABLE in March 2009, and the collision of a 

Chinese submarine with the sonar cable of the USS 

JOHN MCCAIN in June 2009; 

Whereas, like every nation, the United States has a national 

interest in freedom of navigation and open access to the 

maritime commons of Asia; 

Whereas the Government of the United States expressed support for the declaration by the Association of Southeast 

Asian Nations and China in 2002 on the code of conduct 

of parties in the South China Sea, and supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion; 

Whereas the United States has a national interest in freedom 

of navigation and in unimpeded economic development 

and commerce; 

Whereas, on October 11, 2010, Secretary Gates maintained 

‘‘The United States has always exercised our rights and 

supported the rights of others to transit through, and operate in, international waters.’’; 

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•SRES 217 ATS 

Whereas, on June 3, 2011, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in 

Singapore, Secretary Gates stated that ‘‘[m]aritime security remains an issue of particular importance for the region, with questions about territorial claims and the appropriate use of the maritime domain presenting on-going 

challenges to regional stability and prosperity’’; 

Whereas, on June 4, 2011, at the Shangri-La Dialogue, 

Liang Guanglie, the Defense Minister from China, said, 

‘‘China is committed to maintaining peace and stability 

in the South China Sea.’’; 

Whereas, on June 11, 2011, the Government of Vietnam held 

a live-fire military exercise on the uninhabited island of 

Hon Ong, 25 miles off the coast of Vietnam in the South 

China Sea; and 

Whereas, on June 11, 2011, Hong Lei, the Foreign Ministry 

spokesman of China, stated, ‘‘[China] will not resort to 

force or the threat of force’’ to resolve the territorial dispute: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the strong support of the United 

3 States for the peaceful resolution of maritime terri4 torial disputes in the South China Sea, and pledges 

5 continued efforts to facilitate a multilateral, peaceful 

6 process to resolve these disputes; 

7 (2) deplores the use of force by naval and mari8 time security vessels from China in the South China 

9 Sea; 

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•SRES 217 ATS 

1 (3) calls on all parties to the territorial dispute 

2 to refrain from threatening force or using force to 

3 assert territorial claims; and 

4 (4) supports the continuation of operations by 

5 the United States Armed Forces in support of free6 dom of navigation rights in international waters and 

7 air space in the South China Sea. 

Æ 

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