copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-07-13): 33. In August 1951, Foreign Minister Zhou Enlai, in his Statement on the United States-British Draft Peace Treaty with Japan and the San Francisco Conference, pointed out that "as a matter of fact, just like all the Nan Sha Islands, Chung Sha Islands and Tung Sha Islands, Si Sha Islands (the Paracel Islands) and Nan Wei Island (Spratly Island) have always been China’s territory, occupied by Japan for some time during the war of aggression waged by Japanese imperialism, they were all taken over by the then Chinese Government, following Japan’s surrender", "Whether or not the United States-British Draft Treaty contains provisions on this subject and no matter how these provisions are worded, the inviolable sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China over Nan Wei Island (Spratly Island) and Si Sha Islands (the Paracel Islands) will not be in any way affected." [...] 52. It was reported by AFP that, on 4 February 1974, the then Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik stated that, "si nous regardons les cartes actuelles, elles montrent que les deux archipels des Paracels [Xisha Qundao] et des Spratleys [Nansha Qundao] appartiennent à la Chine", and that because we recognize the existence of only one China, "cela signifie que, pour nous, ces archipels appartiennent à la République populaire de Chine".
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-15): The Philippines claims the northeastern section of the Spratly Islands as the Kalayaan Island Group, in addition to the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls the Bajo de Masinloc. Malaysia claims part of the Kalayaan Island, while China and Taiwan claim the entirety of the island group. China and Taiwan also claim the Scarborough Shoal, which is currently patrolled by Chinese maritime law enforcement vessels. In addition, the body of water enclosed within the nine-dash line promulgated by China and Taiwan overlaps with the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. [...] – Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, 2011 "Since the adjacent waters of the relevant geological features are definite and subject to legal and technical measurement, the claim by the People’s Republic of China on the ‘relevant waters as well as the seabed and subsoil thereof’ (as reflected in the so-called 9-dash line map attached)…outside of the aforementioned relevant geological features in the KIG [Kalayaan Island Group] and their ‘adjacent waters’ would have no basis under international law, specifically UNCLOS." [...] Actions to Bolster Claims 1970-71: Philippine soldiers occupied five features in the Spratly Islands group and attempted to force Taiwan units from Itu Aba Island.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-11-05): Declaration concerning the passage of nuclear-powered and similar ships through the territorial sea of Egypt [...] Interpretative declaration on the subject of straits made upon signature and confirmed upon ratification: [...] Declaration No. 3, on the passage of nuclear-powered ships and the like through Omani territorial waters
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-29): Article 2(f) of the Treaty of Peace with Japan, signed on September 8, 1951, stipulates that, "Japan renounces all right, title and claim to the Spratly Islands and to the Paracel Islands," but prior to this, on August 15, 1951, then Premier Zhou Enlai had stated the following, "The draft stipulates that Japan renounces all rights to the Spratly and Paracel Islands, but again deliberately fails to mention the issue of restoring sovereignty over these islands. As a matter of fact, just like all the Nan Sha Islands, Chung Sha Islands and Tung Sha Islands, the Si Sha Islands (the Paracel Islands) and Nan Wei Island (Spratly Island) have always been China’s territory."3 In light of the name of the "Map of South China Sea Islands," and subsequent statements by the Chinese government, such as the one above, it is reasonable to interpret that in essence the nine-dash line was initially considered to be a line indicating China’s claims of ownership over the islands.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-15): In recent weeks, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has dispatched ships and other maritime forces to the disputed Spratly islands near the Philippines. The goal has been to coerce the Philippines into withdrawing from the contested Second Thomas Shoal, effectively ceding it to the PRC. China’s actions are in defiance of the international Permanent Court of Arbitration’s findings that undermine PRC claims to the Spratlys. They therefore constitute a serious challenge to the international rules governing maritime conduct, as well as to broader peace and stability in the South China Sea, through which enormous amounts of global trade flow. The Spratlys are a group of geographic features including reefs, shoals and rocks located near the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia — and several hundred miles from China’s shores. The area is claimed by the PRC, Taiwan (as the Republic of China), Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Of these, the PRC’s claims are the most expansive. The PRC has long claimed control (without specifically using the term "sovereignty") over territory within the so-called "nine-dash line," a region which encompasses much of the South China Sea, including the Spratlys. However, the PRC hasn’t quite specified whether it claims only the land features, or the waters as well.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-12-01): The PRC cannot lawfully assert a maritime claim â including any Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims derived from Scarborough Reef and the Spratly Islands â vis-a-vis the Philippines in areas that the Tribunal found to be in the Philippinesâ EEZ or on its continental shelf. Beijingâs harassment of Philippine fisheries and offshore energy development within those areas is unlawful, as are any unilateral PRC actions to exploit those resources. In line with the Tribunalâs legally binding decision, the PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to Mischief Reef or Second Thomas Shoal, both of which fall fully under the Philippinesâ sovereign rights and jurisdiction, nor does Beijing have any territorial or maritime claims generated from these features. [...] The PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to (or derived from) James Shoal, an entirely submerged feature only 50 nautical miles from Malaysia and some 1,000 nautical miles from Chinaâs coast. James Shoal is often cited in PRC propaganda as the âsouthernmost territory of China.â International law is clear: An underwater feature likeÂ James Shoal cannot be claimed by any state and is incapable of generating maritime zones. James Shoal (roughly 20 meters below the surface) is not and never was PRC territory, nor can Beijing assert any lawful maritime rights from it.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-15): FeaturedIntroduction Throughout its decades of independence, Myanmar has struggled with military rule, civil war, poor governance, and widespread poverty. A military coup in February 2021 dashed hopes for… Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland January 31, 2022 - [...] Webinar with Carolyn Kissane and Irina A. Faskianos April 12, 2023 -
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-09-08): The Republic of China (ROC) proclaims that the Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands, 南沙群島), Xisha Islands (Paracel Islands, 西沙群島), Zhongsha Islands (Macclesfield Bank, 中沙群島), and Dongsha Islands, as well as their surrounding waters, are an "inherent part of ROC territory and waters." The ROC argues that its rights over these territories are based on history, geography, and international law. Its historical claims in the South China Sea date back to 1947, when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) drew a U-shaped, "eleven-dash line" (十一段線) on a map around the territory in the South China Sea that he claimed as encompassing ROC territory. After coming to power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) changed the "eleven-dash line" to a "nine-dash line" (九段線), though neither concepts are considered legal terminology. Therein lies Taiwan’s dilemma: changing the ROC’s historical claims would indicate—especially to Beijing—that the island democracy was abandoning its historical political identity and moving towards an inherently Taiwanese national identity, or even independence.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-17): China’s sweeping claims of sovereignty over the sea—and the sea’s estimated 11 billion barrels of untapped oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—have antagonized competing claimants Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. As early as the 1970s, countries began to claim islands and various zones in the South China Sea, such as the Spratly Islands, which possess rich natural resources and fishing areas. The failure of Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders to resolve the disputes diplomatically could undermine international laws governing maritime disputes and encourage destabilizing arms buildups. [...] In recent years, satellite imagery has shown China’s increased efforts to reclaim land in the South China Sea by physically increasing the islands' size or creating new ones altogether. In addition to piling sand onto existing reefs, China has constructed ports, military installations, and airstrips—particularly in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, where it has twenty and seven outposts, respectively. China has militarized Woody Island by deploying fighter jets, cruise missiles, and a radar system.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-09-25): China is committed to the path of peaceful development and a neighboring foreign policy characterized by good neighborliness and partnership with our neighbors. Islands in the South China Sea since ancient times are China’s territory. We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful and legitimate maritime rights and interests. We are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, managing differences and disputes through dialogue, and addressing disputes through negotiation, consultation, and peaceful manner, and exploring ways to achieve mutual benefit through cooperation. We're committed to respecting and upholding the freedom of navigation and overflight that countries enjoy according to international law. Relevant construction activities that China are undertaking in the island of South -- Nansha Islands do not target or impact any country, and China does not intend to pursue militarization. China and the United States have a lot of common interests on the issue of South China Sea. We both support peace and stability of the South China Sea. The countries directly involved should address their dispute through negotiation, consultation and in peaceful means. And we support freedom of navigation and overflight of countries according to international law and the management of differences through dialogue, and full and effective implementation of DOC and an early conclusion of the consultation of COC based on consensus-building. We have agreed to maintain constructive communication on relevant issues.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-06-01): It is noted that "Chinese activities in the South China Sea dates back 2000 years ago". Further, "China was the first country to discover, name, explore and exploit the resources of the South China Sea Islands and the first to continuously exercise sovereign powers over them". Following the end of World War II, stating that China actively resumed its activities over the area and by 1948, after conducting necessary surveys and renaming the islands, it was able to publish "an official map which displayed a dotted line in the South China Sea". The People's Republic of China, founded on 1 October 1949, maintained sovereignty of China over the South China Sea and officially pronounced as part of its 1958 Declaration on the Territorial Sea and 1992 Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone that "the territory of People's Republic of China includes, among others, the Dongsha islands, the Xisha islands, the Zhongsha islands, and the Nansha islands". See the Position Paper of the People's Republic of China, http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1217147.shtml, para.4.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): The Spratly Islands (Filipino: Kapuluan ng Kalayaan;[1] Mandarin Chinese: 南沙群島/南沙群岛; pinyin: Nánshā Qúndǎo; Malay: Kepulauan Spratly; Vietnamese: Quần đảo Trường Sa) are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays,[2] and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls,[3] the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km2 (490 acres) of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi). [...] - ^ "Spratly Islands long part of Filipino-Muslim's ancestral domain". 14 July 2011.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-19): The Philippines and China have a bigger dispute because just like China, the Philippines also claim Spratly as being a part of their territory. Their claim is because of the geographical closeness. Philippines claim that their stretch of Islands is very close to the Spratly Islands than any other country. With that being said they also say that they have been controlling the islands for years and will not stop from doing so. Tensions between China and the Philippines have simmered over the years and sometimes they’ve boiled over. In 2012 the Philippines Navy harassed Chinese fishing boats and arrested the crew of one boat which escalated into a tense standoff. The case that was taken to the Permanent Court of Arbitration by the Philippines, its decision was announced in July 2016 which was in Philippines prejudice who imposes that China had tried invading their territory in the South China Sea. After this China has not only abandoned the ruling but the imposition of the law doesn’t seem likely.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-09-16): The secret hydrographic research during the 1930s allowed naval authorities from different countries to understand this vast maritime territory as an archipelago crossed by secret sea-lanes. The Spratly Islands, long perceived as an area to avoid, were reinterpreted as strategic territory from which a maritime power could control the sea-lanes of the South China Sea. During the Second World War, U.S. submarines based in Australia patrolled the South China Sea and regularly crossed the Dangerous Ground using these internal sea-lanes. They also pursued scientific research around the Spratlys, notably to study layers of high density salt in the water which allowed the American submarines to escape detection by Japanese sonar. [...] The maritime space of the Dangerous Ground is structured by internal sea-lanes, with two main axes (north-south and east-west). The choice of which Spratlys to occupy seems to have followed the logic of control of these internal sea-lanes. Thus, after Taiwan occupied the main island of Itu Aba in 1956, Vietnamese forces garrisoned islands and reefs which control the western entrance of the east-west sea-lane. The Philippines, at the end of the 1960’s, favored control of the northern part of the north-south sea-lane. [...] The strategic positions of Chinese troops in the Spratlys are strong enough to blockade the resupply of the Philippines garrisons, mostly located in the northern part of the archipelago. In early 2014, Chinese boats attempted to prevent the supply of Philippine marines located on Second Thomas Shoal in the southern area. This attempt created a new situation – hampering freedom of navigation in the heart of the Spratlys.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-09-29): In the southern portion of the sea is the Spratly Island chain, which Beijing calls the Nansha islands. The archipelago consists of 100 islets and reefs of which 45 are occupied by China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam or the Philippines. [...] "Since early 2018, we have seen the PRC steadily equip its Spratly Island outposts — including Mischief Reef, Subi Reef, and Fiery Cross — with an increasing array of military capabilities, including advanced anti-ship cruise missiles, long-range surface-to-air missile systems, J-20 stealth fighter jets, laser and jamming equipment, and military radar and signals intelligence capabilities," she said in a prepared statement. [...] Under President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, the Philippines has taken increasingly assertive steps to protect its claim to shoals in the South China Sea, leading to several confrontations with Chinese vessels in waters off the Philippine islands.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-01): The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds - and potentially by gas and oil deposits. They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. About 45 islands are occupied by relatively small numbers of military forces from China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Since 1985 Brunei has claimed a continental shelf that overlaps a southern reef but has not made any formal claim to the reef. Brunei claims an exclusive economic zone over this area. [...] Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs of which about 45 are claimed and occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam [...] Disputes - international all of the Spratly Islands are claimed by China (including Taiwan) and Vietnam; parts of them are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines; despite no public territorial claim to Louisa Reef, Brunei implicitly lays claim by including it within the natural prolongation of its continental shelf and basis for a seabed median with Vietnam; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," which has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-08-15): The Philippines claims the northeastern section of the Spratly Islands as the Kalayaan Island Group, in addition to the Scarborough Shoal, which it calls the Bajo de Masinloc. Malaysia claims part of the Kalayaan Island, while China and Taiwan claim the entirety of the island group. China and Taiwan also claim the Scarborough Shoal, which is currently patrolled by Chinese maritime law enforcement vessels. In addition, the body of water enclosed within the nine-dash line promulgated by China and Taiwan overlaps with the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. [...] The Philippines claims the Kalayaan Island Group on the assumption that after Japan renounced its title to the islands in the San Francisco Treaty of Peace of 1951, they reverted to being terra nullius because title was not explicitly passed to another state. Therefore, when a Filipino explorer named Tomas Cloma declared ownership over 33 maritime features in the Spratly Islands in 1956, no other country had a valid claim to them. In 1978, the administration of President Ferdinand Marco issued a decree that listed three bases for the Philippines’ legitimate rights to the territory: contiguity with the Philippine archipelago, historical title, and the lapsing of others’ claims. Following the passage in March 2009 of a legislative act to bring the Philippines’ baselines in conformity with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Philippines’ claim to territorial waters around the maritime features of the Kalayaan Island Group appears to have been restricted to using the low-water baseline, therefore precluding the treatment of the islands as an archipelagic group.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-07-07): Spratly islands is a group of Islands, reefs, islets and cays in the South China Sea or West Philippines Sea which is being claimed by Asian countries namely the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and People’s Republic of China. [...] According to reports, Philippines has the strongest claim of Spratly since it is geographically part of the Philippine archipelago and it’s just 100 kilometers away from Palawan Island. It means that it is much closer to the Philippines than any other countries. [...] According to 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Spratly Islands lie within the Philippines’ 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-06-23): The Philippines has claims on territories which include the Spratly Islands, portions of North Borneo, and the Scarborough Shoal. Main territories claimed [edit]South China Sea islands [edit]The Philippine government claims Spratly Islands features locating within its EEZ in the South China Sea as part of its territory. The Philippine government' has designated its EEZ in the eastern portion of the South China Sea as the "West Philippine Sea". [...] Spratly Islands [edit]The Philippines claims fifty-two landforms in the Spratly Island group. Of these fifty-two landforms, only five islands, two cays, and three reefs are under Philippine occupation: the Flat Island (Patag), the Loaita Island (Kota), the Nanshan Island (Lawak), the Thitu Island (Pagasa), the West York Island (Likas), the Lankiam Cay (Panata), the Northeast Cay (Parola), the Irving Reef (Balagtas), the Commodore Reef (Rizal), and the Second Thomas (Ayungin) Reef. Some of the other landforms claimed but not occupied by the Philippines as of now are either occupied by Vietnam, China, Taiwan or Malaysia. Landforms in the Spratly Islands group that have not been claimed by the Philippines are typically those that are closer to Vietnam. The farthest landform the Philippines claims is Ladd Reef, which is currently occupied by Vietnam.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Philippines (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-03-28): Tensions between the Philippines and China have escalated over the last two years, mainly over two disputed territories: Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands. The former is about 120 nautical miles (222 km) west of the Philippine island of Luzon and is considered a part of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Spratly Islands are a group of over 100 islands and reefs, and while the Philippines claims some parts, China lays claim to the entire archipelago. [...] The Second Thomas Shoal is one of many disputed territories in the Spratly Islands. Many of these are home to rich fishing areas and potential gas and oil deposits.