copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Malaysia (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-06-02): You would expect more noise out of Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian government claims a dozen Spratly islands in the disputed South China Sea. China and Taiwan claim them as well along with the rest of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea that’s packed with fish, gas and oil. Malaysia even opened one islet, Layang Layang, to diving tourism. The Southeast Asian country has reserves of 5 billion barrels of crude oil and 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in sea, more than other claimants, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says. But Malaysia says little about its claims compared to ever-vociferous neighbors such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Malaysia tries to avoid rocking boats because the claimant most likely to splash disputed water on it is China. China happens to be Malaysia's chief economic partner and one with a record of withdrawing economic support elsewhere when friends turn hostile. [...] But for the past year China has stationed a coast guard ship at one shoal that Malaysia claims and it regularly patrols another. There’s no way Malaysia can be thrilled. The country’s Prime Minister Najib Razak recently told fellow Southeast Asian leaders that "as China continues to grow its military presence in the region, tensions continue among Malaysia and neighboring countries over the hotly disputed waters," local news outlet The Star Online said Monday. Najib urged that claimants to the sea to "recommit to the full and effective implementation" of a code of conduct that would avoid mishaps. Some people want their government to take an ever tougher line on China.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Malaysia (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-05-19): To the claimants vying for the Spratlys, the implications of territorial sovereignty over the islands under the LOS are all too clear. In addition to its potential resources, the Spratlys archipelago occupies a strategic location. Lying between the coast of Vietnam on the west and the Philippines to the east, the Spratlys occupy a potential blocking position for ships transiting the South China Sea. Aircraft based in the Spratlys would be within range of the Malacca and Sunda Straits, bottlenecks through which shipping in the South China Sea must pass in order to enter the Indian Ocean. A military presence, such as an airfield located in the Spratlys, could effectively halt all shipping in the South China Sea in the event of a conflict. This is a fact of no small consequence to nations in the region, who are currently restructuring military relationships in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Today, six Asian nations-the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China-vigorously assert claims of sovereignty over all or parts of the Spratlys.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): [edit]The People's Republic of China (PRC) claims are based on history and not UNCLOS.[17] However, the PRC still claims all of the Spratly Islands as part of China. The PRC is a party to the UNCLOS, signing the agreement on 29 July 1994. [...] Basis for the PRC's and the ROC's claims [edit]Chinese fishermen have fished around the islands since 200 BC.[18] China claims to have discovered the islands in the Han dynasty in 2 BC. The islands were claimed to have been marked on maps compiled during the time of Eastern Han dynasty and Eastern Wu (one of the Three Kingdoms). Since the Yuan dynasty in the 12th century, several islands that may be the Spratlys have been labelled as Chinese territory according to the Yuanshi, an official history commissioned by the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1369.[19][20] This labeling has also occurred in the Qing dynasty from the 13th to 19th century;[21] the islands may have appeared on a 1755 map, among others.[21][22] French divers found remains of a 15th century Chinese galleon near the coast of Brunei, cited by Beijing as proof that ancient Chinese sailed these waters.[23]
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-06-11): The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 tiny land masses lush in resources that are being claimed by China despite territorial claims by Taiwan, Malaysia Vietnam and the Philippines. The Spratly Islands are a diverse island chain home to more than 100 islands and reefs including banks and cays. They’re located in the disputed South China Sea, and contain an incredibly rich ecosystem containing 11 billion barrels of oil, 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and home to 10% of the world’s fisheries. More importantly, over 30% of global shipping trade passes through this region, leading to the economic markets of Southeast Asia. Vietnam, People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of China (ROC), the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all claim a part of the disputed Spratly Islands. Most of the countries occupy maritime areas with the exception of Brunei. [...] The Spratly Islands are currently a remote, uninhabited cluster of islands with claims by China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. The islands are situated at the heart of the South China Sea making it a hotbed for China to claim their territory.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-05-30): We have all heard about land reclamation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea, particularly the southeastern region known as the Spratly Group. But much less is being said about what the Permanent Court of Arbitration just finished considering for the past week: are artificial islands really islands? According to the Philippines, the answer is straightforward: No. In its initial statement of claim, the Philippines asked the Court to invalidate China’s Nine-Dash Line (click here for a good overview of that issue) and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands. Of these eight features, seven are home to ongoing PRC land reclamation. [...] Recent land reclamation has dramatically transformed seven disputed maritime features in the Spratly Islands. These include Mischief, Gaven, Subi, Johnson, Cuarteron, Fiery Cross, and Hughes (McKennan) Reefs. For example, in 1995, Subi Reef was completely submerged at high tide. Today, there are 3.9 million square meters of reclaimed land above water at high tide on Subi Reef, and it is home to a pair of wooden barracks, communications array, and helipad. There are similarly stark changes at each of the other reefs. Since UNCLOS affords differing maritime based on the geographic characteristics of a given landmass, at first blush these changes could have big implications for both China and the Philippines. In particular, the Spratlys dispute involves three types of territorial objects at sea:
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-19): The Spratlys are the heart of South China Sea both naturally and emblematically. In order to protect the claimed area, some nations have built small scale buildings and ports on their claimed islands and even some of them had stuck a few people in there, but as told earlier China believes the whole South China Sea is theirs and also the spratly islands belong to them therefore, China has started building the artificial islands there. Not just building the islands but also installing the military bases on these new artificially based islands, this took the conflict to an entire new level also showing that China is possibly willing to defend its claims with power. [...] Taiwan claims on Spratly Islands are similar to the ones that are of China. They are based on history, discovery and occupation. They both have claimed the Spratly Islands and other islands nearby since the ancient times. Since 1949, both of the states have shown their dominance over the region by attempting to occupy the islands.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2015-07-19): The Spratly Islands are located in the so-called South China Sea and consist of a number of small islands, reefs, atolls and rocks. These islands have been disputed with varying degrees of intensity for more than 50 years. They continue to be a point of dispute between six different states to this day. The Spratly Islands are claimed in whole or part by The People’s Republic of China (PRC), The Republic of China (ROC/Taiwan), The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-05-22): These islands are small and overcrowded, especially in the Spratly reef chain where there are competing territorial claims from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. [...] "The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] ... They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems," Mr Aquilino said at the time. [...] In 2015, Xi Jinping, during a visit to the White House said: "Relevant construction activities that China are undertaking in the island of South – Nansha (Spratly) Islands do not target or impact any country, and China does not intend to pursue militarisation."
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-11): In addition to the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia are a few other claimants of the islands and the territorial waters around them. However, China is by far the main territorial competitor and claims nearly all the waters in the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling in the Hague that rejected nearly all of its claims. [...] Since then, the Philippines' more China-friendly policies under the previous government have done an about-face under the country's current President Marcos, who has made defending Manila's territorial claims of the Spratly Islands a priority. [...] China is also doubling down on its presence in the Spratlys. It has spent much of the last decade fortifying its toehold in the region. Del Mundo, the mayor, says China is also building three more artificial sand bars near Thitu.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (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). The Spratly Islands are one of the major archipelagos in the South China Sea which complicate governance and economics in this part of Southeast Asia due to their location in strategic shipping lanes. The islands are largely uninhabited, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves, and as such are important to the claimants in their attempts to establish international boundaries. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC), the Philippines, and Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone in the southeastern part of the Spratly Islands, which includes the uninhabited Louisa Reef.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-29): Spratly Islands, large group of reefs, shoals, atolls, and small islets in the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean. They are located north of insular Malaysia and are roughly midway between Vietnam and the Philippines, and they are claimed—wholly or in part—by several countries in the region. [...] China has asserted that its claim to the Spratlys dates back centuries. The Chinese government has stated that almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys and other island groups, is within its sphere of influence. Those claims have been strongly disputed by the Philippines and Vietnam in particular. China first established a presence in the Spratlys in 1988, when its military forcibly removed a Vietnamese garrison from Johnson South Reef. In early 2014 China began intensively building up artificial land on certain reefs and atolls. That activity and China’s stronger statements on its claimed territorial integrity in the Spratlys exacerbated tensions with the United States, which dispatched a U.S. warship through the region in October 2015.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-03): According to Filipino sources, China released its English language "China Handbook (1937-1943)" in 1943, where it reiterated for the second time that its southernmost territory is the Paracels, specifically Triton Island.[35][46][34] China again changed its position and had published by 1947 an updated China Handbook, which Filipino sources interpret as claiming for the first time that its southernmost territory was the Spratly Islands. Under the new handbook, China also admitted on record that the Philippines and Indochina also claimed the territory,[47] effectively making China's claim as "defective" under international law on Carpio's interpretation.[32] In August 1951, Zhou Enlai, then the PRC's Foreign Minister, responding to the draft of the Treaty of San Francisco, claimed that the Paracel and Spratly Islands "have always been Chinese territory",[48]: 389–390 despite Chinese historical records from its previous dynasties specifically stating that the southernmost part of China has always been Hainan.[18][32][34][35][36][46] During the 1951 San Francisco Peace Conference, the USSR made a motion to grant the Paracels and the Spratlys to China, but the motion was defeated by a vote of 46 against, 3 in favour, and 1 abstention, adding the results into international historical records.[49][50]
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-07-04): As part of the larger South China Sea dispute, the long-standing Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute regarding ocean areas and the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands to the north – two island chains claimed in whole or in part by a number of countries. The Spratly Islands consist of hundreds of islands and reefs. The 750 spits of lands that make up the Spratly Islands are small and largely uninhabited. However it is their strategic location in the middle of several major trade routes, being the home to fishing grounds which supply people across the region, as well as the possibility of their containing natural resources which have made the islands an extremely valuable commodity. It is worth noting that there has been little detailed exploration of the area, so estimates are largely extrapolated from the mineral wealth of neighbouring areas. [...] China’s claims on the Spratlys and the Paracel islands are based more on historic settlement rather than geographical proximity. Recently China has raised the stakes by seeking to change the geography with significant man-made islands and infrastructure. It is claimed that by May 2015 the Chinese had added 2,000 acres to their outposts in the previous 18 months. The rate of increase of these new islands is causing anxiety for neighbouring nations.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-02): The Spratly Islands and Territorial Rights [...] The Spratly Islands area (Fig. 1) is located between 11°30′ to 4° N and 109°30′ to 117°50′ E and spreads out over a vast area of ocean measuring 240,000 km2, roughly equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom (UK) (Dzurek 1996). It is clustered in a semiclosed sea, namely the South China Sea, in the shape of a parallelogram between the Philippine island of Palawan and the southeast coast of Vietnam (Denoon and Brams 1997). There are at least 19 islands (above water at high tides) within the meaning of Article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that can undoubtedly be acquired as territory under international law, as confirmed in the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China) award (PCA 2016). These islands are Itu Aba Island, Thitu Island, West York... [...] Ma, X. (2020). The Spratly Islands and Territorial Rights.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-09): It is commonly believed that European sailors passing Taiwan record the island’s name as Ilha Formosa, or beautiful island. [...] Following the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan signed by 48 Allied nations on behalf of the United Nations, the Treaty of Peace is signed between the ROC and Japan at Taipei Guest House, formally ending the state of war between the two parties. It is recognized that under Article 2 of the San Francisco Treaty, Japan has renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) as well as the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands. All treaties, conventions and agreements concluded before Dec. 9, 1941, between China and Japan become null and void as a consequence of the war. [...] The ROC inks the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China to institutionalize economic and trade relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-01-13): To date, the impact of PRC militarization is most acutely felt in the South China Sea, where the PRC built several bases despite President Xiâs unambiguous promise in 2015 to not militarize the Spratly Islands.Â Beijing now uses those locations to expand its intimidation and coercion of many Southeast Asian coastal states and undermine their efforts to exercise their sovereign rights under international law. [...] Beijingâs claims to offshore resources across much of the South China Sea areâ¯widely denounced as unlawful.â¯ Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, bully them out of offshore resources, threaten them out of shipping lanes, assert unilateral dominion, and deprive fishermen of access to their livelihoods.Â Beijing seeks to replace international law with âmight makes right.âÂ The PRC has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region.Â Beijing has offered no coherent legal basis for its âNine-Dashed Lineâ claim in the South China Sea, since formally announcing it in 2009.Â In a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Conventionâto which the PRC is a State Partyârejected much of the PRCâs South China Sea maritime claims as having no basis in international law.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-03-08): Situated between China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam, the SCS is one of the most hotly disputed territories in the world.22 Each of these countries claims partial or complete sovereignty over the SCS and the islands, reefs, and rocks ("landmasses") located therein.23 To enhance or strengthen these competing claims, many of these states have built artificial islands or increased their military capabilities in the region.24 Of the six claimants to the area, only Brunei has not enhanced or constructed reefs and islands in the SCS in an attempt to bolster its claims.25 China’s actions in the region have been particularly aggressive.26 As mentioned above, Beijing claims sovereignty over landmasses and adjacent waters within its Nine-Dash line, which consists of most of the area within the SCS.27 While other countries bordering the SCS also claim sovereign areas and jurisdictions within the SCS, none of these claims are as extensive as China’s.28 These claims conflict with China’s broad claim over the SCS and its landmasses, resulting in the conflicts and disputes between the countries.29 [...] 36 Foreign Ministry, People’s Republic of China, "Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China on China’s Territorial Sovereignty and Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea," 2016, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/. [...] 40 Teh-Kuang Chang, "China’s claim of sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel Islands: A Historical and Legal Perspective," Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law 23 (1991), 399, 408–10.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-15): I would like to propose a discussion on this matter, sharing that, based on the information I have, the Paracel and Spratly Islands are territories under the sovereignty of Vietnam. I have researched from [Geofabrik Download Server] and would like others to share their opinions and knowledge on this issue. [...] The ownership of the islands remains hotly contested. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Mainland China, Vietnam, and the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan all claim de jure sovereignty, although the PRC has had de facto control of the archipelago since the Battle of the Paracel Islands in January 1974. About the Spratly Islands, Wikipedia: Spratly Islands offers much information about conflicting claims, including a table that lists 18 islands, and which country currently occupies each, so there is much to sort out there.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of People's Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2019-03-14): The Spratly Islands are a disputed group of 14 islands, islets and cays and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia and southern Vietnam. The islands have no indigenous inhabitants, but offer rich fishing grounds and may contain significant oil and natural gas reserves. Some of the islands have civilian settlements, but of the approximately 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals that are occupied, all contain structures that are occupied by military forces from Malaysia, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Vietnam. Additionally, Brunei has claimed an exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Paracel Islands are a group of islands, reefs, banks and other maritime features. They are controlled (and occupied) by China, and also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. The archipelago is surrounded by productive fishing grounds and a seabed with potential, but as yet unexplored, oil and gas reserves. [...] The Pratas Islands are an atoll in the north of the South China Sea consisting of three islets about 340 km southeast of Hong Kong. Excluding their associated EEZ and territorial waters, the islets comprise about 240 ha, including 64 ha of lagoon area. China claims the islands, but Taiwan controls them and has declared them a national park. The main island of the group, Pratas Island, is the largest of the South China Sea islands.