copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-10-24): By the Song dynasty, China maintained that it was naming and claiming territory in the island chains it calls Nansha (the Spratly Islands) and Xisha (the Paracel Islands). [...] For example, in the UN’s archival end-notes: "On 12 June 1985, the Secretary-General received from the Government of China the following communication: ‘The so-called Kalayaan Islands are part of the Nansha [Spratly] Islands, which have always been Chinese territory. The Chinese government has stated on many occasions that China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and at the adjacent waters and resources.’" [...] "In the 1970s and 1980s, China took over control of much of the Paracel Islands in the northern SCS [South China Sea] and Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands in the southeast quadrant of the SCS, both in Vietnam’s EEZ," the United States department of defence wrote.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Republic of China (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 Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2016-01-27): In the summer of 2014, news sources reported China’s plan to expand its international influence by creating an artificial island within the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago of reefs, atolls, and islands located in the South China Sea. The Spratleys, although largely unexplored, are situated within a major shipping route and are suspected to contain a wealth of natural resources. Consequently, there is a significant territorial dispute over the islands, with claims by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Since 2014, China has managed to make major base developments, including establishing a fully functional airstrip in March of 2015. China’s announcement to construct an artificial island in this contentious area raises three key questions: [...] CHINA TODAY: SPRATLY ISLANDS AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA [...] There are two major archipelagos located in the South China Sea: the Parcel Islands and the Spratly Islands, where China’s artificial island is currently being built. The geopolitical implications – and legality – of this artificial expansion have raised concerns with the US. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides instructions regarding the types of activities nations are allowed to perform within their territorial waters.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-10-08): China Handbook 1937–1943: A comprehensive survey of major developments in China in six years of war was published by the Republic of China in 1943 and stated its southernmost territory as "Triton Island of the Paracel Group".[116] China Handbook 1937–1945, a revised edition covering the entire Second Sino-Japanese War, claimed that the Spratly islands were contested among China, the Philippines, and Indochina.[117] The Paracels and Spratlys were handed over to Republic of China control from Japan after the 1945 surrender of Japan,[29] since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area.[27]
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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).
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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 Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-01-01): The Spratly Islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds -- and potentially by gas and oil deposits. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam all claim the islands in their entirety, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines. Around 70 disputed islets and reefs in the Spratly Islands are occupied by 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. [...] Country name conventional long form: none conventional short form: Spratly Islands etymology: named after a British whaling captain Richard SPRATLY, who sighted Spratly Island in 1843; the name of the island eventually passed to the entire archipelago Military - note around 70 disputed islets and reefs in the Spratly Islands are occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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 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 Republic of China (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. [...] 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 Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-14): In a statement on Monday, Mr Pompeo denounced China's claims on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, saying Beijing had "no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region". [...] Before now, the US had not taken sides on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. [...] The sea has in recent years become a flashpoint for tensions between China and other nations which claim sovereignty over two largely uninhabited island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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 Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-03-18): The South China Sea Islands are part of the territory of the Republic of China. That the ROC is entitled to all rights over the South China Sea Islands and their relevant waters in accordance with international law and the law of the sea is beyond dispute. Issues in the South China Sea are highly complicated, given the overlapping claims by claimants, number of States involved, regional security and diplomatic issues, as well as the political and economic interests of the States concerned. The ROC government will continue to engage in cooperative consultations with each of the States. The government will firmly safeguard the ROC’s territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea, as well as the rights over relevant waters it is entitled to under international law and the law of the sea. It will not renounce its sovereignty or legal rights.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-11): Less than a mile long, Thitu is one of the largest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, some of which are no more than a sliver of exposed reef. But their diminutive size belies their strategic importance: the islands sit in the middle of rich fishing grounds and next to critical maritime trade routes. 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. [...] 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 Republic of China (Spratly Islands, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2018-07-12): The South China Sea is an environmental gem. It is also the site of an intense geopolitical conflict. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have all made claims to the islands in the South China Sea. The two major disputed island groups are the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands. The conflict emerged in the second half of the twentieth century, and it is closely related to the rise of modern China. [...] [2] Expert Report of Dr. rer. Nat. Sebastian C.A. Ferse, Professor Peter Mumby, PhD and Dr. Selina Ward, PhD on the Assessment of the Potential Environmental Consequences of Construction Activities on Seven Reefs in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China (Perm. Ct. Arb. 2016), https://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/1809.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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. [...] 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. [...] It is also my sincere hope that the two sides of China and the U.S. will proceed from the fundamental interests of the two peoples and world people, make joint efforts to build a new model of major-country relations between two countries, and realize non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and cooperation.
Claim: Spratly Islands is a territory of 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 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." [...] March 1995: After Chinese troops occupied Mischief Reef in late 1994, the Philippines bombed Chinese structures on the maritime feature.