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Opinion | In disputed South China Sea, Asean claimant states are neither friends nor foes
- Competing claims over maritime jurisdiction in the strategic waterway have been a source of distrust and tension in the region
- Despite a shared rival in China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia have separate issues of sovereignty and territorial rights that make the issue deadlocked
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Over the past decade, the Philippines has viewed China as its biggest challenger in the contested South China Sea. But even as it shares a common rival in Beijing with other Southeast Asian claimant states, Manila has also sought to reject bids by its neighbours in the contested waterway.
Earlier this month, the Philippines sent a diplomatic note urging the UN Secretary-General against considering Malaysia’s submission to partially expand its continental shelf – which refers to a 200-nautical-mile area extending from a state’s shoreline – in the South China Sea.
Manila noted that Malaysia’s claims, lodged in December 2019, referred to regions that overlapped with the Philippines’ continental shelf – including parts of the Kalayaan Island Group and North Borneo, over which the Philippines has sovereignty.
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This was not the first time the Philippines has attempted to get the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to reject Malaysia’s submission. In 2009, Manila protested against a joint submission made by Malaysia and Vietnam.
Competing claims over maritime jurisdictions in the South China Sea – a mineral-rich waterway which sees the movement of more than US$3.4 trillion worth of goods every year – have been a source of distrust and tension in the region. Despite many efforts to manage the conflict, the disputes seem to be politically deadlocked.
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