Japan, SoKor, Australia to help PH improve defense capability – DFA

China justified her exaggerated claim on the South China Sea by
arguing that ancient Chinese texts mentioned certain islands in the
South China Sea, proving that Chinese people were the first to navigate
that sea and the first to discover the islands in the area, that China
was the first country to exercise jurisdiction over the islands and that
the South China Sea was China’s historic water. China further argued
that in 1947, when China published a map of that sea with an eleven-dash
line (predecessor of the nine-dash line), nobody protested, proving
that the world had accepted China’s claim. However, close examination
shows that China’s arguments are baseless.

First, in 1947, the
world did not react to the map of the South China Sea with the
eleven-dash line because the world ignored that map. That map carried as
much legal weight as the traditional Chinese political thought which
said that the world (All-under-heaven) is under the authority of Chinese
emperors. Can China argue that the world had accept China’s sovereignty
over the world because nobody protested when the Chinese emperors
declared that the world is under their authority ? .

Second,
countries that had historical border with the Arctic Ocean formed the
Arctic Council to divide the Arctic natural resources according to the
rules of UNCLOS. China never had any historical border with the Arctic
Ocean, yet China asked to join the Arctic Council in order to have a
share of Arctic natural rersources, arguing that the Arctic Ocean is a
“common heritage for all of humankind”. If the Arctic Ocean is a “common
heritage for all of humankind”, then the South China Sea is a common
heritage for all the peoples who live on its shores, not only for China.

Third,
peoples of the Austronesian language family, more specifically the
Malayo-Polynesian branch, were the first to navigate the South China
Sea. Their original homelands were Southern China or Taiwan. Between
5000-2500 BC, they crossed the South China Sea to populate the
Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. From Southeast Asia, they crossed
the Pacific Ocean to populate Melanesia and Micronesia by 1200 BC,
Polynesia by 1000 BC, Easter Island by 300 AD, Hawaii by 400 AD and New
Zealand by 800 AD. They also crossed the Indian Ocean to populate
Madagascar by 0-500 AD. The Indo-Pacific maritime space, including the
South China Sea, was their historic water. Since the Austronesian
peoples (ancestors of the Filipinos, Indonesians and Malaysians) were
the first to navigate the South China Sea, they were the first to
discover the islands in the area and to fish in the associated waters.
Though they did not invent writing to record their discovery, it would
be ludicrous to deny their discovery of the islands so close to the
Philippines and Indonesia in light of the fact that they were able to
discover the various islands in the vast Pacific Ocean. By the way, they
have been displaced or reduced to aboriginal minority status in their
original homelands.

Fourth, the South China Sea has always been an
international waterway since prehistory. Indian traders navigated that
sea early in prehistory, introducing Indian philosophies to Southeast
Asia, leading to the formation of many Indianised states on Islands
Southeast Asia in ancient time. One of those states was Srivijaya,
located on Indonesia in the 7th century and exercised prominent maritime
activities in the South China Sea. During ancient time, the influence
of Chinese civilization on Southeast Asia was limited to Vietnam whereas
the influence of Indian civilization was dominant throughout Islands
Southeast Asia, indicating Indian traders were very active in the South
China Sea. Persian and Arab traders also navigated that sea, introducing
Islam to Indonesia and the Philippines. The Arabs even settled in
Guangzhou during the 7th century. A 7th-century Chinese monk, I-Tsing,
went pilgrimage to India by embarking at Guangzhou on a Persian ship,
stopped over at Srivijaya before continued onto India.

Fifth, even
if Chinese people were the first to navigate the South China Sea (not
true), China cannot claim sovereignty over the water that is used by
many other countries. The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia do not
claim sovereignty over the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean and the
Pacific Ocean even though their Austronesian ancestors were the first to
navigate those waters. Norway does not claim sovereignty over the
Norwegian Sea even though the Norsemen (Vikings) were the first to
navigate that water to populate Iceland and Greenland in the 9th
century. Portugal does not claim sovereignty over the water off the West
African coast, the water around the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian
Ocean even though Portuguese under Bartolomeu Diaz and Vasco da Gama
were the first to navigate those waters in 1488 and 1498. Spain does not
claim sovereignty over the Atlantic Ocean, the Magellan Strait and the
Pacific Ocean even though Spaniards under Christopher Columbus and
Ferdinand Magellan were the first to navigate those waters in 1492 and
1521. Russia does not claim sovereignty over the Bering Sea even though
Russians under Vitus Bering were the first to navigate that water in
1741.

Sixth, ancient Chinese texts which mention the South China
Sea islands do not describe discovery of the islands but only describe
general knowledge about the islands, knowledge shared among the
fishermen, merchants and pirates from various countries who navigated
that sea since prehistory. Chinese writers were the first to write about
the South China Sea islands because China invented writing earlier, not
because Chinese people were the first to navigate that sea or the first
to discover the islands. This principle is illustrated by the Sea of
Japan and the Black Sea.
Japan first appeared in written records
in 57 AD in China’s Book of the Later Han as followed: “Across the sea
from Lelang were the people of Wa”. Lelang was a Han Empire’s military
outpost in Korea and Wa referred to Japan. The sea between Lelang and Wa
is now known as Sea of Japan. Chinese writers were the first to write
about Japan and Sea of Japan because China invented writing early, not
because Chinese people were the first to navigate the Sea of Japan or
the first to discover Japan. Korean and Japanese peoples lived by the
Sea of Japan since prehistory and sailed into that sea to fish and to
trade with each other, and knew about the existence of each others since
prehistory, long before Chinese writers wrote about Japan and Sea of
Japan.
The Black Sea first appeared in written records in 5th
century BC in the writing of the Greek poet Pindar as “Pontos Axeinos”.
By the 5th century BC, the Greeks had established many colonies by the
Black Sea. Greek writers were the first to write about the Black Sea
because Greece invented writing early, not because Greeks were the first
to discover or the first to navigate the Black Sea. There were other
peoples who lived by the Black Sea alongside with the Greeks and had
sailed into that water to fish and to trade since prehistory, even
though they did not invent writing to write about that. The Black Sea,
like the South China Sea, is a common heritage for all the peoples who
live on its shores.

Seventh, ancient Chinese texts which mention
the South China Sea islands mention those islands as foreign lands, not
as China’s territories, and do not describe which activities the
authority of ancient China exercised on the islands. Therefore, there is
no proof of China’s jurisdiction over the islands. In the case of
Scarborough shoal, China argued that Kublai Khan’s officials were the
first to map out and to establish jurisdiction over those islands in
1279. However, Kublai Khan was the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire who
conquered China. If any country can inherit Scarborough shoal from
Kublai Khan, it is Mongolia, not China.
In 1279, Kublai Khan’s
officials neither “discovered” nor “established jurisdiction” over
Scarborough shoal because that place was already the historic water and
traditional fishing ground of Filipino fishermen, descendants of the
Austronesian sailors who navigated the South China Sea and populated the
Philippines in 5000-2500 BC. Scarborough shoal was known as “bajio de
Masinloc”, meaning shoal of Masinloc, in a Spanish-made map of the
Philippines in 1734. Masinloc is not a Spanish word and is the name of a
municipality on the Philippines’ main island, confirming that Filipino
fishermen had been to and had named the islands after their own tongue
for centuries.

Eighth, official maps of the Yuan Dynasty and Ching
Dynasty, including but not limited to Da Qing Zhi Sheng Quan Tu
(published in 1862) and Huang Chao Yi Tong Yu Di Zen Du (published in
1894), show that the southernmost extent of China ends at Hainan islands
(see below).

Finally, the Chinese empire originated on the Yellow
river basin and eventually conquered many lands and peoples, including
Tibet and Sinkiang, which is why China is a multiethnic, multi-languages
country. At the time when China allegedly discovered the South China
Sea islands, China’s border on the mainland was not what it is today,
Tibet and Sinkiang were independent countries of the Tibetans and the
Uyghurs, respectively. The Tibetans and the Uyghurs are demanding
self-determination. Three dozens Tibetan monks have burned themselves to
death to draw attention of humanity to the sufferings of their people
under China’s rule. If China is serious about its historical claim, it
should return to its historical border on the mainland, return Tibet and
Sinkiang to the Tibetans and the Uyghurs, respectively.

China
knows that her arguments for claiming sovereignty over the South China
Sea and all the islands in that water are baseless, which is why China
refused the Philippines’ invitation to submit the dispute to an
international court.