Q. Consider the following statements regarding the South China Sea:
1.It is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean connected to the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait.
2.The Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands are subject to overlapping territorial claims by several nations, including China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
3.The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) serves as the primary universally binding legal framework for resolving all maritime claims in the region.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: B
Notes:
Explanations
- Statement 1 is correct: The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is connected to the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and to the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait.
- Statement 2 is correct: The Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands are major areas of contention. They involve overlapping claims by countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines.
- Statement 3 is incorrect: While UNCLOS provides the legal framework for maritime claims, it does not act as a final universally binding resolution tool for sovereignty over the disputed land features. China’s expansive nine-dash line historical claims are fundamentally in dispute, and China largely rejects the binding nature of UNCLOS tribunal rulings (such as the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in favor of the Philippines).
