ABSTRACT
The conflicting claims to islands (the Spratly Islands and the Paracel Islands) and the ocean areas adjacent to these features within the South China Sea has been the dominate geopolitical issue within Southeast Asia for decades. The conflicting claims have undermined most attempts at cooperation on marine matters in the region. The bases of the legal/political arguments for the claims of Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam over the insular features and adjacent ocean areas within the South China Sea, whether it be historic usage, discovery, occupation, proximity or a combination of these and other arguments, are wellknown.1 The 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea involving the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the People’s Republic of China2 had a stabilizing effect on State actions for a number of years.3
