South China Sea | Vague Nine-dash line underpins China-Taiwan claim

China’s South China Sea territorial claims are demarcated in vague terms by the nine-dash line, a U-shaped boundary that loops down from Taiwan as far as Indonesia’s Natuna Islands.
Although China’s claim to the area of about 3.5 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) is based on historical records and geographic proximity, the nine-dash line is a modern creation. It first appeared on 1947 maps produced by the government of the Republic of China, which was replaced by the communist People’s Republic on the mainland just two years later.
Taiwan inherited the Republic of China’s claim when Chiang Kai-shek moved his government to the island ahead of the communist advance. The Taiwanese and Chinese claims now overlap, although China has been seeking to expand its land holdings by creating new islands from reefs and atolls.
In contrast to Beijing’s increasingly aggressive moves to assert its claims and expand the size of maritime features under its control, Taipei has sought to avoid conflict. However, it has been pushing back against parts of a lawsuit brought by the Philippines challenging China’s claim.
Taiwan’s biggest territorial holding is Taiping island, where it operates a hospital, airstrip and facilities for roughly 200 residents, mostly coast guard troops.
Although it claims the Spratly Islands in their entirety, Taiwan’s only other actual holding in the area is a small coral reef called Zhongzhoujiao, located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Taiping. The reef is only partly exposed at high tide and is exclusively populated by sea birds and other wildlife, although observation posts have been built on it and there are plans to construct a lighthouse.
Taiwan also has complete control of the Pratas Islands, which it calls Dongsha, centered on an atoll in the northern section of the South China Sea about 340 kilometers (211 miles) southeast of Hong Kong. Taiwan has designated the area a marine national park, but still operates a small airport there, maintains a garrison and operates a fishing boat aid station. China claims Pratas, but has made no moves to dislodge the Taiwanese presence.
China also has refused requests to clarify the exact geographical coordinates of its South China Sea boundary. It also declines to say whether it considers the South China Sea to be Chinese territorial waters, an exclusive economic zone or some other legal designation.
Beijing says that in no way impedes freedom of navigation, and its diplomats accuse others of picking fights. However, rising tensions, including Indonesia’s worries over China’s designs on waters around the Natuna Islands, threaten to make China’s preference for ambiguity no longer tenable. MDT/AP