China tightens its grip over the South China Sea

At a Glance 24-02-2021

Of all the disputed areas claimed by China, the South China Sea (SCS) has been the most prominent in recent years, since it involves the largest number of actors with overlapping claims to maritime features and waters, as well as non-claimant countries, owing to its strategic importance as one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. In 2020, China stepped up its salami-slicing tactics to assert its sweeping 'historic' rights, while Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam dismissed them in an alignment of positions supported by a 2016 landmark arbitration award under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In 2020, the United States' previous neutral position on China's maritime claims shifted to dismissing them as unlawful. The EU remained attached to its position of not taking sides with either party's claims. Some EU Member States have become more vocal in dismissing China's 'historic' rights and have increased their presence in the SCS. This publication is an update of a briefing published in 2016, PE 586.671.