Knowra Spratly Islands Spratly Islands The Spratly Islands are a group of islands, reefs, and other maritime features in the South China Sea, claimed in whole or in part by several countries.
South China Sea : A marginal sea of the western Pacific bordered by China, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. The Spratlys lie within this sea, whose surrounding states contest maritime rights.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea : The 1982 treaty that sets rules for maritime zones, navigation, and ocean resources. Its rules determine what maritime entitlements naturally formed Spratly features can generate.
China–Philippines relations : The political and economic relationship between China and the Philippines. Their bilateral disputes over Spratly features and nearby waters repeatedly shape regional tensions.
Taiping Island : The largest naturally formed feature in the Spratly Islands, administered by Taiwan and also claimed by other parties. Its size and freshwater resources make it central to arguments about the legal status of Spratly features.
Treaty of San Francisco : A 1951 peace treaty that ended the state of war between Japan and the Allied powers. Japan renounced claims to the Spratlys in the treaty, which did not name a recipient.
Territorial sea : A coastal state's belt of sea, extending up to 12 nautical miles from its baselines, over which it has sovereignty. Sovereignty over a Spratly feature can affect claims to its surrounding territorial sea.
Vietnam–China relations : The political relationship between Vietnam and China, marked by cooperation and recurring disputes. Both governments claim Spratly features, while their wider relationship affects how the dispute is managed.
Mischief Reef : A reef in the Spratly Islands occupied by China and claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its transformation into a major Chinese outpost became a central focus of the Philippines' arbitration case.
French Indochina : The French colonial federation that included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1887 to 1954. French colonial administration and claims in the Spratlys became part of the dispute's history.
Exclusive economic zone : A sea zone extending up to 200 nautical miles from a coast, where a state has specified resource rights. The Spratlys sit amid overlapping claims to resource rights in surrounding waters.
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