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 Little noticed in the heated debate over the potential military
use of China's holdings is a growing civilian presence across the
South China Sea - a trend that potentially complicates any future
armed conflict while buttressing competing claims to territory.
Such moves will be limited by the small size, exposed conditions and
lack of fresh water on most islands in the typhoon-tossed waterway,
but beefing up civilian features is still important for rival
claimants, experts said.
"It does strengthen their legal position ... because it underscores
effective administration, not just military, but civilian," said Ian
Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's Institute of South
East Asian Studies.
"That would be important if these disputes ever went to the
International Court of Justice," added Storey, referring to the
United Nations' primary judicial body that can rule on territorial
disputes.
Tensions in the Spratlys, in particular over China's island building
and freedom of navigation through the contested waters, will
dominate an Asian security forum in Singapore this weekend to be
attended by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and military officials
from Asia, including China.
China claims most of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the vital trade
route. All claimants except Brunei have military fortifications in
the Spratlys.
As China pushes ahead with the construction of at least one airstrip
and other military facilities on reclaimed land in the Spratlys,
Chinese officials are stressing the civilian nature of the work.
Ouyang Yujing, head of the Foreign Ministry's department of boundary
and ocean affairs, told state media this week that while China had
"every right" to use its Spratly holdings for military purposes, the
facilities would be "primarily civilian".
He listed search and rescue, disaster prevention, scientific
research and weather observation, among others. China had a
groundbreaking ceremony for the building of two lighthouses on its
new islands, state media said on Tuesday.
SUNSCREEN AND SOVEREIGNTY
China accelerated its South China Sea civilian push in 2012, when it
made a township on Woody island in the Paracel chain, north of the
Spratlys, the head of a civilian administration for its claimed
islands and reefs. The Paracels, entirely occupied by China since
1974, are also claimed by Vietnam.
Now, mainland Chinese tourists can visit Woody island aboard a
cruise ship called the Coconut Princess that sails from China's
Hainan island.
"Setting foot onto China's most beautiful gardens is a declaration
of our national sovereignty," says the website of the Hainan Airways
International Travel Agency, which also warns travelers to wear
sunscreen.
International tourists, meanwhile, can visit a small diving resort
on Malaysia's Swallow Reef in the southern reaches of the Spratlys.
Wu Shicun, president of China's National Institute of South China
Sea Studies, said he went to Woody island earlier this year and
noticed that the population had risen to several hundred, forcing
the building of proper roads and rubbish collection facilities.
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In addition to an elementary school and a hospital, the families of
fishermen had places to shop, Wu told Reuters.
It's very different on the Philippine-held island of Thitu, also
known as Pagasa, in the Spratlys.
Some 135 soldiers and civilians eke out an existence, sharing a
communal vegetable garden and a health clinic while the children
attend a basic school.
Rovelyn Jugo, 22, moved to Manila's largest holding in the Spratlys
with her husband and son a year ago.
"Everything is free, so we can save," she told Reuters during a
recent media visit to the island.
JUST ROCKS
On the Vietnamese-held island of Southwest Cay, an elementary school
opened this month, the third Vietnam has opened in the Spratlys in
the last two years, according to state media. A health clinic on
Spratly island, the biggest Vietnam occupies, is also being
upgraded.
Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ability of an
island to sustain a civilian population and economic activity is
vital to determining whether it can claim a 200 nautical mile
exclusive economic zone (EEZ), international lawyers say.
Those that can't are legally considered rocks.
Clive Schofield, an Australian legal expert, said placing civilians
on a reclamation was not enough for an EEZ.
"The legal character of the feature will not change no matter how
large the civilian population becomes, or what economic activities
take place there," he said.
While the legal nuances may be a long way from life on Thitu,
China's reclamations are hard to avoid.
At night, lights are visible on Subi Reef, a Chinese reclamation 20
km (13 miles) away.
"What we hear on the radio about the situation here is frightening,"
said Jugo. "We are ready to leave ... In fact, our things are in
plastic containers so we can take them with us."
(Additional reporting by Ho Binh Minh in HANOI; and Megha
Rajagopalan in BEIJING; Editing by Dean Yates)
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