主题：【原创】中国的海洋权益争端漫谈之一：领海到哪里？ -- 抱朴仙人

Military Clashes in the South China Sea over the Past Two Decades*

Date Countries Military Action

1974 China, Vietnam Chinese seized the Paracel Islands from Vietnam, with 18 of its troops killed in clashes on one of the islands.

1988 China, Vietnam Chinese and Vietnamese navies clashed at Johnson Reef in the Spratly Islands. Several Vietnamese boats were sunk and over 70 sailors killed.

1992 China, Vietnam Vietnam accused China of landing troops on Da Luc Reef. China seized almost 20 Vietnamese cargo ships transporting goods from Hong Kong from June - September.

1994 China, Vietnam China and Vietnam had naval confrontations within Vietnam's internationally recognized territorial waters over Vietnam's Tu Chinh oil exploration blocks 133, 134, and 135. Chinese claim the area as part of their Wan' Bei-21 (WAB-21) block.

1995 China, Philippines China occupied Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef. Philippine military evicted the Chinese in March and destroyed Chinese markers.

1995 Taiwan, Vietnam Taiwanese artillery fired on a Vietnamese supply ship.

1996 China, Philippines In January, Chinese vessels engaged in a 90-minute gun battle with a Philippine navy gunboat near Capones Island.

1997 China, Philippines The Philippine navy ordered a Chinese speedboat and two fishing boats to leave Scarborough Shoal in April; the Philippine navy later removed Chinese markers and raised its flag. China sent three warships to survey Philippine-occupied Panata and Kota Islands

1998 Philippines, Vietnam In January, Vietnamese soldiers fired on a Philippine fishing boat near Tennent (Pigeon) Reef.

1999 China, Philippines In May, a Chinese fishing boat was sunk in a collision with Philippine warship. In July, another Chinese fishing boat was sunk in a collision with a Philippine warship.

1999 China, Philippines In May, Chinese warships were accused of harassing a Philippine navy vessel after it ran aground near the Spratly Islands.

1999 Philippines, Vietnam In October, Vietnamese troops fired upon a Philippine air force plane on reconnaissance in the Spratly Islands.

1999 Malaysia, Philippines In October, Philippine defense sources reported that 2 Malaysian fighter planes and 2 Philippine air force surveillance planes nearly engaged over a Malaysian-occupied reef in the Spratly Islands. The Malaysian Defense Ministry stated that it was not a stand-off.

Table 3

Disputes over Drilling and Exploration in the South China Sea

Date Countries Disputes

1992 China, Vietnam In May, China signed a contract with U.S. firm Crestone to explore for oil near the Spratly Islands in an area that Vietnam says is located on its continental shelf, over 600 miles south of China's Hainan Island. In September, Vietnam accused China of drilling for oil in Vietnamese waters in the Gulf of Tonkin.

1993 China, Vietnam In May, Vietnam accused a Chinese seismic survey ship of interfering with British Petroleum's exploration work in Vietnamese waters. The Chinese ship left Vietnamese block 06 following the appearance of 2 Vietnamese naval ships.

1993 China, Vietnam In December, Vietnam demanded that Crestone cancel offshore oil development in nearby waters.

1994 China, Vietnam Crestone joined with a Chinese partner to explore China's Wan' Bei-21 (WAB-21 block. Vietnam protested that the exploration was in Vietnamese waters in their blocks 133, 134, and 135. China offered to split Wan' Bei production with Vietnam, as long as China retained all sovereignty.

1994 China, Vietnam In August, Vietnamese gunboats forced a Chinese exploration ship to leave an oilfield in a region claimed by the Vietnamese.

1996 China, Vietnam In April, Vietnam leased exploration blocks to U.S. firm Conoco, and ruled out cooperation with U.S. oil firms that signed Chinese exploration contracts in disputed waters. Vietnamese blocks 133 and 134 cover half the zone leased to Crestone by China. China protested, and reaffirmed a national law claiming the South China Sea as its own in May.

1997 China, Vietnam In March, Vietnamese issued a protest after the Chinese Kantan-3 oil rig drills near Spratly Islands in March. The drilling occurred offshore Da Nang, in an area Vietnam calls Block 113. The block is located 64 nautical miles off Chan May cape in Vietnam, and 71 nautical miles off China's Hainan Island. The diplomatic protests were followed by the departure of the Chinese rig.

1997 China, Vietnam In December, Vietnamese protested after the Exploration Ship No. 8 and two supply ships entered the Wan' Bei exploration block. All 3 vessels were escorted away by the Vietnamese navy.

1998 China, Vietnam In September, Vietnamese protested after a Chinese report stated that Crestone and China were continuing their survey of the Spratly Islands and the Tu Chinh region (Wan' Bei in Chinese). (The dispute over this area was resolved by an agreement between China and Vietnam concluded in December 2000.)

2003 Malaysia, Brunei In May 2003, a patrol boat from Brunei acted to prevent TotalFinaElf from undertaking exploration activities in an area offshore from Northern Borneo disputed by the two countries.