Based on the evidence submitted by the claimants and general principles of international law related to the acquisition of territory, it would appear that Vietnam clearly has a superior claim to the South China Sea islands.

A broad range of actions taken by Vietnamese and French authorities since the 18th century provides incontrovertible evidence of Vietnam’s continuous, peaceful and effective control of the Paracels. Vietnamese sovereignty was first established in the 18th century by the state-sponsored Hoang Sa Company; consecrated by Emperors Gia Long and Minh Ming in the 19th century; temporarily assumed by the French during the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century; and continued in an open, peaceful and normal manner by an independent South Vietnam after the French withdrawal from Indochina in 1956, and by a unified Vietnam after 1976.

Similarly, France, on behalf of Vietnam, conducted various activities that confirmed French sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, particularly its formal annexation and occupation of a number of features in the archipelago in 1933. At the time, France’s annexation of the islands as terra nullius was strictly in compliance with existing international law and state practice. Great Britain, which had controlled some of the Spratly Islands in the 1800s, abandoned its claims following the French annexation, so French title to the Spratlys was legally and soundly established. Thereafter, French and Vietnamese actions clearly demonstrate an effective and active presence in the archipelago, as well as a peaceful exercise of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands. France’s title to the archipelago was ceded to South Vietnam in the 1950s and the South Vietnamese government (and subsequently a united Vietnam) effectively and peacefully controlled the islands until Taiwan illegally occupied Itu Aba Island in 1956 and China illegally occupied a number of islets in the archipelago in 1988.           

The South China Sea is home to some of the world’s busiest and most strategic sea lines of communication (SLOC). More than $5 trillion in commerce, including over half of the world’s oil tanker traffic and more than half of the world’s merchant fleet by tonnage, flows through the region on an annual basis. This includes over $1 trillion in U.S. trade. A conflict in the region would have a destabilizing effect on the world economy.

The United States must firmly demonstrate its distain for China’s aggressiveness in the Asia-Pacific, and encourage its friends and allies to do the same. Vietnam should be encouraged to follow the Philippines’ lead and seek compulsory dispute settlement in an international forum. It is also unhelpful for the United States to continue to call on the various claimants to clarify their claims in accordance with international law. The facts and the law are quite clear—China’s claims are baseless and its antagonistic behavior threatens regional peace and security. Feigning neutrality emboldens Beijing to be more assertive against its weaker neighbors, and it puts China one step closer to realizing its illicit land-grab of the South China Sea islands.

Captain (Ret.) Raul Pedrozo was the former U.S. Pacific Command Staff Judge Advocate. The article is based on an occasional paper commissioned by the Center for Naval Analyses entitled “China versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea” available at http://www.cna.org/research/2014/china-versus-vietnam.

Image: Flickr/See-ming lee/CC by 2.0