Spratly Islands

The Spratly Islands are an interesting case. These consist of reefs, atolls and small islands with a combined land mass of 2 km² and cover an area of 425,000 km², which is about twice the size of Belarus. The archipelago is located in the South China Sea and is completely or partially claimed by 6 ! "neighbouring states". Especially the strategic location and suspected oil and gas deposits make the islands interesting.

In the 19th century, parts of Spratly were under British control. Until the middle of the 20th century they were part of French Indochina. During World War II, the islands were under Japanese occupation. In the course of the retreat of the Chinese Kuomintang to Taiwan, parts of the islands, including the largest, Taiping Dao, were also occupied. This is the basis of the Taiwanese claim. In 1951, China followed suit and claimed the islands for its part. North and South Vietnam entered the scene in the course of the Indochina War.

In 1956, parts of the islands were claimed by a Filipino businessman, establishing the Philippines' claim to parts of Spratly since 1978. Malaysia and Brunei base their claim on succession as British colonies, since parts of Spratly were British in the 19th century, as mentioned above. In 1988 there was a small military encounter between Vietnam and China over the islands. Malaysia and the Philippines also militarily occupy part of the islands.

More recently, China in particular is creating a fait accompli by expanding its military presence and building lighthouses as well as sand impoundments. 5 of the 6 states (except Brunei) have a military presence in various parts of Spratly, each holding a portion of the archipelago. Malaysia relinquished a small portion in 2013 in favor of Brunei.

China does not want to take part in arbitration proceedings initiated by the Philippines at the International Court of Justice.

China, Taiwan and Vietnam have issued several stamps on their claim to the Spartly Islands. This also led in part to official protests. Malaysia and the Philippines each have a stamp issue on the subject, the Brunei is so far without stamps on the subject.

Malaysia, 2005, five Spratly Islands and Reefs claimed by Malaysia