The amazing information about the reading is that six nations are claiming to be the rightful owners of a region located in the Eastern and Southern parts of China. The rationale for their competition is driven by the regions’ hydrocarbons and natural gas, which are precious items for any nation’s economy ("China's Maritime Disputes"). Another surprising thing regarding the reading is that despite the fact that Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan claim to possess the East and South Seas, China has reclaimed over 2,900 acres of the place from 2013 ("China's Maritime Disputes"). Beijing has occupied a vast region as compared to other claimants.
Questions raised are linked to the activities that are being undertaken by China in the Southern sea. Over the past years, its accomplishments have covered a large area, where it has built artificial islands as well as constructing its infrastructure ("China's Maritime Disputes"). Some of the assembled infrastructures include runways, piers meant for loading, and satellites, which are for communication purposes ("China's Maritime Disputes"). Thus, the abrupt turn of events has triggered its neighbors as well as the USA to question if the step it took aimed at benefiting its citizens, or it is meant to benefit specific stakeholders.
The other question which is raised regards the solution that was arrived at by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In July 2013, the court ruled that Philippine was the legal owner of the Southern region ("China's Maritime Disputes"). However, Chinese’ authorities did not acknowledge the ruling of ICJ. Therefore, many nations raised questions concerning China's possession of the "nine-dash line" in the sea and yet the law stated that it had not met the economic zone requirements to possess such items in the sea.
Work Cited
"China's Maritime Disputes." Cfr.Org, 2018, https://www.cfr.org/interactives/chinas-maritime-disputes?cid=otr-marketing_use-china_sea_InfoGuide#!/chinas-maritime-disputes?cid=otr-marketing_use-china_sea_InfoGuide. Accessed 21 Apr 2018.
