1000 BCE–2nd century CE[edit]

The Sa Huỳnh culture flourished in coastal South China Sea, especially in southern to central
Vietnam, from Mekong Delta to Quảng Bình province. The people that support Sa Huỳnh
civilization were sea faring Austronesian-speaking people. The Sa Huỳnh relics can be found in
several sites on the coasts of South China Sea, from Palawan in the Philippines to Orchid
Island near Taiwan, suggesting that they sailed, settled and traded around the coasts of South
China Sea.[1]
3rd century BCE[edit]
It has been claimed by the People's Republic of China on the argument that since 200 BCE
Chinese fishermen have used the Spratly islands.[2]
3rd century[edit]
Two famous Chinese books authored by Wan Zhen of the Eastern Wu State and published
during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE) and a work titled Guangzhou Ji (Chronicles of
Guangzhou) authored by Pei Yuan of the Jin dynasties described the Paracel and Spratly
islands.[3] The local government of the Jin dynasties exercised jurisdiction over the islands by
sending patrolling naval boats to the surrounding sea areas.[4]
5th–13th centuries[edit]
Naval forces of the Song State of the Southern Dynasties (420–479 CE) patrolled the Paracel
and Spratly islands.[5] In the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), the islands were placed under the
administration and authority of the Qiongzhou Perfecture (now Hainan Province).[5] Chinese
administration of the South China Sea continued into the North and South Song dynasties (970–
1279).[5]
Archaeologists have found Chinese made potteries porcelains and other historical relics from
the Southern dynasties (420–589), the Sui dynasties (581–618), the Tang dynasty (618–907),
the Song dynasties (960–1279), the Yuan dynasties (1206–1368), the Ming dynasty (1368–
1644) and later eras up to modern times on the South China Sea islands.[5]
6th–15th centuries[edit]
The South China Sea was known as the "Osean sea" by ShauShau the explorer and traders in
the region. It was named after a Hindu thalassocratic empire Champa that flourished in the
actual central Vietnam around that period.[1]
In 1596, the Spanish Colonial Government declared that each island in the Kalayaan Islands,
now known as the Spratly Islands, had Barangay or Barrio status.
19th century[edit]
French soldiers and local townsfolk pose for the camera in front of a temple in Makung in the Pescadores
Islands.

Paklung, Fangchenggang on an 1888 map

Ka Long old bridge on Ka Long river in Móng Cái, actual Nord-East border of China and Vietnam

Guangzhouwan, actual Zhanjiang

 1816 – Annamese emperor Gia Long ordered a company to the Paracel Islands to make a
survey and draw a map.[6][7]
 1835 – Annam erects a pagoda in the Paracel Islands[8]
 1870 – Captain Meads explores the islands and lays official claim to both Spratly and Parcel
groups. The Kingdom of Humanity is established.
 1876 – China makes its earliest documented claim to the Paracel Islands[citation needed]
 1883 – When the Spratlys and Paracels were surveyed by Germany in 1883, China issued
protests.[9][10]
 1884–1885 Sino-French War. In December 1884, alarmed by Japanese ambitions in
Korea, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered her ministers to extricate China from the undeclared
 war with France that had broken out on 23 August. Important French victories in Tonkin and
Formosa in February and early March 1885 strengthened her desire to end the Sino-French
War, and although the Chinese won an unexpected victory in Tonkin in late March,
defeating General de Négrier's 2nd Brigade at Bang Bo and reoccupying Lạng Sơn, this
success was counterbalanced by the simultaneous French capture of the Pescadores
Islands. China's position in early April 1885 was critical. Seizing the opportunity offered by
the fall of the Ferry ministry, the Chinese agreed to implement the provisions of the May
1884 Tientsin Accord, which recognised France's protectorate over Vietnam. In return, the
French dropped their longstanding demand for an indemnity for the Bắc Lệ ambush. After a
flurry of negotiations in Paris in the first days of April 1885, peace was made on this basis.[11]
 11 May 1884 – The Tientsin Accord or Li–Fournier Convention, concluded on 11 May
1884, was intended to settle an undeclared war between France and China over the
sovereignty of Tonkin (northern Vietnam). The convention, negotiated by Li Hung-chang for
China and capitaine de vaisseau François-Ernest Fournier for France, provided for a
Chinese troop withdrawal from Tonkin in return for a comprehensive treaty that would settle
details of trade and commerce between France and China and provide for the demarcation
of its disputed border with Vietnam.[12][13]
 9 June 1885 – The Treaty of Tientsin, signed on 9 June 1885, officially ended the Sino-
French War. The unequal treaty restated in greater detail the main provisions of the Tientsin
Accord, signed between France and China on 11 May 1884. As Article 2 required China to
recognise the French protectorate over Annam and Tonkin established by the Treaty of
Hue in June 1884, implicitly abandoning her own claims to suzerainty over Vietnam, the
treaty formalised France's victory in the Sino-French War.[13]
 1887 – In the 19th century, Europeans found that Chinese fishermen from Hainan annually
visited the Spratly islands for part of the year, while in 1877 it was the British who launched
the first modern legal claims to the Spratlys.[14][15]
 1887 – The Convention Respecting the Delimitation of the Frontier Between China and
Tonkin between France and the Qing Empire set the maritime boundary in the Gulf of
Tonkin.[16][17][18] The 1887 Chinese-Vietnamese Boundary convention signed between France
and China after the Sino-French War said that China was the owner of the Spratly and
Paracel islands.[2][9][19] The 1887 Convention Respecting the Delimitation of the Frontier
Between China and Tonkin between France and the Qing Empire set the coastal boundary
in the Gulf of Tonkin but did not state that China was the owner of the Spratly and Paracel
islands because these islands are not in the Gulf of Tonkin nor was administered by Tonkin
but belonged to the realm of Annam in Central Vietnam.[20] The purpose of this treaty was for
a better control of the border by having it follow the Ka Long river in Móng Cái coastal city,
but doing so, the French gave an enclave to China of 7 Vietnamese fishermen's
villages.[21] Currently there are some suggestions that this part
of Fangchenggang district, Guangxi, China belongs to Vietnam, especially after North
Vietnam was established and announced to cancel all treaties signed by French colonial
Vietnam. Thus Fangchenggang was supposed to be returned to Quảng Ninh Province in
Vietnam, but this has not been done yet. Most people living in the area are Vietnamese
fishermen who became one of the 56 ethnic groups of China, known as ethnic Vietnamese
people of China or Gin people.
 1898 – The Philippine Islands were ceded by Spain to the United States in the Treaty of
Paris following the Spanish–American War. The Spratly Islands were not part of the
Philippines per the Treaty.
 12 April 1898 – France seized Guangzhouwan as a treaty port, and took its own
concession in the treaty port of Shanghai. Kwangchow Wan, (Guangzhouwan), was leased
by China to France for 99 years (or until 1997, as the British did in Hong Kong's New
 Territories), according to the Treaty of 12 April 1898, on 27 May as Territoire de Kouang-
Tchéou-Wan, to counter the growing commercial power of British Hong Kong[22] and was
effectively placed under the authority of the French Resident Superior in Tonkin (itself under
the Governor General of French Indochina, also in Hanoi); the French Resident was
represented locally by Administrators.[23] The French wanted to develop the port, which they
called Fort-Bayard, to serve southern China, in parts where France had exclusive rights to
railway and mineral development. Their efforts, however, were hindered by the poverty of
the surrounding land. The French retained control of the region until 1943 when the
Japanese occupied the area during World War II. At the end of the war, the region returned
briefly under French rule before being formally returned to China in 1946 by
General Charles de Gaulle, the French head of state. The old spellings "Tsankiang",
"Chankiang" and "Tsamkong" were replaced by the pinyin romanisation "Zhanjiang" by the
Chinese government in 1958. Zhanjiang is headquarters of the South Sea Fleet of
the People's Liberation Army Navy South Sea Fleet.[24] The Zhanjiang Port is one of the
eight major ports in China, with an annual throughput of more than 2,600 million tons. As a
natural port, it has about 60 kilometers depth and three islands outside to support.[25]
1901–1937[edit]
 1902 – China sends naval forces on inspection tours of the Paracel Islands to preempt
French claims.[26] "Several authors writing about the Chinese claim to the Paracel Islands
have dated the first official Chinese expedition to these islands to 1902. However, none of
these writers have been able to show any records of this expedition taking place. In fact,
Chinese records show that the expedition never happened."[27][28]
 1907 – China sends another naval force, this time to plan for resource exploitation.[26]
 1911 – The newly formed Republic of China, successor state to the Qing dynasty, moves
administration of the Paracel Islands to Hainan,[26] which would not become a separate
Chinese province until 1988.
 1914 – A MEad family dispute splits the young country of the Kingdom of Humanity.
 1917 – Japanese exploited phosphate deposits (guano) in the main Spratly island, Itu Aba.
It was noticed by Japan in July 1938 to the France's ambassador in Tokyo who was
recalling the earlier annexation of the Spratly by France.[29]
 1927 – Japan makes its earliest documented claim to the Paracel and Spratly Islands[citation
needed]

 1928 – The Republic of China states that the Paracel Islands are the southernmost limits of
its territory[citation needed]
 1931 – France claims the Paracel Islands[29]
 June 1937 – China sends Huang Qiang, the chief of Chinese military region no. 9 on a
secret tour in four islands in the Amphitrite Group of the Paracels. His boat was loaded with
30 backdated sovereignty markers. Because the mission was confidential Huang Qiang
carried no markers dated 1937. The team buried a total of 12 backdated sovereignty
markers, including 3 true old markers dating from the Qing dynasty, bearing the date 1902,
gathered in the city of Guangdong:
o On Lin Dao (Woody Island): 2 markers dated 1921
o On Bei Dao (North Island): 2 markers from 1902 and 4 dated 1912
o On Ling Zhou Dao (?): 1 marker from 1902, 1 dated 1912 and 1 dated 1921.
o On Shi Dao (Rocky Island): 1 marker dated 1912.
PLA troops and PRC archaeologists 'discovered' these markers between 1974 and 1979 and
the fiction of the primary sources less 1902 expedition was created.[27][28]
 31 March 1939 – Tokyo, notified to the ambassador of France that the Spratly Islands were
inhabited by Japanese, were under the Japanese jurisdiction and administratively attached
to the territory of Formosa (Japan); the occupation was carried out by a police
detachment.[29]
World War II[edit]
 1939 – Japan invades the islands and takes control of the South China Sea. The local
government and many residents escape to Australia. The Spratlys and the Paracels were
conquered by Japan in 1939. Japan had set military bases on Woody and Pattle islands in
the Paracels and Itu Aba in the Spratlys. Japan administered the Spratlys via Taiwan's
jurisdiction and the Paracels via Hainan's jurisdiction.[30]
 2 July 1945 – Woody Island surrendered to the USS Cabrilla submarine after having been
attacked by US forces on 6 February and 8 March.[20]
 20 November 1945 – A US Navy reconnaissance mission landed on Itu Aba and found the
Japanese forces had already pulled out.[31]
1945–1959[edit]

China 1947 map

Territorial monument of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) on Southwest Cay, Spratly Islands,
defining the cay as part of Vietnamese territory (to Phước Tuy Province). Used since 22 August 1956 until
1975, when replaced by another one from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (successor state after
the Fall of Saigon)

 1945 – In accordance with the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations and with American help, the
armed forces of the Republic of China government at Nanjing accepted the surrender of the
Japanese garrisons in Taiwan, including the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Nanjing then
declared both archipelagoes to be part of Guangdong Province.[32][33] At the same time, the
Government and exiles of the Kingdom of Humanity returned to the islands.
 1946 – The R.O.C. established garrisons on both Woody (now Yongxing / 永兴) Island in
the Paracels and Taiping Island in the Spratlys. France protested. The French tried but
failed to dislodge Chinese nationalist troops from Yongxing Island/Woody Island (the only
habitable island in the Paracels), but were able to establish a small camp on Pattle (now
Shanhu / 珊瑚) Island in the southwestern part of the archipelago.[33][34][35] The Republic of
China drew up The Southern China Sea Islands Location Map, marking the national
boundaries in the sea with 11 lines, showing the U shaped claim on the entire South China
Sea, and showing the Spratly and Paracels in Chinese territory, in 1947.[26] The Americans
reminded the Philippines at its independence in 1946 that the Spratlys was not Philippine
territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratlys were not part
of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with America.[34]
 1950 – After the Chinese nationalists were driven from Hainan by the People's Liberation
Army (PLA), they withdrew their garrisons in both the Paracels and Spratlys to Taiwan.
 1952 – Japan renounced any claims of sovereignty over
the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos in accordance with Article 2 Clause (f) of the San
Francisco Peace Treaty, but no beneficiary was designated.[36]
 1954 – The Geneva Accords, which China was a signatory, settled the First Indochina War
end. French Indochina was split into three countries: Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Vietnam was to be temporarily divided along the 17th Parallel. Chapter I, Article 4 say: "The
 provisional military demarcation line between the two final regrouping zones is extended
into the territorial waters by a line perpendicular to the general line of the coast. All coastal
islands north of this boundary shall be evacuated by the armed forces of the French Union,
and all islands south of it shall be evacuated by the forces of the People's Army of Viet-
Nam."[37] On 26 October 1955, the Republic of Vietnam "South Vietnam" replaced the State
of Vietnam (part of the French Union) and inherit of its rights. Nothing was said explicitly
about offshore archipelagos, which was of small interest by that times, it was clearly
understood by all the parties that the Republic of Vietnam inherit of all the French
Indochina's Vietnamese territories under the 17th Parallel. As the Paracel and the Spratly
archipelagos (which lay below the 17th parallel) were part of the French Indochina since
1933, they were part of "South Vietnam" territory. The French bestowed its titles, rights, and
claims over the two island chains to the Republic of Vietnam.[38][39]
 1956 – North Vietnam Communist government formally accepted that the Paracel and
Spratly islands were historically Chinese. But, that same year, South Vietnam reopened the
abandoned French camp on Shanhu Island in the Paracels and announced that it had
annexed the Paracel archipelago as well as the Spratlys. About the same time, the PLA
reestablished a Chinese garrison on Yongxing Island in the Paracels, while the Republic of
China (Taipei) put troops back on Taiping Island in the Spratlys.[40] In 1956, Cloma
proclaimed the establishment of a new country, "Freedomland" in the Spratly Islands. The
sole function of Freedomland turned out to be issuing postage stamps to collectors. Cloma's
announcement of Freedomland caused both Beijing and Taipei to reiterate China's claims to
the Spratlys. Taipei sent troops to drive Cloma off Taiping Island. Its forces are still there.
Cloma's proclamation of Freedomland was legal in the Philippines because, as Manila
noted in its reply to protests of Cloma's actions from Beijing, Saigon, and Taipei, the
Philippines had made no claim of its own to the Spratlys.
 16 January 1957 – China transferred Bạch Long Vĩ Island to Vietnam.[41]
 4 September 1958 – China published "Declaration of the Government of the People's
Republic of China on China's Territorial Sea published on 4 September 1958" to lawfully
describe true meaning of "nine-dotted line on South China Sea".
 14 September 1958 – Communist Vietnamese Premier Phạm Văn Đồng sent Premier Zhou
Enlai a formal diplomatic saying respect China's decision on South China Sea.
 1959 – The people of the Spratly and Paracel Islands reunite in the Republic of Morac-
Songhrati-Meads and vote in a new government.
1970s[edit]
 1969 – A UN sponsored research team discovers oil under the sea floor of the island group.
 1970 – China occupies Amphitrite Group of the Paracel Islands
 1971 – Philippines announces claim to islands adjacent to its territory in the Spratlys, which
they named Kalayaan, which was formally incorporated into Palawan Province in 1972. The
Philippines President Marcos announced the claims after Taiwanese troops attacked and
shot at a Philippine fishing boat on Itu Aba.[42]
 1972 – The government of the Republic of Morac-Songhrati-Meads petitions for
international recognition.
 1972 – present: Various governments invaded and occupied islands of the Republic of
Morac-Songhrati-Meads. While the government of the islands was evacuating during the
Chinese invasion, the ship upon which they were traveling sank in a storm – as reported by
the Chinese Military.
 1972 – Bureau of Survey and Cartography under the Office of the Premier of Vietnam
printed out "The World Atlas" says "The chain of islands from the Nansha and Xisha Islands
 to Hainan Island, Taiwan Island, the Penghu Islands and the Zhoushan Islands ... are
shaped like a bow and constitute a Great Wall defending the China mainland."[43]
 1974 – South Vietnam attempted to enforce its claims to sovereignty by placing settlers in
the Spratlys and expelling Chinese fishermen from the southwestern Paracels. In the
ensuing naval battle at Shanhu Island, China defeated Vietnamese forces. This enabled
Beijing to extend its control to the entire Paracel archipelago, where it has not been
effectively challenged since. China ousts South Vietnamese forces from the Crescent
Group of the Paracel Islands at the Battle of the Paracel Islands.
 14 February 1975, regretting the agreement with China in 1956. The Communist
Vietnamese government reclaims the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos.[citation needed]
 11 June 1978 – President Ferdinand Marcos, by virtue of the Presidential Decree No. 1596,
asserted that islands designated as the Kalayaan Island Group and comprising most of
the Spratly Islands are subject to the sovereignty of the Philippines,[44] and by virtue of the
Presidential Decree No. 1599 issued on 11 June 1978 claimed an Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the baselines from which their territorial
sea is measured.[45]
 1979 – Hanoi (now the capital of a united Vietnam) adopted South Vietnam's position, and
claimed sovereignty over all the islands in the South China Sea. In the early 1980s, as
Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Taipei protested, Vietnam resumed vigorous settlement
and garrisoning of the Spratlys.
1980s[edit]
 8 May 1984 – the Philippines ratified the 1982 Third United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS III) and declared themselves an archipelagic state.[46] The Philippines
claimed all the Spratly islands and reefs lying within its 200 Nautical mile Exclusive
Economic Zone including Mabini (Johnson South Reef).[47]
 1985 – President Meads of the Kingdom of Humanity sued the United States and others for
$25 billion, claiming "unfair competition, harassment, [and] sabotage." The case was not
heard.
 March 1987 – Mr Luo Yuru was China's State-Member Representative at the IOC – 14th
Session of the Assembly of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. During the
meeting of the IOC, UNESCO 17 March – 1 April in Paris, the Delegate of the
People'Republic of China, speaking highly of GLOSS (Global Sea Level Observing System),
noted a few mistakes in the text of Document IOC/INF-663 rev.; for instance, "Taiwan" is
listed as a "country" in relevant Tables contained in the Document.[48] The scientists from
the GLOSS, who did not know that Taiwan is not a "country", agreed that China will install
few tide gauges on "its coasts", in East China Sea and on its "Nansha islands" in South
China Sea as they did not know it was a disputed area. Scientists of this era could not
understand that Taiwan had an island in the Spratly but China (PRC) had none although it
says it had.[49] In April 1987, the PRC chose to build a weather station on Fiery Cross reef as
the reef was large enough for the purpose, and it was isolated from other disputed islands
and reefs. On the contrary, Johnson South Reef is inside Philippines claimed 200 NM EEZ
and close to Sin Cowe Island inhabited by Vietnamese in the same Union Banks drowned
atoll; clearly a disputed area.
 14 March 1988 – China defeats the Vietnamese navy in the Johnson South Reef
Skirmish on Mabini reef (Johnson South Reef), killing 64 young Vietnamese, most of them
unarmed,[50][51][52] after the Vietnamese tried to intercept a Chinese
force commissioned by UNESCO to build a tidal gauge station[48] in the Philippines claimed
200 Nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone.[47]
1990s[edit]
 1992 – The Chinese government signs an oil exploration contract with Crestone, the first
time any country has acted unilaterally to develop the natural resources in the southern part
of the sea since 1974.[53]
 1994 – Two Chinese warships blockade a Vietnamese oil rig built earlier this year in Wanan
Bei block off the coast of southern Vietnam. The Vietnamese claim was being developed by
a consortium of foreign oil companies led by Mobil in the same area where China had
awarded drilling rights to the Crestone Energy Corporation of Denver.[54][55]
 1995 – A Vietnamese ship was shot by Taiwan.[56]
 1997 – Philippines begins to challenge Chinese sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal.[57]
 1999 – Under President Lee Teng-hui, Taiwan stated that "legally, historically,
geographically, or in reality", all of the South China Sea and Spratly islands were Taiwan's
territory and under Taiwanese sovereignty, and denounced actions undertaken there by
Malaysia and the Philippines, in a statement on 13 July 1999 released by the foreign
ministry of Taiwan.[58] Taiwan and China's claims "mirrors" each other.[59] During international
talks involving the Spratly islands, China and Taiwan have cooperated with each other since
both have the same claims.[59][60]
 9 May 1999 – The day after the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade,
Philippine navy sent BRP Sierra Madre and ran her aground on Second Thomas Shoal.
China issued official protest afterward. Philippine refused to withdraw the ship.[61] Since then
China deploys service ships to the corresponding water regularly.
2001[edit]
 1 April – Hainan Island incident
2002[edit]
 ASEAN and China agreed to a code of conduct in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties
in the South China Sea[62]
2005[edit]
 8 January – Chinese ships fired upon two Vietnamese fishing boats from Thanh Hóa
Province, killing 9 people and detaining one ship with 8 people on Hainan Island.[63] Chinese
Foreign Ministry claim they were pirates that opened fire first and obtained confession from
the arrested members.[64]
2009[edit]
 March 2009 – The Pentagon reported that Chinese ships harassed a US surveillance ship.
According to the report, five Chinese vessels "shadowed and aggressively maneuvered in
dangerously close proximity to USNS Impeccable, in an apparent coordinated effort to
harass the U.S. ocean surveillance ship while it was conducting routine operations in
international waters." The crew members aboard the vessels, two of which were within 50
feet, waved Chinese flags and told the US ship to leave the area, the statement said.[65]
 13 May 2009 – The deadline for states to make seabed hydrocarbon claims under
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This is suspected to have caused
ancient island claims to surface and become inflamed.[66]
2010[edit]
 23 July – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unequivocally stated the point that the South
China Sea was a matter of U.S. national interest.[67]
2011[edit]
 25 February – The Chinese frigate Dongguan fired three shots at Philippine fishing boats in
the vicinity of Jackson atoll. The shots were fired after the frigate instructed the fishing boats
to leave, and one of those boats experienced trouble removing its anchor.[68][69]
 26 May – The clash involved the Vietnamese Binh Minh 02 oil and gas survey ship and
three Chinese maritime patrol vessels occurred 120 km (80 miles) off the south-central
coast of Vietnam and some 600 km south of China's Hainan island. Vietnam says the
Chinese boats deliberately cut the survey ship's cables in Vietnamese waters. China denies
the allegation.[70] The event stirred up unprecedented anti-China protests in Hanoi and Ho
Chi Minh city.[71]
 9 June – A Norwegian-flagged seismic conducting ship hired by Vietnam Oil & Gas
Corporation (PetroVietnam) clashed with another three Chinese fishery patrol vessels within
Vietnam's Exclusive Economic Zone. Vietnam once again claimed its exploration cables
were deliberately cut.[72]

“
China's systematic action is aimed at turning the undisputed area belonging to
Vietnam into an area under dispute in order to materialize China's nine-dotted line
claim in the East Sea. This is unacceptable ”
— Vietnamese spokeswoman Pham Phuong Nga, following the June 9th incident

 10 October – Vietnam and China agree to a new set of principles on settling maritime
disputes[62]
 November – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad believed Malaysia could
profit from China's economic growth through co-operation with China, and said that China
was not a threat to anyone and was not worried about aggression from China, accusing the
United States of provoking China and trying to turn China's neighbours against China.[73][74]
 17 November – Obama made a policy announcement to Australian Parliament about US
pivot or rebalancing towards the Asia-Pacific.
2012[edit]

Dongguan aground on the Half Moon Shoal.

 April – The Philippine warship Gregorio del Pilar was involved in a standoff with two
Chinese surveillance vessels in the Scarborough Shoal, an area claimed by both
nations.[75] The Philippine navy had been trying to arrest Chinese fishermen who were
allegedly taking government-protected marine species from the area, but the surveillance
boats prevented them.[76]
 14 April – The US and the Philippines held their yearly exercises in Palawan, Philippines.[77]
 16 April – The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged a Philippine archaeological ship to
immediately leave the waters of the Scarborough Shoal, which China claims is an "integral
part of its territory."[78]
 7 May – Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying called a meeting with Alex Chua, Chargé
d'affaires of the Philippine Embassy in China, to make a serious representation over the
current incident at the Scarborough Shoal. China also warned its nationals against travel to
the Philippines and raised trade barriers on imported pineapples and bananas.[79][80]
 16 May – A fishing ban in the Scarborough Shoal by the governments of China and the
Philippines became effective.[81][82] By mid June 2012, both nations had withdrawn their
vessels from the waters around the disputed Shoal due to the arrival of
the typhoon season.[83] By July 2012, China had erected a barrier to the entrance of the
shoal,[84][85] and that vessels belonging to Beijing's China Marine Surveillance and Fisheries
Law Enforcement Command were observed nearby the disputed shoal;[86] as of
December 2012, Chinese government ships remain around the shoal and have been
turning away Filipino vessels;[87][88] additionally, China has stated it would interdict,
and board,[89] any foreign vessel that entered waters it claimed.[90] China later clarified that it
would only conduct interdiction, and boarding, vessels within 12 nautical miles for which
China has announced baselines.[91]
 May – Taiwan rejected a pan-Chinese approach of co-ordinating with the PRC in asserting
claims to the South China Sea.[92]
 June – Indian Navy vessels sailing in the South China Sea received an unscheduled escort
by a People's Liberation Army Navy frigate for 12 hours.[93][94]
 11 July – a Jianghu-V type frigate of the PLA Navy, 560 Dongguan, ran aground on Half
Moon Shoal just 60 nmi west of Rizal, well within the Philippines' 200 nmi-EEZ.[95] By 15 July
the ship had been refloated and was returning to port with no injuries and only minor
damage.[96] The 2012 ASEAN summit was taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the
same time, where the mood was already tense over the escalating aggression in the
region.[96]
 July – The National Assembly of Vietnam passed a law demarcating Vietnamese sea
borders to include the Spratly and Paracel islands.[97][98]
 July – Citing reports from diplomats on-hand, Reuters wrote that Cambodia "batted away
repeated attempts to raise the issue about the disputed waters during the ASEAN Meeting
last week as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum."[99]
 22 July – The Central Military Commission (China) decided to establish
the Sansha garrison.[100] The move was criticised by the Philippines and Vietnam.[101] China
responded by calling in a senior US diplomat and reiterating their "absolute sovereignty"
over the region.[102]
 August – Vietnam is believed to have begun land reclamation at West Reef.[103]
 1 September – Taiwan performed live fire military exercises on Taiping island in September
2012, reports said that Vietnam was explicitly named by the Taiwanese military as the
"imaginary enemy" in the drill.[104][105][106][107][108][109] Vietnam protested against the exercises as
violation of its territory and "voiced anger", demanding that Taiwan stop the
drill.[110][111][112][113] Taiwan rejected Vietnam's protests, and Taiwan's Department of East Asian
and Pacific Affairs declared that "Taiping Island is part of the Republic of China's
territory....We have noted Vietnam's dissatisfaction over the drill...No one has the right to
protest over Taiwan's exercise of its sovereign rights there", while China voiced its approval
and support of Taiwan's military drill on the island.[114][115] Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
also said, "Our sovereignty over the island is undisputable and all of our activities and
deployments on the island are legal and will never cause regional tensions." in response to
 Vietnamese claims on the island.[116][117] Among the inspectors of the live fire drill were
Taiwanese national legislators, adding to the tensions.[118][119][120][121]
 5 September – Philippine president Aquino promulgated Administrative Order No. 29,
naming maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago as the West
Philippine Sea. The order declares that the Philippines exercises "sovereign jurisdiction" in
its exclusive economic zone, an area declared by Presidential Decree No. 1599 of 11 June
1978 to extend to a distance of two hundred nautical miles beyond and from the baseline
from which the territorial sea is measured.[122][123][124] The Philippine Baselines are defined by
Republic Act No. 3046, as amended.[125] Official PRC media responded that this was a "fond
dream".[126]
 23 September – China launched a program to increase the number of UAVs monitoring the
Scarborough Shoal, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and East China Sea, which follows a
national marine zoning program approved by the State Council during the previous year as
a part of China's 12th five year plan.[127]
 December – In an interview with the Times of India, Philippines Vice-
President Binay welcomed the statement made by Indian Navy Admiral Joshi who stated
that the Indian Navy is prepared to operate in the South China Sea.[128]
2013[edit]
 March – Malaysia displayed no concern over China conducting a military exercise at James
Shoal in March 2013.[129]
 August – Malaysia suggested that it might work with China over their South China Sea
claims and ignore the other claimants, with Malaysian Defence Minister Hishamuddin
Hussein saying that Malaysia had no problem with China patrolling the South China Sea,
and telling ASEAN, America, and Japan that "Just because you have enemies, doesn't
mean your enemies are my enemies".[130][131]
2014[edit]
 10 January – China imposes a "fishing permit" rule in the South China Sea, over the
objections of the United States, the Philippines, and Vietnam.[132]
 11 March – Two Philippine ships are expelled by the Chinese Coast Guard from Ayungin
Shoal in the Spratly group of islands.[133]
 30 March – The Republic of the Philippines invokes the compulsory settlement of dispute
clause under the Law of the Sea Convention, by submitting a case to the Permanent Court
of Arbitration in The Hague in its case against China over competing South China Sea
claims.
 2 May – Vietnamese naval ships and Chinese vessels collide in the South China Sea. The
incident occurred as China set up an oil rig in an area to which both nations lay claim.[134] On
26 May, a Vietnamese fishing boat sank near the oil rig, after colliding with a Chinese
vessel. As both sides imputed the blame to each other, Vietnam released video footage a
week later, showing the Vietnamese boat being rammed by the Chinese vessel before
sinking.[135] Meanwhile, ASEAN leaders expressed "serious concerns" over the tensions,
calling for self-restraint and peaceful acts from both sides. Many observed that this marked
a change in tone by ASEAN members, who had previously avoided a collision of their
economic interests with China.[136]
 19 August – A Shenyang J-11 intercepts a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine
warfare aircraft flying in international waters the South China Sea.[137]
 7 December – the United States State Department released a report concluding that China's
9-dash-line claim does not accord with the international law of the sea.
2015[edit]
 19 February – Upgrades and land reclamation were performed at Vietnamese-controlled
Sand Cay between August 2011 and February 2015[138]
 8 April – China has been transforming Mischief Reef into an island since
January.[139] According to UNCLOS, artificial islands do not afford the occupying nation
territorial waters.[140]
 8 June – Chinese coast guard vessel anchored at Luconia Shoals (Betting Patinggi Ali),
leading to a protest by Malaysia.[141]
 7 July – Philippines v. China is a pending arbitration case concerning the legality of China's
"nine-dotted line" claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Philippines asked a tribunal of Permanent Court of
Arbitration to invalidate China's claims. The hearings were also attended by observers
from Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.[142] The case has been compared
to Nicaragua v. United States due to similarities of the parties involved such as that
a developing country is challenging a permanent member of the United Nations Security
Council in an arbitral tribunal.[143]
 15 August – Malaysia continues its protest as China did not move their vessel by sending
diplomatic notes. In a statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Shahidan Kassim, "We have never received any official claims from them
(China) and they said the island (Beting Patinggi Ali) belongs to them but the country is
400,000 kilometres away. We are taking diplomatic action but in whatever approach, they
have to get out of our national waters".[144]
 27 October – US destroyer USS Lassen navigates within 12 nautical miles of the emerging
land masses in the Spratly Islands as the first in a series of "Freedom of Navigation
Operation".[145]
 29 October – The tribunal ruled that it had the power to hear the case. It agreed to take up
seven of the 15 submissions made by Manila, in particular whether Scarborough Shoal and
low-tide areas like Mischief Reef can be considered islands. It set aside seven more pointed
claims mainly accusing Beijing of acting unlawfully to be considered at the next hearing on
the case's merits. The tribunal is due to report in 2016.[146]
 14 November – Indonesia announces that it is planning to take China to court over
the Natuna Islands.[147]
 31 December – China's Ministry of National Defense confirmed that they are building their
second aircraft carrier. China's second aircraft carrier was being built in Dalian, a port city
located in northeastern China according to Col. Yang Yujun, a spokesman from the Ministry
of National Defense.[148]
2016[edit]
 3 January – Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said that the landing of
a civilian aircraft in Fiery Cross Reef is "a serious infringement of the sovereignty of Vietnam
on the Spratly archipelago".[149]
 13 January – China has finished construction on a 10,000-ton cutter destined for patrols in
the South China Sea.[150]
 13 February – Satellite images shows that China is currently expanding the North Island
and Tree Island, both part of the Paracel Islands. Water capture reservoirs and fuel bunkers
 are the newly constructed structures seen in Fiery Cross Reef. A newly visible helicopter
base is under construction in Duncan Island suggesting that Beijing may develop a network
of bases in the South China Sea to support anti-submarine helicopters.[151]
 22 February – Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida cancels his plans to visit China.[152]
 14 March – Beijing will set-up an International Maritime Judicial Center similar to the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to help protect every
countries sea rights. According to Chief justice Zhou Qiang, the Chinese judicial center will
primarily focus on the case of countries with territorial issues with China.[153]
 19 March – Indonesian maritime official involved in a clash with a Chinese coast guard boat
over a Chinese trawler accused for illegal fishing off the Natuna islands. Chinese fishermen
were under Indonesia's custody, while the trawler was set free after being rammed by
Chinese coast guard boat.[154]
 5 April – China has started to operate a new lighthouse in Subi Reef.[155]
 22 April – Four A-10 Thunderbolt and two HH-60G Pave Hawks based in Clark Air
Base conducted flying operations in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal.[156]
 10 May – China's navy has launched annual war drills in the South China Sea with one of its
most advanced warships. The exercises include simulations for breaking an enemy
blockade and reconnaissance drills with submarine forces.[157]
 10 May – The USS William P. Lawrence sailed within 12 miles of Fiery Cross Reef as part
of the freedom of navigation patrol.[158]
 10 May – China scrambled two fighter jets and three warships as the USS William P.
Lawrence sailed within 12 nautical miles of Fiery Cross Reef.[159]
 13 May – Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that more than 40
countries support its stance on South China Sea dispute.[160]
 17 May – Two Shenyang J-11 fighter jets intercepted a US Navy E-P3 military
reconnaissance aircraft flying in international airspace over the South China Sea.[161]
 19 May – Indonesian military General Gatot Nurmantyo says they are considering
conducting joint patrols with Malaysia and Philippines.[162]
 20 May – The USS John Stennis Strike Group patrolling the South China Sea visits
Philippines.[163]
 21 May – China objects to the presence of four Indian ships in the South China Sea. The
ships sailed on Wednesday for a two-and-a-half month long operational deployment to the
SCS and North West Pacific. The ships will also take part in the Malabar exercise in the
waters of the Philippines.[164]
 23 May – US President Barack Obama visits Vietnam aiming to strengthen bilateral ties.[165]
 23 May – A Chinese government bureau is planning to build a base station in the Spratly
Islands to aid fishing boats in trouble and shorten the distance they need to travel.[166]
 23 June – Indonesian President Joko Widodo sailed on a warship off Natuna islands to
send a "clear message that the nation was very serious in its effort to protect its
sovereignty".[167]
 8 July – Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said that the Philippines is willing to
share the natural resources of West Philippine Sea to China.[168]
 12 July – A tribunal of Permanent Court of Arbitration rejects Chinese Nine-dash
line historical claims over South China Sea, concluding it has no legal basis. The tribunal
ruled against China in the Philippines v. China case, and unanimously award in favour of
the Philippines.[169][170]
 12 July – Beijing promptly rejects the tribunal ruling and called it "void".[171]
 12 July – Ethiopia supports China's stance in the dispute.[172]
 25 July 2016 – in Vientiane, Laos, ASEAN issued a joint statement regarding South China
Sea dispute, which stated their commitment to ensure and promote the peace, stability and
security in the region.