The R.O.C (Taiwan)’s Sovereignty over the Spratly Islands: History and the Principles of International Law

Since the early 20th century, the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS) have become a contested place for which all relevant parties competed against each other. Many coastal States surrounding SCS have claim their sovereignty or rights to all or part of these islands (or rocks), including the Republic of China (Taiwan), People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. Besides, France and Japan had exercised state power on the Spratly Islands, and international circumstances have evolved greatly after the Second World War. These factors above make the history and legal status of the Spratly Islands more complicated and unclear. Regarding this situation, the thesis selected 12 judgments of international judicial bodies between 1928 to 2012 and discussed the important insights of international law scholars. By reviewing and re-inducing the connotation of principles of acquiring territorial sovereignty over islands, combing the history of all parties’ activities on the Spratly Islands, the thesis analyzed the historical claims and sovereign acts of Taiwan, France, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines in perspective of contemporary international law. In order to remedy the defects that likely existed in Taiwan’s current claims, and to strengthen the Taiwan’s position on its sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, the thesis also tried to put forward some feasible (or more reasonable) contentions revised on the basis of relevant evidence and principles of international law.