The Kalayaan Islands

Explains the continuing struggle between the contesting countries over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the origins of which are partly historic and partly based on argumentation arising from the provisions of the Law of the Sea. Each country's standpoint is described in relation to its claim and is related to the modes of acquisition of territory according to the principles of international law. The reasoning related to these claims is quite different in the post-war period from that before World War II, a reflection of changed political and economic (natural resource exploitation) circumstances - Introduction.

The most authoritative international law documents in Philippine history are brought together in one book for the first time. These are primary materials that illuminate Philippine interpretations of international law doctrine.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: A, University for Peace, language: English, abstract: The Spratly Islands are situated in the South China Sea, one of the largest continental shelves in the world, which is abundant in resources such as oil, natural gas, minerals, and seafood. It is the seaway everyday passed by many ships trading across the region and continent. Conflict in the South China Sea really affects both regional and international stability. Thus, the study of and seeking appropriate solutions for the Spratly Islands conflict are important at least for two reasons-ensuring both regional and international security and peace, and promoting regional cooperation. The incipient and latent conflict root is believed to be originally dated back to the 1930s; however, in this paper, the scope of analysis will be solely limited from 1969 up to present. 1969 was chosen as the starting point for analysis because it is the year that the manifest conflict started to erupt as the oil was first discovered in the Spratly Islands. Spratlys are invaluable resource in terms of not only oil, gas, seafood and natural resources, but also strategic location that all the claimants have been trying to achieve. So far, some efforts of preventing conflict have been tried, but the conflict still exists due to realistic interests of all the claimants, significantly China. Today, all parties have a vested interest in a peaceful resolution of the dispute; however the prospects for resolution seem low, while the potential for conflict remains and can grow.