KUALA LUMPUR: If Richard Spratly were alive today, he might not be able to comprehend the enormous attention his discovery has grabbed in the South China Sea over a century later.
The British whaling captain spotted the archipelago of islands, islets, cays and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged atolls, while on an expedition in 1843.
Today, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei are scrambling with disputing claims over parts of the “gem”, which contains less than 2sq km of naturally-occurring land area, spread over 425,000sq km at sea.
The Spratlys is referred to as Kepulauan Spratly by Malaysia, Nansha Qundao by China, Kapuluan ng Kalayaan by the Philippines and Quan da Truong Sa by Vietnam.
A source familiar with the development concerning the Spratlys said it was a key shipping route, where about US$5 trillion (RM20.3 trillion) worth of global trade passes through every year, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia.
“The islands have no indigenous inhabitants, but offer rich marine life, minerals, significant hydrocarbon deposits (oil and natural gas reserves).
“They are also a tourist attraction and a haven for migratory birds. All these are worth trillions of dollars!”
She said some of the islands had civilian settlements, mainly fishermen and other environmental observers.
However, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Vietnam have established military outposts on some of the estimated 45 islands, cays, reefs and shoals to boost their claims, interests and sovereignty within their 200 nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Brunei has also claimed the uninhabited Louisa Reef in the southern part, as within its EEZ,” she said.
Malaysia’s claims are to the southernmost area encompassing the Royal Malaysia Navy’s Station Lima at Swallow Reef (Terembu Layang-Layang), occupied since 1983, Station Mike (Terembu Mantanani or Mariveles Reef) and Station Uniform (Terembu Ubi or Ardasier Reef), both occupied since 1986, Station Sierra (Terembu Siput or Erica Reef) and Station Papa (Beting Peninjau or Investigator Shoal), both occupied since 1999.
Malaysia has also laid control of the North Luconia Shoal (Gugusan Beting Raja Jarum) and South Luconia Shoal (Gugusan Beting Patinggi Ali) — 100km off Miri, Sarawak — and James Shoal (Beting Serupai), 83km northwest of Bintulu, Sarawak.