that the US had flown over their artificial islands in the South China Sea unprovoked.

美國無故飛越其在南中國海的人工島上空

In response the US defended their reconnaissance flight in light of China’s aggressive claims

針對中國在這個具爭議性的區域所提出的激進主張，美國以辯護飛機的偵查行為做為回應

over the disputed area. So what’s going on? Why is the South China Sea so important?

究竟發生了什麼事？為甚麼南中國海如此重要？

Well, for starters, the South China sea is one of the most highly disputed regions in

首先，南中國海是全世界最具爭議的地方之一

the world. The roughly one and a half million square mile zone is bordered by China, Brunei,

這塊約一百五十萬平方英里的區塊與中國、汶萊

Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. All have overlapping

印尼、馬來西雅、菲律賓、新加坡、台灣及越南相接壤。各自都相互宣稱

claims over different parts of the region. Most significantly, China has asserted its

在該地區擁有某部分的區域。最顯著的是，中國聲稱

sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, violating the Exclusive Economic Zones

擁有整個南中國海的主權，破壞了所有周邊國家的專屬經濟海域

of every bordering country. Most of those countries also have competing claims over

大部份這些國家也對附近的諸多島嶼競相宣稱主權

a number of nearby islands, primarily the Paracel and Spratly Islands.

主要為西沙群島及南沙群島

So, why are all these countries fighting over this region? Well, for starters, the South

為甚麼這些國家要爭奪這個區域呢？首先

China Sea is the second most used sea lane in the world, and hosts a third of all overseas

南中國海是世界上第二繁忙的航道，主導了三分之一的海外航運

shipping. It also represents a third of the world’s marine biodiversity, meaning that

這代表了其擁有世界上三分一的海洋生物多樣性，同時也意味著

fishing rights are heavily disputed. But perhaps more importantly, beneath the sea of water

捕魚權的嚴重爭議。但可能更重要的，是在海水底下

is a massive sea of oil and natural gas. Some estimates have suggested that there are about

有著龐大的石油及天然氣。一些數據顯示

28 billion barrels worth of oil under the seabed, along with around 266 trillion cubic

至少有價值280億桶的石油蘊藏在海底，以及266兆立方英尺的天然氣

feet of natural gas.

So who really owns the area? Well, China claims that they’ve owned the Paracel and Spratly

所以，到底是誰擁有這塊區域呢？中國宣稱他們自3世紀以來即擁有西沙群島及南沙群島

Islands, including the surrounding waters, since the 3rd century. Archaeological finds

且包括周圍的水域。5世紀的考古發現

from the 5th century support this claim. However, Vietnam says that they officially documented

支持這樣的說法。然而，越南聲稱早在17世紀就有其

their rights to the islands back in the 17th century. This is well before China legally

擁有這些島嶼主權的歷史文件記載。這遠比中國在19世紀

staked its claim in the 19th century. The Philippines, on the other hand, claim dominion

宣稱合法擁有主權來的更早。另一方面，菲律賓宣稱主權是建立于距離遠近之上

based on proximity, as the Spratly Islands are closest to them. Meanwhile, Malaysia and

而南沙群島則是最接近他們。同時，馬來西亞

Brunei have used the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to say that their Exclusive

及汶萊利用聯合國海洋法公約說明他們的專屬經濟海域

Economic Zones give them rights to parts of the South China Sea.

使他們在部分南中國海是被賦予權利的

This dispute has led to a number of Island invasions and battles, mostly between China

這場爭議導致了許多島嶼入侵及戰爭，大部分是中國

and Vietnam. In the 70s and 80s, China twice fought Vietnam over the islands, and killed

與越南兩國。在70及80年代，中國為了島嶼向越南發動了兩次戰爭

more than a hundred soldiers and sailors in total. Then, in 2012, China created an administrative

共殺了上百名陸海軍軍人。接著，在2012年，中國在西沙群島

body in the Paracel Islands, in spite of Vietnam and the Philippines. Two years later they

創建了行政辦事機關，毫不理會越南和菲律賓。兩年之後

began drilling for oil in Vietnam’s disputed area. China’s aggressive actions have created

他們開始在與越南爭奪的區塊鑽鑿石油。中國激進的行為導致

a strong sense of conflict between the Southeast Asian countries, and even with US diplomatic

東南亞國家間強烈的衝突，且即便有美國的外交干涉

intervention, it doesn’t seem as though China is willing to back down.

中國看起來絲毫沒有要讓步的跡象

There’s a ship patrolling the South China Sea that’s been active since World War 2,

有一艘船艦自二戰後就一直在南中國海巡邏

protecting Philippine Waters from the Chinese reach. To learn more about this fascinating

為的是保護菲律賓海域以防中國進入。想看更多迷人的船艦訊息

vessel, check out Seeker’s video here. Thanks for watching TestTube, don’t forget to subscribe!

歡迎點閱搜捕者的影片。謝謝收到TestTube，別忘了訂閱我們的頻道！