Whos right in South China Sea spat?
By Vaudine England BBC News, Hong Kong When Dutch ships sailed up the River Thames into London in 1688, it was clear they were an invading force. The freedom of the seas was a well-established idea in the 17th Century, with states only able to claim a narrow belt of sea around their own coast. But as the United States and China have discovered in recent days, that certainty is much harder to come by now. Tensions were raised after an unarmed US navy surveillance vessel was jostled by five Chinese ships in the South China Sea last weekend. The Pentagon accused the Chinese vessels of “harassment” during the routine operations in international waters. Beijing says the US ship behaved “like a spy” and accused it of breaking international law by operating in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). See map showing rival claims in the South China Sea The debate over a nation’s claim to marine territory has been turbulent – after all, the seas carry immense riches of fish, oil, gas and other resour
