[SFDXA] DXCC Entities in Play as US Rejects China's Significant South China Sea Claims

[Bill]

DXCC Entities in Play as US Rejects China's Significant South China Sea 
Claims


To radio amateurs, Scarborough Reef or the Spratly Islands are DX 
locations, occasionally activated to provide needy DXers with "a new 
one." The Spratlys are #53 on the Club Log DXCC Most-Wanted List, but 
Scarborough Reef -- a much more difficult piece of real estate to access 
-- is #4. These South China Sea Islands are once again in the news, as 
the US has begun putting heat on China by rejecting nearly all of its 
significant land claims in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo 
this week said that the US now regards virtually all Chinese maritime 
claims outside of its internationally recognized waters to be illegitimate.

"The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its 
maritime empire," Pompeo said. "America stands with our Southeast Asian 
allies and partners in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore 
resources, consistent with their rights and obligations under 
international law. We stand with the international community in defense 
of freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty and reject any push 
to impose 'might makes right' in the South China Sea or the wider region."

A 2016 ruling from an international tribunal discounted China's claims 
with respect to Scarborough Reef -- also known as Scarborough Shoal -- 
and the Spratlys, but it did not rule on the matter of sovereignty. In 
addition to China's claim, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the 
Philippines have asserted ownership of the Spratlys. Scarborough Reef is 
claimed by China, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The Permanent Court of 
Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines in a dispute 
with China over Scarborough Reef. The tribunal said that although 
navigators and fishermen from China and other states have historically 
made use of South China Sea Islands, there was no evidence that China 
had historically exercised exclusive

Bob Vallio, W6RGG, was one of the operators on the 2007 BS7H Scarborough 
Reef DXpedition.

control over the waters or resources. The tribunal said China had 
violated the Philippines' sovereign rights and had caused "severe harm 
to the coral reef environment" by building artificial islands and an air 
strip.

In 2015, a Chinese naval vessel "harassed a Philippine Air Force patrol 
flight in the Spratlys," one news account reported, by firing an 
illumination round. The incident postponed a Philippine Navy flight that 
was to evacuate an ailing participant of the then-just-ended DX0P 
DXpedition. The Chinese Navy has also warned off private aircraft. DX0P 
was issued by the Philippines. Last week, China complained about the US 
conducting joint exercises with two US aircraft carrier groups in the 
region.

A May 2007 DXpedition to Scarborough Reef used the call sign BS7H, 
granted by China. DXpedition team members operated from wooden platforms 
mounted atop each of the reef's four rocks that were exposed during high 
tide. The ARRL Board of Directors voted in 1996 to add Scarborough Reef 
to the ARRL DXCC List.