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The article presents the "Position Paper of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Matter of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines," as of September 2016. Topics include a lawsuit filed by Philippines against China under the e United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and significance of the arbitration in terms of the territorial sovereignty over several maritime features in the South China Sea.

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

High-resolution ocean color observation offers an opportunity to investigate the oceanic small-scale processes. In this study, The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) daily 300 m data are used to study small-scale processes in the western South China Sea. It is indicated that the cyclonic eddies with horizontal scales of the order of 10 km are frequently observed during upwelling season of each year over 2004-2009. These small-scale eddies are generated in the vicinity of the southern front of the cold tongue, and then propagate eastward with a speed of approximately 12cms"1. This propagation speed is consistent with the velocity of the western boundary current. As a result, the small-scale eddies keep rotating high levels of the phytoplankton away from the coastal areas, resulting in the accumulation of phytoplankton in the interior of the eddies. The generation of the small-scale eddies may be associated with strengthening of the relative movement between the rotation speed of the anticylconic mesoscale eddies and the offshore transport. With the increases of the normalized rotation speed of the anticyclonic mesoscale eddies relative to the offshore transport, the offshore current become meander under the impacts of the anticyclonic mesoscale eddies. The meandered cold tongue and instability front may stimulate the generation of the small-scale eddies. Unidirectional uniform wind along cold tongue may also contribute to the formation of the small-scale eddies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TEX86 (TetraEther indeX of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) with 86 carbon atoms) has been widely applied to reconstruct (paleo-) sea surface temperature (SST). While Marine Group I (MG I) Thaumarchaeota have been commonly believed to be the source for GDGTs, Marine Group II (MG II Euryarchaeota) have recently been suggested to contribute significantly to the GDGT pool in the ocean. However, little is known how the MG II Euryarchaeota-derived GDGTs may influence TEX86 in marine sediment record. In this study, we characterize MG II Euryarchaeota-produced GDGTs and assess the likely effect of these tetraether lipids on TEX86. Analyses of core lipid (CL-) and intact polar lipid (IPL-) based GDGTs, 454 sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting MG II Euryarchaeota were performed on suspended particulate matter (SPM) and surface sediments collected along a salinity gradient from the lower Pearl River (river water) and its estuary (mixing water) to the coastal South China Sea (seawater). The results showed that the community composition varied along the salinity gradient with MG II Euryarchaeota as the second dominant group in the mixing water and seawater. qPCR data indicated that the abundance of MG II Euryarchaeota in the mixing water was three to four orders of magnitude higher than the river water and seawater. Significant linear correlations were observed between the gene abundance ratio of MG II Euryarchaeota vs. total archaea and the relative abundance of GDGTs-1, -2, -3, or -4 as well as the ring index based on these compounds, which collectively suggest that MG II Euryarchaeota may actively produce GDGTs in the water column. These results also show strong evidence that MG II Euryarchaeota synthesizing GDGTs with 1-4 cyclopentane moieties may bias TEX86 in the water column and sediments. This study highlights that valid interpretation of TEX86 in sediment record, particularly in coastal oceans, needs to consider the contribution from MG II Euryarchaeota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely recognized that the variation of average surface chlorophyll a concentration (Chl) in the South China Sea (SCS) is closely related to wind forcing, especially during the intense winter monsoon. In this study we demonstrate that, after removal of the seasonal cycles, the variation of Chl showed strong asymmetric responses to wind speed under El Ni ñ;o or La Ni ña conditions. The analysis was based on a time-series of Chl in the study area (115-117 °E, 17-19 °N) around the SEATS (South-East Asian Timeseries Study) station located in the central northern SCS from September 1997 to the end of 2011, which was constructed by merging the SeaWiFS data (1997-2006) and MODIS data (2003-2011). The merged daily data were validated by shipboard observations at the SEATS station. The non-seasonal variations of monthly mean Chl, wind speed, sea surface height (SSH) and sea surface temperature (SST) were examined against the multivariate ENSO index (MEI). The analysis reveals strongly asymmetric correlations of Chl and SST with positive MEI (El Ni ño) or negative MEI (La Ni ña). Under El Ni ño conditions, both showed significant correlations with MEI or wind speed; under La Niña conditions, both showed weak or insignificant correlations. The contrast was more pronounced for Chl than for SST. The subdued responses of Chl to wind forcing under La Ni ña conditions were probably attributed to a deepened thermocline, for which wind driven nutrient pumping is less efficient. A deeper thermocline, which was observed during the 1999-000 La Ni ña event and inferred by positive SSH anomalies during other La Ni ña events, was probably caused by reduced SCS throughflow under La Ni ña conditions. Intrusion of the nutrient-depleted Kuroshio water in the surface layer as observed during the 1999-2000 La Ni ña could be partially responsible for the suppressed Chl response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field survey from the coastal upwelling zones to the offshore pelagic zones of the northeastern South China Sea (SCS) was conducted during the inter-monsoon period of May 2014 when the region was characterized by prevailing low-nutrient conditions. Comprehensive field measurements were made for not only hydrographic and bio-geochemical properties but also phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing rates. We also performed estimations of the vertical turbulent diffusivity and diffusive nutrient fluxes using a Thorpe-scale method and the upwelling nutrient fluxes by Ek-man pumping using satellite-derived wind stress curl. Our results suggest that phytoplankton patchiness in the northeastern SCS during the study period could be largely controlled by vertical nutrient fluxes with combined contributions from both turbulent diffusion and curl-driven upwelling. Our results also reveal the generally increasing role of turbulent diffusion but decreasing role of curl-driven upwelling on vertical transport of nutrients from the coastal upwelling zones to the offshore pelagic zones in the northeastern SCS. Elevated nutrient fluxes observed near Dongsha Island were found to support high new production leading to net growth of a diatom-rich phytoplankton community, whereas the low nutrient fluxes near southwest Taiwan resulted in a negative net community growth leading to a decline of a picoplankton-dominant phytoplankton bloom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine seasonal and size-dependent variations in the phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in oligotrophic tropical waters under the influence of seasonal reversing monsoon, dilution experiments were conducted during the summer 2009 (21 May to 9 June) and winter 2010 (9 to 18 November) in the southern South China Sea (SSCS). The results showed that environmental variables, phytoplankton biomass, phytoplankton growth rate (µ), microzooplankton grazing rate (m), and correlationship (coupling) between the µ and m, but the microzooplankton grazing impact on phytoplankton (m/µ) significantly varied between the two seasons. Higher relative preference index (RPI) for and m on the larger-sized (>3 µm) phytoplankton than pico-phytoplankton (<3 µm), indicating significant size-selective grazing by microzooplankton on the larger-sized phytoplankton, were also observed. The µ and m were significantly correlated with salinity and dissolved inorganic nutrients, which indicated that salient seasonal variations in the phytoplankton growth and microzooplankton grazing in the SSCS were closely related to the environmental variables under the influence of the East Asian monsoon. We propose that intermittent arrivals of the northeast winter monsoon could lead to the low µ and m, and the decoupling between the µ and m in the SSCS, through influencing nutrient supply to the surface water, and inducing surface seawater salinity decrease. The low m/µ (<50% on average) indicates low remineralization of organic matter mediated by microzooplankton and the increased importance of the phytoplankton-mesozooplankton grazing pathway, and thus probably accounts for part of the high vertical biogenic particle fluxes in the prevailing periods of the monsoons in the SSCS. The size-selective grazing suggests that microzooplankton grazing contributes to the pico-phytoplankton dominance in the oligotrophic tropical waters such as that of the SSCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, an increasing number of studies on phytoplankton in the tropical South China Sea (SCS) and Sulu Sea (SS) have been conducted. However, still little is known about the photophysiological state of natural phytoplankton communities under varying environmental conditions. This study investigates the photophysiological state of natural phytoplankton communities in the southern SCS and SS based on high horizontal and vertical resolution field observations collected during the SHIVA (Stratosphere ozone: Halogens in a Varying Atmosphere) cruise (SO 218) in November 2011 on board RV Sonne. At the surface, pigment results revealed that total chlorophyll a (TChl a) concentrations at all offshore stations were low at the surface and were generally dominated by cyanobacteria. Enhanced concentrations of TChl a were only observed below the upper mixed layer and above the euphotic depth with hapto- phytes, prochlorophytes and prasinophytes contributing most of the biomass. At stations close to the coast and river outflows, surface phytoplankton blooms (between 1 to 2.2 mg m-3) dominated by diatoms were observed. Overall, the study region exhibited strong nitrate + nitrite (NOx, < 1 µmol L-1), and phosphate (PO4, < 0.2 µmol L-1) depletion from surface down to about 50-60 m. Silicate (Si) exhibited similar trends with the exception of some nearshore stations in which high Si concentrations (>2 µmolL-1) were observed in conjunction with increased TChl a and diatoms concentrations. Surface NOx concentrations were observed to correlate positively with temperature (τ = 0.22, p< 0.05, n = 108), whereas negative correlations were reported between surface NOx (τ = -0.27, p < 0.05, n = 108), Si (τ = -0.68, p < 0.05, n = 108) and salinity indicating that the enhancement in nutrients at the surface was probably supplied through fresher and warmer river waters near the coast. In contrast, the opposite was observed between temperature, salinity and all nutrients in the water column suggesting that nutrients were supplied from the bottom through upwelling. Pigment gradients show that phytoplankton were optimising their pigment composition to acclimate to changes in the light climate and cells were in a competent state as suggested by high maximum photochemical efficiency values (Fv/Fm, > 0.4). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a comprehensive investigation on the microzooplankton herbivory effect on phytoplankton in the northern South China Sea (SCS) using the seawater dilution technique at surface and deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) layers in two cruises (July- August of 2009 and January of 2010). We compared vertical (surface vs. DCM), spatial (onshore vs. offshore), and seasonal (summer vs. winter) differences of phytoplankton growth (µ0) and microzooplankton grazing rates (m). During summer, both µ0 and m were significantly higher at the surface than at the layer of DCM, which was below the mixed layer. During winter, surface µ0 was significantly higher than at DCM, while m was not significantly different between the two layers, both of which were contained within the mixed layer. Surface µ0 was, on average, significantly higher in summer than in winter; while average surface m was not different between the two seasons. There were no significant cross-shelf trends of µ0 in summer or winter surface waters. In surface waters, µ0 was not correlated with ambient nitrate concentrations and the effect of nutrient enrichment on phytoplankton growth was not pronounced. There was a decreasing trend of m from shelf to basin surface waters in summer, but not in winter. Microzooplankton grazing effect on phytoplankton (m/µ0) did not increase with distance offshore, suggesting that the importance of microzooplankton as grazers of phytoplankton may not decrease in onshore waters. On average, microzooplankton grazed 73% and 65% of the daily primary production in summer and winter, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on four cruises covering a seasonal cycle in 2009-2011, we examined the impact of the Kuroshio intrusion, featured by extremely oligotrophic waters, on the nutrient inventory in the central northern South China Sea (NSCS). The nutrient inventory in the upper 100m of the water column in the study area ranged from ~200 to ~290 mmolm-2 for N+N (nitrate plus nitrite), from ~13 to ~24 mmolm-2 for soluble reactive phosphate and from ~210 to ~430 mmolm-2 for silicic acid. The nutrient inventory showed a clear seasonal pattern with the highest value appearing in summer, while the N+N inventory in spring and winter had a reduction of ~13% and ~30 %, respectively, relative to that in summer. To quantify the extent of the Kuroshio intrusion, an isopycnal mixing model was adopted to derive the proportional contribution of water masses from the SCS proper and the Kuroshio along individual isopycnal surfaces. The derived mixing ratio along the isopycnal plane was then employed to predict the genuine gradients of nutrients under the assumption of no biogeochemical alteration. These predicted nutrient concentrations, denoted as Nm, are solely determined by water mass mixing. Results showed that the nutrient inventory in the upper 100m of the NSCS was overall negatively correlated to the Kuroshio water fraction, suggesting that the Kuroshio intrusion significantly influenced the nutrient distribution in the SCS and its seasonal variation. The difference between the observed nutrient concentrations and their corresponding Nm allowed us to further quantify the nutrient removal/addition associated with the biogeochemical processes on top of the water mass mixing. We revealed that the nutrients in the upper 100m of the water column had a net consumption in both winter and spring but a net addition in fall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based upon fourteen field surveys conducted between 2003 and 2008, we showed that the seasonal pattern of sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and air-sea CO2 fluxes differed among four different physical-biogeochemical domains in the South China Sea (SCS) proper. The four domains were located between 4 and 23 °N and 109 and 121 °E, covering ~38% of the surface area of the entire SCS. In the area off the Pearl River Estuary, relatively low pCO2 values of 320 to 390 µatm were observed in all four seasons and both the biological productivity and CO2 uptake were enhanced in summer in the Pearl River plume waters. In the northern SCS slope/basin area, a typical seasonal cycle of relatively high pCO2 in the warmer seasons and relatively low pCO2 in the cold seasons was revealed. In the central/southern SCS area, moderately high sea surface pCO2 values of 360 to 425 µatm were observed throughout the year. In the area west of the Luzon Strait, a major exchange pathway between the SCS and the Pacific Ocean, pCO2 was particularly dynamic in winter, when northeast monsoon induced upwelling events and strong outgassing of CO2. These episodic events might have dominated the annual air-sea CO2 flux in this particular area. The estimate of annual sea-air CO2fluxes showed that, most areas of the SCS proper served as weak sources to the atmospheric CO2, with sea-air CO2 flux values of 0.46±0.43 molm-2 yr-1 in the northern SCS slope/basin, 1.37±0.55 molm-2 yr-1 in the central/southern SCS, and 1.21±1.47 molm-2 yr-1 in the area west of the Lu- zon Strait. However, the annual sea-air CO2 exchange was nearly in equilibrium (-0.44±0.65 molm-2 yr-1) in the area off the Pearl River Estuary. Overall the four domains released (18±10)x1012 gCyr-1 into the atmosphere. The CO2 release rate of the South China Sea essentially exceeded the average CO2 emission level of most tropical oceans [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East China Sea (ECS) and the South China Sea (SCS) are two major marginal seas of the north Pacific with distinct seasonal primary productivity. Based upon field observation in December 2008--January 2009 covering both the ECS and the northern SCS (NSCS) in wintertime, we examined southward long-range nutrient-transport from the ECS to the northeast SCS (NESCS) carried by the China Coastal Current (CCC) driven by the northeast prevailing monsoon. These nutrients escaped from the cold ECS shelf to refuel the primary production on the NESCS shelf where river-sourced nutrients were limited yet water temperature remained favorable. By coupling the field observation of nitrate+nitrite (DIN) with the volume transport of the CCC, we derived a first order estimate of DIN flux of ~1430±260mol s-1. This DIN flux was ~7 times the wintertime DIN input from the Pearl River, a primary riverine nutrient source to the NSCS. By assuming DIN was the limiting nutrient, such southward DIN transport would have stimulated ~8.8±1.6x1011 gC of new production (NP), accounting for ~>58±10% of the total NP or ~38±7-24±4% of primary production on the NESCS shelf shallower than 100 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An eddy-resolving coupled physical-biological ocean model has been employed to investigate the physical influences on phytoplankton blooms in the South China Sea during 2000-2007. The model captures the seasonal and interannual variability of surface chlorophyll distribution associated with mesoscale eddies, ocean circulation and up-welling generated by the monsoon winds. The model also reproduces the high chlorophyll distributions in two coastal upwelling regions: the northwestern Luzon in winter and the eastern coast of Vietnam in summer. To the northwest of Luzon, the monsoon driven-upwelling, anticyclonic eddies, and the intrusion of the Kuroshio have a large impact on the winter phytoplankton bloom. The model shows the winter phytoplankton bloom is induced by the shallow nutricline depth under the northeast monsoon. Strong vertical motions at the edge of anticyclonic eddies enhance the phytoplankton bloom and produce the filamentary structure. Off the eastern coast of Vietnam, the monsoon-driven upwelling and anticyclonic circulation control the high chlorophyll distribution in summer. During the southwest monsoon, strong offshore Ekman transport and up-welling occur and increase the surface chlorophyll. The high chlorophyll is advected from the coast to open ocean by the strong offshore circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A global database of nitrogen isotope data from marine sediments is presented, including both seafloor and sub-seafloor sediment samples. The data synthesis reveals regionally and globally consistent patterns and trends, with good agreement between neighbouring seafloor sites. The spatial coverage of seafloor δ15 N data is heterogenous, with excellent coverage in the eastern tropical Pacific, South China Sea and Arabian Sea, while large regions of the globe remain unsampled. The sub-seafloor δ15 N records are mostly from the late Pleistocene, with >90 coeval records during the last ~10 kiloyears (kyr), before which the number of records at any time decreases, with <10 coeval records at any time prior to 300 kyr. There is a good correlation between seafloor and shallow-subseafloor δ15 N measurements within a 100 km radius, which suggest a reliable translation of sediments into the buried sediment record. We suggest that regional discrepancies between seafloor and late Holocene subseafloor δ15 N indicate nitrogen cycle changes during the late Holocene period, rather than systematic diagenetic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of historic rights forms the major basis to the claim by China to 'islands' in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters which are located within what is known as the nine-dash line. The South China Sea Arbitration case (Philippines v. China) has shown divergence between China's interpretation of historic rights and the territorial acquisition regime under positive international law. This paper argues that Islamic international law has clearer principles on historic rights that do not upset the territorial sovereignty of coastal states. However, these principles must be appraised in the correct context of Islamic international law because it subscribes to a different approach to state sovereignty. Due to the importance of historic rights in this paper, the authors used both black letter and historical approaches to legal research. With historical legal research, the authors looked at the historical facts objectively in order to know how legal rules on sovereignty claims over maritime areas are formed throughout history particularly from the perspective of Islamic international law. This paper enables Islamic international law to offer a middle ground in which the proponents and opponents of China's historical rights claims could meet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Athenaeum: Polskie Studia Politologiczne is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Security Studies Nicolaus Copernicus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The time-series station, SEATS (18° N, 116° E) in the South China Sea was visited six times during October 2006-December 2008 to carry out seawater sampling and floating trap deployments for the determination of distributions and fluxes of POC, PIC, PN, 234Th, 210Pb, and 210Po in the upper 200 m of the water column. Radionuclide deficiencies resulted in removal fluxes from the euphotic layer of 1.1 x 10³-1.8x10³ dpm m-2 d-1 and 7.1-40.2 dpm m-2 d-1 for 234Th and 210Po, respectively. Due to atmospheric input, an excess of 210Pb relative to 226Ra is commonly observed in the upper water column. Sinking fluxes of total mass, POC, PIC, PN, 234Th, 210Pb, and 210Po measured at the euphotic depth were low in summer-fall and high in winter-spring, reflecting the seasonal variability of biological pumping. Excluding the suspiciously low primary productivity data point in July 2007, a relatively high e-ratio of 0.28-0.69 was estimated by the ratio of the POC flux at the euphotic depth and the integrated primary productivity. The ratios of 234Th, 210Pb, and 210Po to organic carbon, inorganic carbon, and nitrogen in the sinking particles were combined with the disequilibria of 234Th-238U, 210Pb-226Ra, and 210Po-210Pb to estimate export fluxes of POC, PIC, and PN from the euphotic layer. Compared with measured fluxes by the sediment trap and estimated fluxes by other approaches, it is concluded that the export production in the South China Sea, ranging from 1.8 to 21.3 mmol-C m-2 d-1, can be reasonably estimated using 234Th, 210Pb, and 210Po as carbon proxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have regarded atmospheric deposition as an increasingly important source of nutrients to the ocean. The South China Sea (SCS), where aerosol loading is among the highest in the world, however, is poorly studied particularly on the in situ changes of phytoplankton community structures in response to atmospheric deposition. By conducting a series of microcosm bioassays at different hydrographical locations and simulating different aerosol event scales, we observed both positive and negative responses induced by the input of East Asia (EA) aerosol with high nitrogen (N) and trace metal contents, in terms of both community structure and physiological characteristics of phytoplankton. High levels of aerosol loading profoundly relieved phytoplankton nitrogen and trace metal limitations in SCS, and thus increased total phytoplankton biomass, enhanced their physiological indicators (e.g. photosynthetic efficiency) and shifted phytoplankton assemblages from being dominated by picoplankton to microphytoplanton, especially diatoms. However, under low levels of aerosol loading, the composition shift and biomass accumulation were not apparent, suggesting that the stimulation effects might be counterbalanced by enhanced grazing mortality indicated by increased abundance of protist grazers. Trace metal toxicity of the aerosols was also an important negative factor to phytoplankton growth, especially picocyanobacteria, implicated by the high copper (Cu) concentration in the microcosm that surpassed the toxicity threshold of marine cyanobacteria. Moreover, the magnitude and duration of the deposition event, as well as the hydrographical and trophic conditions of receiving waters are also important factors when predicting the influence of an aerosol deposition event. Our results demonstrated that the EA aerosol deposition events could profoundly change nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics in SCS and highlighted the need for achieving an accurate comprehension of atmospheric nutrient on the biogeochemical cycles of the oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnam and India became exceptional friends in the context of globalization and global and regional security in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. India paid a significant consideration to South East Asia and expanded its role in this region in the early 21st century. Meanwhile, Vietnam is one country that experienced a thriving economy in its international and regional integrations. This country has a pressing demand for bilateral and multilateral cooperation with all countries in the world. Especially, the objective of rising India's soft power along with its hard power contributed to promoting India's benefits and involvement in Southeast Asia and Vietnam. Likewise, Vietnam has been fully aware of India's intervention in disputes in the South China Sea and its well-meaning plans to tighten relations with Vietnam over various fields. Vietnam considered India as a partner to conduct Vietnam's soft power. Since Strategic Partnership (2007), Vietnam has accelerated this relation through cultural exchanges, cultural projects, and shared values of Indian culture. Thus, the image of Vietnam becomes familiar to Indian people. Likewise, India encouraged Vietnam to hold cultural events and academic seminars to exchange ideologies, opinions, and plans for many domains. Vietnam is also a goal of India's soft power in Southeast Asia. This paper aims to examine cultural diplomacy in Vietnam's foreign policy in Vietnam–India diplomatic relations mainly based on theories of Liberalism, public diplomacy, and soft power. Thus, it clarifies cultural diplomacy in Vietnam and India's foreign policy. Finally, the author would like to anticipate the scenario of Vietnam–India cultural diplomacy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to analyse the South China Sea (SCS) conflict from the standpoints of both Vietnam and China. The paper discusses the factors that contributed to the recent escalation of the Vietnam-China conflict, the implications of the competition for Vietnam and other regions of interest, including the People's Republic of China and the United States, and the potentially desirable Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) solutions. The research method was based on reviews of recent reports and surveys published in newspapers or think tanks. This qualitative analysis elucidates and deepens our understanding of the SCS dispute. The research is significant because it sheds light on the issues at stake, particularly from the perspective of Vietnam, an ASEAN member. With this in mind, the hope is that academics and stakeholders can make the best possible use of the data, various arguments, and analyses presented to advance knowledge through correction and further research. To resolve this issue, the study concluded that China and Vietnam must meet and discuss it. The United States' involvement in this maritime dispute complicates an already complex situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disputes over maritime boundaries result in inefficient outcomes for all parties to the conflict. The investments required to exploit deep-sea resources are too costly for risk-averse states to attempt to tap into mineral and hydrocarbon deposits beneath disputed boundaries. Consequently, more risk-tolerant states may exploit deep-sea resources without other parties receiving any form of compensation. Alternatively, in some cases no parties will opt to invest in or sponsor such operations because of the uncertainty and risk, depriving surrounding states of the economic benefits tied to those deep-sea resources. This paper relies on principles underlying Coasian bargaining to develop a template for the immediate resolution of maritime disputes to allow for the efficient exploitation of deepsea resources. It fills a gap in the literature on these disputes by calling for a framework other than the application of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Though other authors have applied property-based thinking to topics related to the Law of the Sea, those inquiries have not directly addressed how that thinking could resolve specific disputes over deep-sea resources, such as in the South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assess the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and its impact on the carbonate system on the northern South China Sea (NSCS) shelf, we measured seawater concentrations of four radium isotopes 223,224,226,228Ra along with carbon dioxide parameters in June--July, 2008. Complementary groundwater sampling was conducted in coastal areas in December 2008 and October 2010 to constrain the groundwater end-members. The distribution of Ra isotopes in the NSCS was largely controlled by the Pearl River plume and coastal upwelling. Long-lived Ra isotopes (228Ra and 226Ra) were enriched in the river plume but low in the offshore surface water and subsurface water/upwelling zone. In contrast, short-lived Ra isotopes (224Ra and 223Ra) were elevated in the subsurface water/upwelling zone as well as the river plume but depleted in the offshore surface water. In order to quantify SGD, we adopted two independent mathematical approaches. Using a three end-member mixing model with total alkalinity (TAlk) and Ra isotopes, we derived a SGD flux into the NSCS shelf of 2.3-3.7x108 m³ d-1. Our second approach involved simple mass balance of 228Ra and 226Ra and resulted in a first order but consistent SGD rate estimate of 2.8-4.5x108 m³ d-1. These fluxes were equivalent to 13-25% of the Pearl River discharge, but the source of the SGD is mostly recirculated seawater. Despite the relatively small SGD volume flow compared to the river, the associated material fluxes were substantial given the elevated concentrations of dissolved inorganic solutes. In this case, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) flux through SGD was 266-520x109 mol yr-1, which was ~44-73% of the riverine DIC export flux. Given our estimates of the groundwater-derived phosphate flux, SGD may be responsible for new production on the shelf up to 3-6 mmol C m-2 d-1. This rate of new production would at most consume 18% of the DIC contribution delivered by SGD. Hence, SGD may play an important role in the carbon balance over the NSCS shelf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background West Island is the second largest island in the Hainan Province, China and its surrounding sea area has a well-preserved coral reef ecosystem and high species diversity of coral reef fishes. Undoubtedly, coral reef fishes and coral reefs have complex symbiotic relationships and fish species diversity should reflect the healthy status of coral reef ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a useful and sensitive tool to detect fish species and causes less environmental damage than traditional fish survey methods. This paper investigated coral reef fish species of West Island, Hainan Province, China, based on eDNA and provided scientific data for understanding and protection of the coral reef ecosystem of the South China Sea. New information The sea area surrounding West Island is the most important component of the coral reef ecosystem in the northern part of the South China Sea, which is also an essential part of the largest National Coral Reef Reserve in China. However, complete data of fish species distributed in this region have been a long-term gap. This study provides information on 41 fish species belonging to 28 genera, 16 families and three orders in this sea area and is the first complete record of coral reef fishes surrounding the West Island. In addition, the information of Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) for taxon identification were also provided and it could contribute to building specific eDNA taxonomy database of coral reef fishes of the South China Sea. The study includes three datasets, with aspects of fish taxon-occurrences, MOTUs sequences and information of environmental indicators surrounding West Island, Hainan Province, China. The "fish taxon occurrences" dataset presents records involving taxonomic, distribution, habitat condition, latitude and longitude of 41 coral reef fish species detected, based on eDNA, the "MOTUs sequences" dataset provides MOTUs sequences and their abundance of 31 species detected and the "information of environmental indicators" dataset presents records of transparency, temperature, water pressure, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, hydrogen and redox potential measured from five sampling localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographic information describing coral reefs plays an important role in constructing electronic chart systems and protecting the ecological environment of the ocean. To derive geographic information of coral reefs more effectively, this paper proposes a methodology to detect coral reefs by combining airborne LiDAR bathymetry (ALB) bottom waveform and bathymetric feature data. A feature vector was established by deriving bottom waveform variables (the peak amplitude, pulsewidth, area, skewness, kurtosis, and backscatter cross section) and bathymetric variables (the depth standard deviation, slope, bathymetric position index, Gaussian curvature, mean curvature, and roughness). Using a support vector machine classifier, coral reefs were detected by distinguishing two classes (coral reefs and others) on the seafloor. To evaluate the classification performance of coral reefs, the developed method was applied to Yuanzhi Island, South China Sea surveys, and verified by field data (aerial digital camera images and underwater video images). The results showed that the classification overall accuracy of coral reefs can be greatly improved from 80.59%/90.31% when ALB bottom waveform or bathymetric variables features were used separately to 93.57% when using a combination of ALB bottom waveform and bathymetric features. In addition, the kappa coefficient can also be greatly improved from approximately 0.61/0.80 to 0.87. And the new proposed method performs better compared to the current classification method using ALB data to detect coral reefs with an overall accuracy of 90.92% and Kappa of 0.81. This highlights the potential of ALB data, combining waveform data and bathymetric data, for precisely detecting coral reefs in shallow water areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decisions under the UNCLOS dispute settlement regime, such as Chagos Archipelago, Arctic Sunrise and South China Sea, have had cause to consider the parameters of jurisdiction that exists under Part XV of UNCLOS. A determination of jurisdiction for any court or tribunal constituted under UNCLOS must have regard to alternative means of dispute settlement available, whether the dispute is one relating to the interpretation or application of UNCLOS and whether any exceptions to jurisdiction apply. This paper will consider these three dimensions in light of recent decisions and reflect on ways that the scope of jurisdiction is being expanded or restricted to resolve the disputes at issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The article departs from a much needed clarification about the 2 overlapping conflicts in South China Sea: sovereignty dispute between China and ASEAN countries, and freedom of navigation dispute between China and the United States. Although both are well documented and covered by an extensive range of academic and policy‐relevant analyses, the lines between the 2 have often been blurred, yielding a very limited set of options for proper conflict management. This paper looks at the actual reasons behind Chinese defiance toward the United States, and how can this be reversed. In order to avoid a potential clash in the South China Sea, this paper looks at how similar situations, where the United States was challenging the excessive maritime claims of other nuclear powers, were managed peacefully in light of an inevitable clash. A surprisingly underscrutinized precedent of “bumping incident” form 1988, when U.S. Navy vessels were rammed by Soviet ships and “bumped” back to the international waters is used as a template for a potential solution in the ongoing Sino‐American conflict. This paper examines the limits and opportunities of this type of solution and shows how another “bumping incident” does not need to happen before a bilateral solution is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Yongxing Island (about 1.85 km) is the largest island of the Xisha Islands. It is located in the Western South China Sea and belongs to the tropical ocean monsoon climate zone. Yongxing Island is quite rich in biological resources, for example, plants and birds which have been well documented. However, there are limited reports on spider resources in Yongxing Island. New information A preliminary checklist of spiders of the Yongxing Island is provided, based on a short-term study undertaken in January 2008. A total of 23 species, belonging to 21 genera and 11 families, were recorded from the area, which forms baseline information of spiders of the Yongxing Island. Amongst these, Oonopidae, Pholcidae, Araneidae and Salticidae were found to have more species in the area. Brignolia parumpunctata (Simon, 1893), Opopaea apicalis (Simon, 1893), Opopaea deserticola Simon, 1891 and Xyphinus baehrae Kranz-Baltensperger, 2014 were firstly reported from China, for which we provide taxonomic description in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is often portrayed as benign and peaceful. Yet, its assertive disposition on the South China Sea territorial disputes appears to contradict the "peaceful rise" narrative. China's relentless quest in strengthening features under its control and turning them into artificial islands equipped with military facilities have stoke fear of expansionism among the Southeast Asian claimant states and threatened the maritime influence and interests of the US in the region. This paper focuses on China's strategic culture to explain its policy considerations and Malaysia's approach in responding to changing developments following the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Tribunal ruling. The paper argues that firstly, China's strategic stance is two-fold - to neutralize US's regional dominance and to dissuade Southeast Asian states from their reliance on the US; and secondly, Malaysia's preference for a nonconfrontational approach that gives precedence to dialogues and consultations are insufficient in defending its sovereign interests and must therefore be aptly backed up by a more emphatic strategic posture both on the ground and in its diplomatic language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pearl River Mouth Basin is located at the northern continental shelf of the South China Sea. Since the early Miocene, the Paleo-pearl river transported a large amount of sediments to the northwest of the basin and resulted in the formation of a large-scale river-delta depositional system, which has become an important oil and gas reservoir in the study area. In the current paper, we investigate the characteristics and evolution of fluvial-deltaic depositional systems and their controlling factors, including sea level change, tectonic subsidence and sediment supply on the basis of 3D seismic, well logging and core data. Early-Mid Miocene succession can be divided into two second-order sequences (CS1–CS2) and eight third-order sequences (S1–S8). Deltaic systems developed in S1–S2 are relatively coarse in grain size, and the delta plain deposits are dominated by thickly stacked (100–180 m) distributary channel sand bodies and interpreted as braided delta depositional system. In the early stage (S1–S2), the braided delta systems mainly distributed in the west of the Baiyun Sag, which were proceeded by a retreat to the south of the Enping Sag along with sharply rising sea level. Following the transgression of S2, the provenance of the Paleo-Pearl River extended to the coastal region of South China, and the papleoclimate changed from warm and humid to dry and cold in the early Miocene, leading to the development of transition of braided river delta to meandering river delta, which was characterized by relatively fine grain deposits. During the deposition of S3–S6, well sorted and rounded fine sandstones of deltaic front deposits accumulated in the study area. The retrogradation to accretion and subsequent progradation of these meander delta systems are attributed to the sea level change in the study area. During the deposition of S7–S8, the delta front retreated to the south of the Enping depression as a result of minor sea level rise, reduction in sediment input, and subsidence rate. This resulted in the development of a wave-controlled deltaic depositional system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the setting of wind energy harvesting moving from coastal waters to deep waters, the South China Sea has been deemed to offer great potential for the construction of floating wind farms thanks to the abundance of wind energy resources. An engineering model describing the wind profiles and wave spectra specific to the South China Sea conditions, which is the precondition for offshore wind farm construction, has, however, not yet been proposed. In the present study, a series of numerical simulations have been conducted using the Weather Forecast and Research model. Through analyzing the wind and wave information extracted from the numerical simulation results, engineering models to calculate vertical profiles of wind speeds and wave spectra have been postulated. While the present paper focuses on the wind profile model, a companion paper articulates the wave spectrum model. For wind profiles under typhoon conditions, the power-law and log-law models have been found applicable under the condition that the Hellmann exponent α or the friction velocity u* are modified to vary with the wind strength. For wind profiles under non-typhoon conditions, the log-law model is revised to take into consideration the influence of the atmospheric stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submarine slope failures are considered as a serious geo-hazard because they can rupture undersea pipelines, and seafloor engineering facilities can be subverted by destroying the seabed stability. Submarine slope failures are widely developed in deep-water areas of the northern continental margin of the South China Sea, yet the mechanisms involved in their generation remain poorly known. Observations have proposed that slope instability can be due either to decomposition of gas hydrate or to magma emplacement. Here, we present new high-resolution 2D seismic data from the deep-water areas of the northern continental margin of the South China Sea to reveal an extensive and intimate relationship between magma emplacement and slope failures. This paper shows four landslides on the Dongsha, Shenhu, Xisha and Qiongdongnan slopes that occurred at different locations of the northern continental slope of the South China Sea. There are seismic evidences that magmatic rocks commonly developed and migrated upwards to the overlying layers and they caused these layers to uplift as a dome and possibly decreased their strength and predisposition to failure. The data reveal in detail how magma emplacement influenced slope stability and the seismic reflection features of this type of submarine landslides. The findings illustrate the importance of magma emplacement resulting in slope instability. This paper proposes that magma emplacement is a basic and critical trigger leading to slope failures in the deep-water areas of the northern continental margin of the South China Sea and establishes genetic models for this important trigger. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the performance of two operational ocean forecasting systems, the global Mercator Océan (MO) Operational System, developed and maintained by Mercator Océan in France, and the regional South China Sea Operational Forecasting System (SCSOFS), by the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC) in China, have been examined. Both systems can provide sciencebased nowcast/forecast products of temperature, salinity, water level, and ocean circulations. Comparison and validation of the ocean circulations, the structures of temperature and salinity, and some mesoscale activities, such as ocean fronts, typhoons, and mesoscale eddies, are conducted based on observed satellite and in situ data obtained in 2012 in the South China Sea. The results showed that MO performs better in simulating the ocean circulations and sea surface temperature (SST), and SCSOFS performs better in simulating the structures of temperature and salinity. For the mesoscale activities, the performance of SCSOFS is better than MO in simulating SST fronts and SST decrease during Typhoon Tembin compared with the previous studies and satellite data; but model results from both of SCSOFS and MO show some differences from satellite observations. In conclusion, some recommendations have been proposed for both forecast systems to improve their forecasting performance in the near future based on our comparison and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been much debate about the motivations and ramifications of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's desire for Japan to play a more proactive role in strategic affairs in Southeast Asia. The paper argues that the desire to do so stems from a broadening of Japan's interests in East Asia from one of merely defending Japanese administration and control over what Tokyo calls the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea to concern about the future of the maritime and strategic order in East Asia more generally vis-à-vis China's rise. In this context, the Abe administration views the limiting of Chinese assertive actions in Southeast Asia as critical to Tokyo's own national interests -- a direction in Japanese policy that is widely welcomed by most countries in Southeast Asia due to the their concerns about Chinese behavior in the South China Sea. The paper then goes on to examine the still considerable legal, domestic and economic constraints when it comes to Japan playing a broader strategic role in Southeast Asia. In doing so, it argues that the greatest areas of impact Japan might have will be through using its weight in multilateral forums to balance Chinese influence, and as an exporter of military technology and hardware to Southeast Asian countries who are similarly concerned about Chinese behavior in the region and disruption to the post-World War Two East Asian order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-frequency intraseasonal oscillations in the tropical atmosphere in general circulation models (GCMs) were studied extensively in many previous studies. However, the simulation of the quasi-biweekly oscillation (QBWO), which is an important component of the intraseasonal oscillations, in GCMs has not received much attention. This paper evaluates the QBWO features over the South China Sea in early [May–June (MJ)] and late [August–September (AS)] summer in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmosphere Model, version 5.3 (CAM5), using observations and reanalysis data. Results show that the major features of the spatial distribution of the QBWO in both MJ and AS are simulated reasonably well by the model, although the amplitude of the variation is overestimated. CAM5 captures the local oscillation in MJ and the westward propagation in AS of the QBWO. Although there are important biases in geographical location and intensity in MJ, the model represents the QBWO horizontal and vertical structure qualitatively well in AS. The diagnosis of the eddy vorticity budget is conducted to better understand the QBWO activities in the model. Both horizontal advection of relative vorticity and that of planetary vorticity (Coriolis parameter) are important for the local evolution of the QBWO in MJ in observations as well as model simulation, whereas advection of planetary vorticity contributes to the westward propagation of QBWO vorticity anomalies in AS. Since the Coriolis parameter f only changes with latitude, this suggests that the correct simulation of anomalous meridional wind is a key factor in the realistic simulation of the QBWO in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are numerous K‐bentonites interlayered with black shales from the Late Ordovician‐Early Silurian that are widely distributed in South China. In this paper, we carried out mineralogical and geochemical investigations on K‐bentonite samples collected from 6 sections in South China. The petrological features of thin sections, X‐ray diffraction data, and major element results show that in addition to clay minerals, which are dominated by illite/smectite mixed layer and illite, the K‐bentonites also contain quartz, microcline, albite, pyrite, and zircon. Zircon U–Pb dating for two K‐bentonite beds (WXP‐BT2 and LBP‐BT1) by the LA‐ICP‐MS method yielded two weighted mean 206Pb/238U ages of 443.5 ± 1.9 and 440.4 ± 5.6 Ma, respectively. The concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs) range from 141.28 to 854.44 ppm, chondrite‐normalized REE patterns display a negative Eu anomaly and an enhanced enrichment in light REE. Samples plot in the fields of trachyte, trachyandesite, rhyodacite (dacite), and andesite in a plot of Nb/Y against Zr/TiO2 suggest that the K‐bentonites are most probably derived from felsic magmas with subalkaline to alkaline affinities. The discrimination diagrams (Y‐Nb, Y + Ta‐Rb, Y + Nb‐Rb) show that the tectonic setting of the source volcanoes ranges from a volcanic arc to within‐plate setting. The widely distributed bentonites suggest intensified volcanic ash eruptions in the early Late Ordovician, which released huge amounts of volcanic ash. The SO2 emission and the weathering of the volcanic ashes probably resulted in global climate cooling and indirectly caused the Hirnantian glaciation and the mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician Period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the asymmetric dilemma facing the Philippines and China in the South China Sea tensions. Among American East Asian allies, the Philippines seems to stand on the frontline between two rival powers, the United States and China. Since the US declared its Pivot to Asia policy, the Philippines' foreign policy towards China has become assertive and sometimes appears reckless with some military adventures against Chinese maritime patrols and naval ships, which also further forced China to take a tougher foreign policy against the Philippines. Considering the distinctive asymmetric indicators between China and the Philippines based on military forces, economic capacity, territorial size, and population, the aggressive policy behaviors that the Philippines and China have been displaying against each other cast an inquiry on what drives the two countries into head-to-head collision. While China as the larger power vis-à-vis the Philippines as the smaller power in the relationship has aimed for control and domination of their disputed territory, the Philippines' drastic defiance has also led to China's irritation and possible frustration. Furthermore, the US' renewed attention to Asia has caused shifts of asymmetric bilateral dilemma to triangular entanglement between the US-China-Philippines. It is vital therefore to pay attention to the asymmetric interaction of states and their varying views in order to find possible solutions to the SCS tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is aiming to address the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN's) management of intra-regional conflicts by integrating the study of the core-source of its current position, comparing and contrasting the different two most significant periods of its existence: the early Post-Cold War Era and its current unveilings, and hedging towards explaining why its barely-enough pragmatism is no longer a solvable demeanor for its survival. The paper will focus on the The South China Sea conflict in the pursuance to explain the distinctions that ASEAN's management of intra-regional conflicts has gained through experience, through realizing its limited containment capacity as far the regional role of great powers is concerned, or through a critical removal of passivism in the confidence-winning processes of extra-regional partners. The paper's choice to address The South China Sea as an intra-regional conflict may be surprising for some, or may inflate others more straightforward as far as the choice for instrumental methods is concerned. In order to better explain this paper's macro-purposes, the South-China Sea conflict is an intra-regional conflict, as the Southeast Asian states involved have divergent claims regarding the sovereignty dilemma. Secondly, more interesting issues might be brought to the table with the involvement of a great power in an intra-regional conflict. Last but not least, as connected to the previous argument, ASEAN's engaging and sensitizing of China may generate, from an early start, effects on the perceptionbuilding process between the actors involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the collation, quality control, and analysis of single-point field measurements from fixed sensors mounted on offshore platforms. In total, the quality-controlled database contains 122 million individual waves, of which 3649 are rogue waves. Geographically, the majority of the field measurements were recorded in the North Sea, with supplementary data from the Gulf of Mexico, the South China Sea, and the North West shelf of Australia. The significant wave height ranged from 0.12 to 15.4 m, the peak period ranged from 1 to 24.7 s, the maximum crest height was 18.5 m, and the maximum recorded wave height was 25.5 m. This paper will describe the offshore installations, instrumentation, and the strict quality control procedure employed to ensure a reliable dataset. An examination of sea state parameters, environmental conditions, and local characteristics is performed to gain an insight into the behavior of rogue waves. Evidence is provided to demonstrate that rogue waves are not governed by sea state parameters. Rather, the results are consistent with rogue waves being merely extraordinary and rare events of the normal population caused by dispersive focusing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of inhomogeneous water on seismic imaging in deep water areas. An appropriate partial differential equation is derived for the acoustic pressure field in inhomogeneous water, including current effects. Seismic wavefields are simulated and the results show that the traveltime of seismic waves can be affected. The maximum traveltime perturbation at zero offset is 20 ms. In particular, the structure of horizontal reflectors below the water is distorted by mesoscale eddies. Variations of water temperature are the fundamental cause of the distortion. Finally, a calibration method for the distortion of seismic imaging caused by inhomogeneous water is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geophysical features and crustal structure of the East China Sea basement were revealed based on geophysical inversion analysis with recent gravity and magnetic data. Our results show great differences between the East China Sea continental shelf basins and the Zhemin Volcanic Belt in the coastal South China Block with respect to geophysical features and crustal structures. These areas are separated by distinct geophysical and crustal changes, approximately along a line 100 km from the coastline of China. We hypothesize that the East China Sea basement is a buoyant allochthon in the Palaeo‐Pacific Plate, and that the East China margin was an Andean‐type active continental margin until the collision of the East China Sea basement with the South China Block in the Late Cretaceous, which jammed the Late Cretaceous Trench, terminating the subduction and the related granitoid magmatism. The East China continental margin was dominated by dextral transtension with limited magmatism due to the NNW‐trend motion of the Palaeo‐Pacific Plate with a reduced convergence rate until the Middle Eocene. The renewed westward subduction of the present‐day Pacific Plate replaced the East China Andean‐type continental margin with a Western Pacific‐type one. The detailed reconstructed tectonic model for the East China Sea since the Mesozoic is presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of the South China Sea summer monsoon (SCSSM) on the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). The results show that the SCSSM has a significant positive relationship with the IOD over the boreal summer [June–August (JJA)] and fall [September–November (SON)]. When the SCSSM is strong, the enhanced southwesterly winds that bring more water vapor to the western North Pacific (WNP) lead to surplus precipitation in the WNP, inducing anomalous ascending there. Consequently, the anomalous descending branch of the SCSSM Hadley circulation (SCSSMHC) develops over the Maritime Continent (MC), favoring deficit precipitation in situ. The precipitation dipole over the WNP and MC as well as the enhanced SCSSMHC leads to intensification of the southeasterly anomalies off Sumatra and Java, which then contributes to the negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies through the positive wind–evaporation–SST and wind–thermocline–SST (Bjerknes) feedbacks. Consequently, a positive IOD develops because of the increased zonal gradient of the tropical Indian Ocean SST anomalies and vice versa. The SCSSM has a peak correlation with the IOD when the former leads the latter by three months. This implies that a positive IOD can persist from JJA to SON and reach its mature phase within the frame of the positive Bjerknes feedback in SON. In addition, the local and remote SST anomalies in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans have a slight influence on the relationship between the SCSSM and precipitation dipole over the WNP and MC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to fully develop the South China Sea, a large number of reclamation projects using calcareous sand have been carried out in this area recently. A deep understanding of the physical and mechanical properties of calcareous sand is of critical importance. Therefore, the calcareous sand near a certain reef of the South China Sea is used in this study to investigate the effect of three-dimensional (3-D) particle morphology and gradation on the compressibility characteristics of calcareous sand. This paper proposes a 3-D mesoscope observation method to obtain the average 3-D angularity parameter Sd and 3-D aspect ratio Td of calcareous sand with different particle sizes. It is found that the morphology of coarse particles (diameter: 5 ~ 1 mm) is significantly multi-angular, while the morphologies of middle particles (1 ~ 0.25 mm) are mostly dendritic and schistic. Compared to the 3-D Sd of quartz sand, the calcareous sand’s particle morphology is much more irregular and multi-angular, which makes it easy for the calcareous sand to form large pores and, thus, be more compressible. In order to systematically study the effect of gradation on the calcareous sand’s compressibility characteristics, a number of compression tests on calcareous sand with different gradations are taken. The influential mechanism is then discussed by analyzing the test results from a mesoscopic viewpoint. It is found that changing the coarse fraction content is the most efficient way to reduce the compressibility of the calcareous sand. That is because of the coarse fraction’s high angularity, which makes the skeleton-bearing capacity of the calcareous sand sensitive to the change of coarse fraction content. An empirical formula is proposed to evaluate the compressibility of the calcareous sand with different coarse fraction contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the post-World War II period, China and Vietnam have engaged in a number of territorial disputes between themselves. They can be categorized into two groups. The first group consists of disputes over Sino-Vietnamese borderlands and the Gulf of Tonkin and the second one is concerned with disputes in the South China Sea (SCS). While the former came to an amicable end by December 2000, the latter has continued to date with occasional hikes of tensions and stand-offs. Despite different trajectories that the respective categories have taken, their management appears to reflect what can be termed as the "Sino-Vietnamese Way of conflict management". This paper aims to identify the basic features of this type of conflict management from the standpoint of incompatibility management and, through comparison between the two categories of disputes, find reasons for the different outcomes between them. Major findings of this study are: First, the mutual trust that had been forged through fraternity between the two ruling communist parties and their readiness for mutual accommodation as a result played a crucial role in the successful settlement of the first category of disputes. Second, three issues prevent the full functioning of the Sino-Vietnamese Way of conflict management in the second category of disputes, which are: the exposure of the management process to nationalistic sentiments of the public; the existence of several complicating factors; and the division between the pro- China and pro-U.S. factions within the Vietnamese leadership. Third, several mechanisms to manoeuvre around incompatibilities, prevent crisis and reduce tension have been developed to compensate for the detrimental factors and appear to have been working fairly well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 12 July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ruled in favour of the Philippines in 14 of its 15 submissions against China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The PCA declared that China's claims - defined by the nine-dash line - violate international law. The arbitral tribunal also asserted that Chinese reclamation and construction projects in the land features of the disputed waters infringe on Philippines' territorial rights. The ruling likewise found China guilty of destroying the maritime environment by building artificial islands and illegally preventing Filipinos from fishing and conducting oil exploration activities in the area. The PCA award to the Philippines illustrates the efficient and impartial dispute resolution mechanism of the UNCLOS as well as the short-term triumph of the Philippines' lawfare over China's realpolitik approach in the dispute. Unfortunately, the Duterte Administration has shelved the PCA ruling saying that enforcing it has a minimal chance of success. Instead, he has adopted an appeasement policy in exchange for China's goodwill and economic largess. The article concludes that the Duterte Administration's course of action lends credence to former State Councilor Dai Bingguo's statement that the PCA award to the Philippines is nothing more than a "piece of trash paper". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basement buried hill reservoirs represent significant emerging prospects among the newly discovered growth poles in the deepwater areas of the northern South China Sea. Addressing the unclear key factors contributing to their formation, this study dissects successful global exploration cases of basement buried hill reservoirs and analyzes the common characteristics of basement reservoir accumulation under different basin types, structural backgrounds, basement lithologies, and oil and gas geological conditions. A three-element coupling relationship, termed "sourcereservoir- cap", is proposed as the dominant mechanism controlling basement buried hill reservoir formation. The genesis of these reservoirs requires adequate oil and gas supply, appropriately sized accumulation bodies, and effective sealing layers. The optimal configuration of the "source-reservoir-cap" relationship directly influences the efficient charging and preservation of oil and gas within basement buried hill reservoirs. Four configurations are identified, including circumstances such as the source-underlying low-positioned basement buried hill with a "sourcereservoir cover docking migration type", the source-border middle-positioned basement buried hill with a "source-reservoir lateral window docking migration type", and the source-outside high-positioned basement buried hill with both "source-reservoir short-distance transport and migration type" and "source-reservoir long-distance transport and migration type". The first to three models present favorable accumulation conditions. Based on the "source-reservoir-cap" three-element coupled model, this study identifies the Yunkai basement buried hill in the Pearl River Mouth Basin, the central depression in the Qiongdongnan Basin, and the northern and southern basement buried hills belts as crucial exploration targets in the deepwater areas of the northern South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A corer, which can obtain long in situ pressure-retained sediments of up to 30 m core containing gas hydrates, has been applied in the South China Sea (SCS) dozens of times. The corer presented in this paper is a convenient, efficient and economical long in situ pressure-retained coring and research tool for submarine sediments, that can applied to completely cope with all sediments close to the seafloor ranging from shallow waters to the deep sea depths of 6000 m. This article mainly presents the overall structure, working principles, key pressure-retained components, coring mechanism, sea trials and outlook of the corer. The analyses found that the coring ability was affected by formation characteristics, the outer diameter of the core barrels and inner diameter of the core liners, the shapes of the cutter and the dead weight of the corer. This study can provide the practical basis for the structural optimization of this type of corer and designs for corers with greater penetrability. Sea trials showed that the developed corer presented in this paper can support the in situ pressure of the seafloor sediment core, which is an improvement over the conventional piston corer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]