Peace Fleet: A Social Movement Approach to the South China Sea Dispute

A Freedom Voyage of students and a retired marine travels to Thitu Island in the South China Sea in December 2015. The organization is called Kalayaan Atin Ito, which has 10,000 volunteers in the Philippines. It is one of many activist organizations, fishing communities and foundations that could help form a social movement alliance to address the South China Sea issue, and maybe a larger focus on stopping war, strengthening international law and protecting the environment. When these activists returned from their island visit, they were stranded on the beach in tents for lack of funds to return home, and threatened with eviction. The Philippine Coast Guard fined the boat owner $5,000. As a result, the activists cannot find rental boats for their ongoing work. Photo: Kalayaan Atin Ito, Dec. 24, 2015.

Peace Fleet: A Social Movement Approach to the South China Sea Dispute

By Anders Corr, Ph.D.

A Peace Fleet composed of an activist alliance of international and local organizations is needed in the South China Sea to oppose Chinese expansionism. Governments in the region, including the U.S., Philippine, Vietnamese, and other claimant countries, are not doing enough to stop China. This could be because China attempts to use trade and investment to pressure politicians in these countries. For whatever reason, the Chinese are gaining territory and fueling an arms race in Asia. A protest movement -- starting in the South China Sea -- could help stop them.

A Peace Fleet of activist boats would utilize creative nonviolent strategies to address the remarkably broad range of global issues that are intertwined in the South China Sea dispute. Poverty, climate change, destruction of marine ecosystems and military violence are all live issues in the South China Sea. Activists in claimant countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam are getting more media attention on the issue, which deserves a global activist approach.

A stronger international social movement of unarmed volunteer sailors and fishermen and women on boats emblazoned with environmental and peace insignia, and with networked and GPS-enabled waterproof cameras, would help record and stop international law violations (specifically, violation of claimant country exclusive economic zones, or EEZs), military expansionism and environmental destruction in the South China Sea. These strategies would highlight for global media the importance of economic development, marine environmental conservation, international law, and decreasing global CO2 emissions.

There is an immediate need for action -- as recently as April 2016, Chinese surveyors were at Scarborough Shoal, near the Philippines, in what was likely preparation for massive artificial island building and dredging of live coral. In late April, a source close to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy said that dredging and construction of a Chinese military base would begin this year on Scarborough Shoal. The Shoal is close to the strategic military base of Subic Bay in the Philippines, and within the Philippine EEZ. In late April, China announced a program to militarize their fishing fleet, including military training for fishermen.

Building A Peace Fleet in Three Stages

Activists from Kalayaan Atin Ito in the Philippines, mostly composed of students, have taken a Freedom Voyage to the island of Pagasa in 20154. Pagasa is part of the Kalayaan group of islands off Palawan in the South China Sea. “Atin Ito” means “it is ours”. The activists seek to take more such Freedom Voyages in the near future, including with activists from every region of the Philippines. The group has 10,000 volunteers, and the Facebook page has over 40,000 likes. Kalayaan Atin Ito is part of the registered nonprofit group called Pilipino, and recently started a new more international group, called Sea Access by International Law (SAIL). They hope students from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as others internationally, will join. The group is currently considering a broader boycott of Chinese goods and services to put commercial pressure on China to follow international law in the South China Sea.

The Kalayaan Atin Ito activists told me that they seek to increase their presence near Scarborough Shoal close to the Philippines. They originally planned to do this in 2012 after the standoff with China, but were convinced by the Government of the Philippines not to while bilateral negotiations were underway. Those negotiations failed, and the shoal is currently occupied by self-described Chinese “coast guard” vessels.

A Peace Fleet could be started with a single double-outrigger boat that would be kept in Masinloc, Philippines, near Scarborough Shoal. The boat would be docked, maintained, and utilized by Kalayaan Atin Ito and SAIL volunteers. The activists plan to build a more robust fleet and organizational structure over time. At the completion of three stages of building a fleet, a permanent activist presence at or near Scarborough Shoal could be implemented.

Stage I would include purchase of two fishing boats and one emergency boat, sponsorship of an initial trip of 15-20 activists towards Scarborough Shoal, and crowdfunding for Stage II. The following would begin in Stage I and continue in following stages: maritime and nonviolence practicums for activists, new media production and dissemination, initialization of a Philippines non-profit organization and legal defense fund, cameras on all boats linked to a global wifi hotspot for real-time upload of data, and emergency rescue equipment.

Stage II will take place in months 4-6, and include the above continuing activities, plus purchase of four additional outrigger boats, one emergency boat, activist trips towards Scarborough Shoal two-times per week, and crowd-funding for the third and final stage of the capital raise. During Stage II, the following two continuing activities could be added to the Stage I continuing activities: exploration of subsidies of fishing communities to protect vulnerable shoals with increased local fishing presence, and planning for a 2017 Masinloc boat festival.

Stage III could take place in months 7-9, and include all of the above continuing activities, plus purchase of six additional double-outrigger boats and two emergency boats. Stage III could provide enough boating and organizational capability to mount and maintain a permanent activist presence at or near Scarborough Shoal, with a safe offset from any Chinese boats.

After Stage III, organizing, fundraising, information strategies, maintenance, repair, and dockage would continue indefinitely until the South China Sea dispute is resolved. A permanent activist presence at or near Scarborough Shoal could be maintained indefinitely, until the EEZ of the Philippines is respected by all international actors.

During all these stages, the movement’s progress could inspire its spread to other activist groups in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

The South China Sea

The South China Sea, in which there is a confluence of key global issues, is a perfect place for Peace Fleets to operate. Peace Fleets could protect EEZs of claimant nations like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei, from military expansion by China, and from hydrocarbon extraction by uninvited corporate energy companies like China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

The EIA estimates there to be 11 billion barrels of oil, and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the South China Sea. If utilized, this would produce about 1.36e10 metric tons of CO2 -- more than all CO2 released into the atmosphere every year. There is currently an arms race in the region that was instigated by the Chinese military. This military competition could lead to major-power war, with attendant massive human and environmental consequences. A Peace Fleet in the South China Sea would decrease the probability of regional or major power war.

Peace Fleets would also address issues of economics and global equality. Currently China, with an annual gross domestic product (GDP) of $6,800 per capita, is seeking to claim Scarborough Shoal from within the Philippines’ EEZ (as delineated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea -- UNCLOS). The Philippines’ annual GDP per capita is only $2,800. China also claims maritime territory within the EEZ of Vietnam ($1,900 GDP per capita), and Indonesia ($3,475). If China annexes the South China Sea from these relatively poor and defenseless claimant countries, global distributive justice and equality will be adversely affected. Protecting claimant country EEZs protects global distributive justice.

A Global Social Movement Building Power In Communities

Direct action taken by nonviolent international activists on allied Peace Fleets would be widely reported in the media and make it more difficult for China to maintain an illegal presence at Scarborough Shoal and other areas within the EEZs of claimant countries. It would protect these economic and environmental resources from oil companies and illegal fisherman that seek to extract massive amounts of maritime hydrocarbon and animal resources from delicate marine ecosystems. Such extraction threatens to impoverish legitimate fishing communities dependent on sustainable and traditional fishing in the South China Sea.

Peace Fleets would support and empower local citizens and groups by building relationships, offering financial support and providing international contacts to fishing communities near threatened reefs and shoals. It would highlight for global audiences how local communities can build power to resist corporate and military expansionism, and protect the social fabric that is inextricably interwoven with their environments.

Due to strong public opinion in the Philippines and Vietnam on the South China Sea dispute, allied Peace Fleets would likely be composed of mostly Filipino, Vietnamese, and highly-committed international activists. In the Philippines, a Freedom Voyage composed of veterans and students already made one trip to an endangered shoal. In Vietnam, demonstrations broke out against exploration by a CNOOC oil rig. Maritime demonstrations of a large and government-supported flotilla of Vietnamese fishing boats attempted to disrupt oil exploration by China’s HD 981 oil rig through direct action.

Fundraising and volunteers from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, and Europe would help internationalize the regional social movements addressing the South China Sea issue, harness international resources, and gain a broader audience to pressure influential governments. Movements around the world that support democracy, human rights, and international law with respect to China could and should be linked to the South China Sea issue for maximum effect. South China Sea activists should support democracy and human rights campaigns as well.

While China has rammed boats and killed soldiers on or near disputed islands in the South China Sea, a Peace Fleet could keep some distance from the Chinese and travel with at least two boats at all times in order to decrease the risk of injury. In the unlikely event that one boat sinks, the second boat would have the capability to pick up passengers. Recent Sea Shepherd, Vietnamese protesters, and Freedom Voyage trips into the South China Sea have not resulted in casualties.

Peace Fleets would utilize a Gandhian and nonviolent strategy of international and environmental defense that has proven powerful in the age of online media. It would incorporate satellite networked and GPS-enabled cameras, as well as nonviolent strategy from theorists like Gene Sharp on national defense using nonviolent direct action. It would be a societally low-risk strategy in that it decreases, rather than increases, the probability of war. Using non-military forces and platforms will hopefully preclude a military response, de-escalating regional tensions.

Physically inserting peace activists between the naval forces of China and claimant states will galvanize global public opinion to decrease the likelihood of war. Peace fleets could patrol the South China Sea, protect fishermen within a country's EEZ, and disrupt oil exploration. Activists will not compete with fishing communities, but rather, attempt to sail near or engage in conservation activities on militarily and environmentally at-risk islands such as Scarborough Shoal. Such activities will protect Scarborough and other areas from impending military dredging activities.

Scarborough Shoal, near the Philippines in the South China Sea, is a fragile marine ecosystem with a 46-kilometer perimeter of living coral reefs and rocks. Chinese military surveyors were spotted there in April 2016. Chinese authorities have publicly stated a plan to dredge the shoal in 2016. The statement received no official response, to date, from the Philippines or U.S. governments. Peace Fleet organizations could engage in environmental conservation of the shoal, record EEZ violations with GPS-enabled cameras for real-time upload using global satellite wifi-hotspots, engage in conservation activities, and subsidize sustainable fishing near the shoal by local fishing communities.

The recent Vietnamese, Sea Shepherd and Freedom Voyage forays into the South China Sea are examples of marine activist approaches to the South China Sea dispute. Funding for these and other Peace Fleets could come from crowdsourcing like Go Fund Me, and donations from activist and environmental foundations like Greenpeace, the Solidaire Network, Sea Shepherd, Surfrider Foundation, and the Albert Einstein Foundation. Sea Shepherd, Freedom Voyage, National Youth Movement for the South China Sea, Greenpeace, and the Golden Rule Peace Boat could be allied fleets and join the direct action with boats and volunteer sailors of their own.

Public transport from Manila to Botolan, one possible embarcation point, takes five and a half hours. Travel to Masinloc takes an additional hour.

Scarborough Shoal is only 135 nautical miles from Botolan, the Philippines, and can be reached in 10-15 hours by traditional double-outrigger banca sail or motor boats.

The first and most important reef to protect in the South China Sea is Scarborough Shoal (also called Scarborough Reef by the United States and China since 2012, making it more vulnerable from an international legal perspective). Scarborough Shoal is 135 nautical miles from the small town of Botolan (pop. 23,000), only five and a half hours on public transport from Manila. Masinloc, which has more availability of dockage, is about the same distance from Scarborough.

Activists from Manila can collaborate directly with fishing communities in and near Botolan and Masinloc, including in Palauig, to develop sustainable fishing techniques, conservation practices, and boat-building and maintenance cooperatives. This would facilitate more public attention to, and long-term protection of, Scarborough shoal. Botolan and Palauig fishermen and women utilize both traditional outrigger sailboats and motorized boats. Locally, these boats are called “banca boats.” Activists could prioritize cooperation, not competition, with local fishing communities. Fishing resources and spots are scarce, so activists can support fishing communities through conservation activities, protection from foreign boats, and even subsidies of traditional fishing near, and as a way to protect, endangered shoals.

Fishermen and women from these traditional fishing communities are currently being driven off their historic fishing grounds near Scarborough Shoal by the Chinese to make way for Chinese claims, dredging, and artificial military island building. So fishing communities should welcome activists as long as they do not see them as competition for scarce fishing spots. A greater fishing and activist presence at Scarborough will disincentivize dredging of the shoal for military and oil exploration purposes. Peace Fleet conservation activities would be an environmentally sensitive form of protection. Activist occupation of Scarborough Shoal, protecting it from dredging, could eventually be attempted if in the judgement of locals, the Chinese would not overreact.

Traditional double outrigger banca boats in the village of Palauig, the geographic point in the Philippines closest to endangered Scarborough Shoal. Great attention would be given to support the sustainable fishing practices of nearby villages such as Palauig, and to develop and expand upon local conservation expertise in a way that does not disturb the fabric of local social and economic relationships. Activists would conserve maritime resources and protect fishing communities, not compete with them.

Traditional double-outrigger-style fishing boats, as depicted above in a photo from Palauig, Philippines, could be subsidized to carry out sustainable fishing, conservation activities, and filming at Scarborough Shoal. Activists could be supported to travel from Manila on public transport to Botolan, and to Scarborough Shoal on Peace Fleet boats, for their conservation activities near the shoal. This approach would develop student and fishing community leadership and capacity in Manila, fishing villages near Scarborough, and seed alliance-building between international activists and funders, capital-city activists of claimant states, and local communities.

Starting in Stage II, activists could plan a 2017 boat festival in Masinloc to increase international and local attention to their activities and gain volunteers from the boat-owning public, some of whom will likely decide to join demonstrations at or near Scarborough Shoal.

Hundreds of banca boats parade on May 1, 2015 in the month-long Pistay Dayat Sea Festival in Lingayen, Philippines. Lingayan is not far from Masinloc.

Take Action Now

A Peace Fleet alliance of activists in the South China Sea region will help decrease the likelihood of war, and protect the climate from CO2 emissions and illegal dredging. Activists in the Philippines and Vietnam have already taken a nonviolent direct action approach to saving the South China Sea from Chinese oil corporations and militarization, including through a Freedom Voyage on the South China Sea, and a flotilla of fishing boats that challenged exploration by a CNOOC oil rig near Vietnam.

But, activists do not have the financial resources for a sustained movement capable of protecting the next shoal to be dredged. They need support in acquiring finances from international foundations and non-profit organizations. The Chinese military is planning to continue scaring traditional Philippine fishermen and women away from Scarborough Shoal, including through a newly militarized fishing fleet, and reports of Chinese military surveying on the shoal are as recent as April 2016.

China seeks to use military force to blaze a trail for energy corporations like CNOOC. International non-governmental organizations and foundations have an historic opportunity to support sustainable regional fishing, conservation communities and activists who can avert the next war developing in the South China Sea, and save the environment. Take action now and show your support.