ConflictBarometer_2016

ASIA AND OCEANIA
sia off the coast of Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province. On October
27, PLAN carried out another military drill off the coast
of Hainan Island and in the contested waters northeast of the
Paracel Islands.
In the beginning of March, the PRC sent several coast guard
vessels to the disputed Jackson Atoll and denied Philippine
fishermen access to the fishing grounds near the atoll. On
March 18, the United States and the Philippines announced
an agreement permitting the presence of US military at five
Philippine bases in and near the SCS. On July 12, the SCS
Arbitration of the Permanent Court of Arbitration lodged by
the Philippines ruled that the PRC's claims to historic rights
within the ''nine-dash line'' are contrary to UNCLOS and ''without
lawful effect''. Both the ROC and PRC refused to accept
the results of the arbitration. On September 5, the Philippine
government summoned the Chinese ambassador, protesting
against the presence of a Chinese fleet of ten ships transporting
dredgers and barges to the contested Scarborough
Shoal. On September 6 and 10, Chinese coast guard ships reportedly
chased away Philippine fishing boats near the same
shoal. However, the situation between both countries deescalated
dramatically at the end of October, with Philippine
President Rodrigo Duterte's four-day visit to Beijing, beginning
on October 18. On October 20, Duterte agreed with Chinese
President Xi Jinping on a ''new stage of maritime cooperation''
and announced the Philippines's ''separation” from
the United States. At the beginning of November, the Chinese
coast guard allowed Philippine fishermen to access Scarborough
Shoal after four years of denial. At the end of the
month, Chinese ships reportedly left the shoal. On December
19, Duterte proposed to share oil resources in the disputed
Scarborough Shoal with China.
The conflict between China and other claimants in the SCS
continued and escalated to a violent level with the involvement
of Indonesia. On January 18 and April 9, Vietnam
protested twice against the oil drillings of the China National
Offshore Oil Corporation near the Gulf of Tonkin. In the end
of March, Malaysia complained about the operations of over
one hundred Chinese fishing boats accompanied by Chinese
coast guard in its waters near the Luconia Shoals. On November
1, China and Malaysia signed an agreement on intensifying
their naval cooperation in the South China Sea.
Beginning in March, Indonesian authorities repeatedly captured
Chinese fishing boats, vessels, and trawlers, accursing
them of illegal fishing in Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone
near the Natuna Islands. On Mai 27, Indonesian authorities
fired shots at a Chinese fishing vessel near the Natuna Islands,
reportedly injuring one and detaining seven. In response to
the incidents, China claimed that while both countries did not
have territorial disputes, there were some overlapping claims
on ''maritime rights and interests”. Indonesia rejected this.
On April 5, Indonesia destroyed ten Malaysian and 13 Vietnamese
fishing boats that were seized earlier on seven locations
of Indonesian archipelago. At the beginning of October,
the Indonesian air force conducted a two-week military exercise
at the Natuna Islands.
On the China-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on September
7, all parties agreed on the effective implementation of the
Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the SCS as well as on the
quick adoption of a Code of Conduct. Throughout the year,
the US maintained its presence in the South China Sea [→
141
China – USA]. mme
INDIA (GJM ET AL. / WEST BENGAL)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 1907
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
GJM, GNLF, JAP, AIGL vs. government
autonomy
The autonomy conflict in the Indian Dooars region between
different Nepalese-origin Gorkha groups and the government
continued on a non-violent level. Gorkhas were mainly organized
in political parties such as Gorkha Janmukti Morcha
(GJM), Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), All India
Gorkha League (AIGL) and the Jan Andolan Party (JAP). Previous
GJM Legislative Assembly member Harka Bahadur Chettri
had left GJM in 2015 and founded the JAP on January 27.
Throughout the year, all parties voiced their demands for an
autonomous Gorkhaland while the conflict mainly concentrated
on the semi-autonomous Gorkha Territorial Administration
(GTA) that comprises the districts Darjeeling, Kurseoing
and Kalimpong. GNLF reiterated its demand of reestablishing
the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), and dissolve
the GJM-led GTA whereas JAP held autonomy claims through
GTA. In April, GJM, GNLF, JAP and AIGL ran in West Bengal's
state elections for the GTA constituencies. GJM won all three
constituencies, while Mamata Banerjee of All India Trinamool
Congress (TMC) was re-elected as West Bengal's Chief Minister.
On July 15, the state government announced a development
board for specific Nepali ethnic groups in the GTA districts.
Gorkhaland supporters criticized the move stating it would
divide the Nepali community. On July 28, GJM leader Bimal
Gurung warned of a renewal of Gorkhaland agitation. During
August, his party staged rallies and on September 4, members
of its youth wing went on hunger strike. Meanwhile, the
state government condemned the agitation, accused GJM of
provocative speech, and restricted their permission of holding
rallies on August 30. On September 26, a twelve-hour
general strike was called by GJM for September 28, to protest
against Banerjee's claim of GTA money allocation by GJM. A
day before the strike, Banerjee had threatened a three-day
salary cut to striking employees. During the strike, police detained
at least 300 people across GTA and one car was damaged.
Furthermore, GJM submitted a memorandum to the
federal government on December 2, demanding the setup of
a committee to examine the status of Gorkhaland. jla
INDIA (GNLA ET AL. / MEGHALAYA)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1992
Conflict parties: GNLA, ANVC, ANVC-B, LAEF, ARA,
ASAK, AMEF, UALA, HNLC vs. government
Conflict items:
secession
The violent crisis between militant groups seeking seces-