South China Sea has assumed great geopolitical significance in the present context. Comment.
Approach · directive: “comment”
What it asks · Explain why the South China Sea matters (trade routes, resources, territorial claims, great-power rivalry) and what it means for India.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Comment: why the South China Sea matters so much geopolitically today (trade, resources, claims, law, great-power rivalry)
- Comment: what it means for India and the position India should take
Open with · The South China Sea links the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is now the most contested maritime space in Asia.
Cover
- Trade route: a major sea lane through the Malacca Strait, carrying a large share of world trade, including India's trade with East Asia.
- Resources: rich fisheries and believed oil, gas and seabed resources increase the stakes of ownership and exclusive economic zone rights.
- Competing claims: China's nine-dash line overlaps with claims by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan; China has built up features and military facilities.
- Law: in Philippines v. China (12 July 2016) the Arbitral Tribunal found no legal basis for China's historic rights beyond UNCLOS; China rejected the award.
- Power politics: US freedom-of-navigation operations, China's assertiveness and divisions within ASEAN make a binding Code of Conduct hard to achieve.
- India's stakes: sea-lane security, ONGC Videsh's exploration interests off Vietnam, the Act East Policy, and support for freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution under UNCLOS.
Close with · India should keep backing a rules-based order, ASEAN centrality and peaceful settlement under UNCLOS while deepening maritime partnerships with the region.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 296 words (UPSC limit 200) · Minimalist IAS
The South China Sea, linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans through the Malacca Strait, is today the most contested maritime space in Asia, where trade, resources, law and great-power rivalry meet.
Why it matters now
- Trade artery: a large share of world seaborne trade, including India's trade with East Asia, passes through it.
- Resources: rich fisheries and believed oil and gas reserves make exclusive economic zone rights worth contesting.
- Overlapping claims: China's 'nine-dash line' cuts across the claims of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, and China has built artificial islands with airstrips and military facilities on disputed reefs.
- Law versus power: in Philippines v. China (12 July 2016) the Arbitral Tribunal under UNCLOS found no legal basis for China's historic rights within the nine-dash line; China rejected the award.
- Great-power rivalry: US freedom-of-navigation operations and alliances with Japan and the Philippines confront China's assertiveness, while ASEAN, divided over China, cannot agree a binding Code of Conduct.
What it means for India
- Sea-lane security: much of India's trade with ASEAN, Japan and Korea passes through these waters, so instability there raises cost and risk.
- Energy stake: ONGC Videsh explores blocks off Vietnam despite Chinese objections.
- Strategic space: the Act East Policy, defence ties with Vietnam and the Malabar exercise with the United States and Japan give India a role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific.
- Principle: India supports freedom of navigation and overflight and settlement of disputes under UNCLOS, and after the 2016 award urged all parties to show utmost respect for the Convention, the rules that also protect its own maritime interests.
India's interest lies in a stable, rules-based order: it should keep supporting ASEAN centrality, peaceful settlement under UNCLOS and maritime partnerships across the region, without being drawn into any bloc.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.