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Keeping an Eye on the Islands:

Keeping an Eye on the Islands:. Cooperative Remote Monitoring of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Vipin Gupta and Adam Bernstein Systems Research Dept. 8112 Sandia National Laboratory Livermore, California. A Multidisciplinary Collaboration.

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Keeping an Eye on the Islands:

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  1. Keeping an Eye on the Islands: Cooperative Remote Monitoring of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea Vipin Gupta and Adam Bernstein Systems Research Dept. 8112 Sandia National Laboratory Livermore, California

  2. A Multidisciplinary Collaboration • Funded by the U.S. Institute for Peace • investigate the political, practical, and technical aspects of a possible cooperative monitoring regime in the Spratlys • Contributors • John C. Baker GW SPI, project director • Drs. Vipin Gupta and Adam Bernstein, image analysis • Prof. Bradford Thomas, GW Geography Dept. - regional remote sensing capabilities • David Wiencek, Int’l. Security Group -political analysis • Kevin O’Connell, RAND - consultant on commercial imagery • Dr. Ray Williamson, GW SPI - consultant, remote sensing • Dr. Mark Valencia, East-West Center - Spratly disputes

  3. The South China Sea The Spratlys

  4. Conflict and Control • States with claims to some or all islands: • China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan • have occupied islands and occasionally fought • Brunei, Malaysia • have made claims and/or occupy islands • legal status hard to determine: • a variety of applicable laws and customs • countries interpret or ignore these as they see fit.

  5. What’s done, what can be seen • “Invisible” Activities • Declaration of Ownership • Sale of Drilling Rights • Firing on/Sinking Rival’s Ships • Arrest of Civilians • Encouragement of Tourism • Potentially Visible • Occupation with Troops, Buildings, Markers • Drill Rig Construction • Tourist Activities • Landing Strips • Military/Civil Ships

  6. Possible Solutions • Fight it out - Naval skirmishes, arrests, potentially hostile overflights • Increase reliance on cooperative remotesensing What kind of monitoring can be done with satellites and/or aerial overflights? Ideally, military and civil intrusions could be conclusively id’d (1 m imagery) But - what can be done now ?

  7. Selected Platforms

  8. Selected Islands

  9. Thitu contrast inverted Radarsat Image- 1.3 km airstrip

  10. ThituAerial images courtesy Agence France-Presse

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