Rights and jurisdiction over resources in the South China Sea: UNCLOS and the ‘nine-dash line’

2014 ◽  
pp. 144-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ted L McDorman
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line

scholarly journals Should the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Be Classified as Islands or Rocks? An Examination in Light of the South China Sea Arbitration Award

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-349
Author(s):  
Fayokemi Ayodeji Olorundami
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
South China ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
Senkaku Islands

Abstract In July 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal handed down its award in the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China. In addition to considering the legal status of the controversial nine-dash line, the Tribunal also provided the first judicial interpretation of Article 121 of the LOSC, thereby shedding light on what maritime features may be regarded as islands and not rocks within the meaning of that article, and therefore entitled to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. This article considers the decision reached by the Tribunal, and the views expressed in the literature, applying them to an analysis that attempts to answer whether the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands (sovereignty over which is disputed by China and Japan) in the East China Sea would qualify as islands, and thus entitled to an EEZ and as a continental shelf, or as rocks and therefore not so entitled.

The Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea: History, Status, and Implications

2013 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiguo Gao ◽  
Bing Bing Jia
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Fishing Ground ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Spratly Islands ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
Late Twentieth

The South China Sea has generally been a calm area of sea since ancient times. Until the late twentieth century, it had provided a fertile fishing ground for local fishermen from China and other littoral states, and a smooth route of navigation for the nations of the region and the rest of the international community. This tranquility has been disturbed, however, by two recent developments. The first was the physical occupation of the Nansha, or Spratly, Islands by some of the coastal states in the 1970s. This process continued through the rest of the century. Now, nearly all the islands and insular features within the Spratly Islands have been subjected to physical control by one littoral state or another.

Circles of Steel, Castles of Vanity: The Geopolitics of Military Bases on the South China Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 975-1017
Author(s):  
Alfred W. McCoy
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line

After four years of rising tensions over China's construction of military bases in the South China Sea, in July 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a landmark decision layered with meaning, academic as well as diplomatic. “China's claims to historic rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction,” wrote the panel of five judges, “with respect to the maritime areas … encompassed by the relevant part of the ‘nine-dash line’ are contrary to the Convention [on the Law of the Sea] and without lawful effect.” Writing with unambiguous clarity, the court ruled that China's dredging of these artificial islands for military bases gave it no right whatsoever to the surrounding seas and rebuked Beijing for infringing on waters that the Philippines should rightly control. China's claims to most of the South China Sea within that nine-dash line, which Beijing first published on maps at the height of the Cold War in 1953 and has pursued ever since, “were extinguished,” the court said, by the UN Convention (Gao and Jia 2013, 103–4;New York Times2016; Permanent Court of Arbitration 2016, 68–77, 116–17).

scholarly journals Re-contemplating the South China Sea Issue: Sailing with the Wind of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Tseng Hui-yi
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
21St Century ◽  
South China ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Mutual Cooperation ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Maritime Silk Road ◽  
Dash Line

With the proposal of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road plan, China has demonstrated its willingness to connect with the rest of the world via cooperation, by sharing its development dividends. Yet, the soaring South China Sea issue possesses great potentials in dampening China’s ambitious efforts. The Maritime Silk Road plan is one example. The key is how China can conciliate its South China Sea position, which sees a territorialization trend of the dash-line claim, and the projected posture emphasizing on mutual cooperation and common prospects in the Maritime Silk Road plan. By operating the territorialized dash-line claim in an open-end manner along with subtle management tactics, the South China Sea tensions can be pacified, the Maritime Silk Road plane can also take a successful first step by delivering its words of cooperation and common prospects.

scholarly journals Contesting Views of the Philippines and China over the Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-192
Author(s):  
Marthen Napang ◽  
◽  
Farida Patittingi ◽  
Zulkifli Aspan ◽  
Achmad Ruslan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line

scholarly journals Klaim Republik Rakyat China atas Zona Ekonomi Ekslusif Indonesia

SASI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 392
Author(s):  
Efie Baadilla
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Fishing Rights ◽  
China Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
Traditional Fishing

The South China Sea is a strategic marine area and contains both living and non-living natural resources. The purpose of this paper is to analyze China's claim to Indonesia's ZEE in the South China Sea, which is known to Indonesia as the North Natuna Sea. China's claim to the Nine dash line in the South China Sea has had an impact on Indonesia and several countries. The research method uses normative research with a statute approach and a conceptual approach. The results of his study show that the recent conflict between Indonesia and China in the South China Sea has brought about a new conflict between the two countries even though Indonesia has so far not considered a problem. In fact, the application of the nine dash line as Traditional fishing grounds was not known in UNCLOS 1982, but the concept known was Traditional fishing rights. Indonesia has sovereignty and sovereign rights over North Natuna waters based on UNCLOS, for this reason, Indonesia needs to continue to carry out exploitation and exploration activities, supervision and legal action to guarantee the sovereign rights of the State.

‘Deliberate Ambiguity’ and the Demise of China’s Claim to Historic Rights in the South China Sea

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-182
Author(s):  
Robert Beckman
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
South China ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Exclusive Economic Zone ◽  
The South ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
Economic Zone

The Award of the Arbitral Tribunal in the Philippines v China case was a resounding victory for the Philippines as well as a bold and potentially landmark decision. The key issue for the Philippines was whether China could lawfully claim historic rights to resources within the nine-dash line on Chinese maps, if such areas are within the exclusive economic zone or on the continental shelf of the Philippines under unclos. In deciding this issue the Tribunal had to address the fact the exact legal basis for China’s claim to historic rights in the South China Sea, and the nature and scope of such claims, was ambiguous. The Tribunal addressed the issue of ambiguity in its award on jurisdiction, and ruled that it could draw inferences from China’s conduct in determining the nature of its claim to historic rights. In its Award on the Merits the Tribunal ruled that unclos allocated rights and jurisdiction to the natural resource in the oceans, and that under unclos, coastal States have sovereign rights to explore and exploit the natural resources in their exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Consequently, whatever historic rights China claimed to resources in the South China Sea, those rights were extinguished when UNCLOS entered into force insofar as they were a claim to resources that are now in the maritime zone of other States.

scholarly journals The Permanent Court of Arbitration’s Exegesis of the Regime of Islands and China’s Nine-Dash-Line Claims in the South China Sea Arbitration

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Theodore Okonkwo
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
United Nations ◽  
South China ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Dash Line ◽  
The United Nations

The big South China Sea is one of the most dangerous hotspot in the world. By words and actions, there are sixclaimants of the South China Sea. The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines are some ofthem. Each want to control the numerous features and resources in boosting their economic interests. The UnitedNations was actively involved in the settlement of the disputes for their own security and economic interests. Thegreat ownership question that comes about in this is the rightful owner of the South China Sea which involved theNine-Dash Line claims by the government of the People’s Republic of China, which laid claims to the ParacelIslands, the Spratly Islands, the Pratas Islands, the Maccles field Bank and the Scarborough Shoal. In the Arbitrationbetween the two parties: China and Philippines, Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seawas relied upon by the tribunal which gave award on 29th October, 2015 on admissibility and jurisdiction. Howeverthe objection that was presented by China was rejected by the tribunal. This was because of the issue of the territorialsovereignty of China in the South China Sea which was not within the jurisdiction of the tribunal. The tribunal foundinteralia that the submission made by Philippines showed the dispute between the parties putting in mind theConvention interpretation and application. The requirements under article 283 of the Convention were met by thePhilippines in regards to the settlement of the dispute. This paper examines the South China Sea arbitration awardand the interpretation and the application of the regime of islands under article 121 of the United Nations Conventionon the Law of the Sea.

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