Anaya Nolan
China has been accused of bending the rules and violating international law in the South China Sea. The country has laid claim to 90% of the South China Sea, including the Paracel Islands, and their adjacent waters. China's claims are more expansive than those of any other rival claimant. In 2009, Dai Bingguo, then a top Chinese official, first referred to the South China Sea as a “core interest”, a term often used for Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet. China has passed the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which lays claim to the entire South China Sea based on its historical right to the area dating from the Western Han dynasty, which ruled between two hundred BCE to nine CE.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| China's claim to the South China Sea | More expansive than those of any other rival claimant |
| China's claim to the South China Sea | Based on historical right to the area dating from the Western Han dynasty |
| China's claim to the South China Sea | Based on the same rights as archipelagic states |
| China's claim to the South China Sea | Seen as a bid to obtain greater maritime security for itself |
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What You'll Learn
- China's abuse and misapplication of international law
- China's claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea islands
- China's use of a 'nine-dash line' to delineate its claims
- China's Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone
- China's obstruction of the US and Soviet Union's efforts to secure freedom of navigation for warships
China's abuse and misapplication of international law
China's claims are "sweeping" and more expansive than those of any other rival claimant. In 2009, Dai Bingguo, then a top Chinese official, first referred to the South China Sea as a “core interest”, a term often used for Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet. While China has not been specific about the extent of its claims, it uses a “nine-dash line” which “swoops down past Vietnam and the Philippines, and towards Indonesia, encompassing virtually all of the South China Sea”, to delineate its claims.
China passes the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which lays claim to the entire South China Sea based on its historical right to the area dating from the Western Han dynasty, which ruled between two hundred BCE to nine CE. The law employs more generous methods of territorial determination that would not necessarily be recognized by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed a decade earlier. The move is seen by some as a bid by China to obtain greater maritime security for itself, as Beijing was one of the most active countries at UNCLOS in attempting to obstruct the United States and Soviet Union’s efforts to secure freedom of navigation for warships.
According to the Philippines, China's Nine-Dash Line should be invalidated and eight PRC-controlled maritime features should not be considered islands. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and past decisions by international tribunals suggest that land reclamation will not affect the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s decision because: (1) artificial islands don’t have the legal significance afforded natural islands, and; (2) land reclamation occurred after the so-called “critical date” when the China-Philippines dispute “crystallized” in international legal terms.
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China's claims to sovereignty over the South China Sea islands
China's claims are considered sweeping and more expansive than those of any other rival claimant. It uses a nine-dash line to delineate its claims, which encompasses virtually all of the South China Sea. This line has been disputed by the Philippines, which has asked the Court to invalidate it and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands.
China's position is that it has the same rights as archipelagic states, or countries mainly made up of islands. One of the benefits of archipelagic status is that the waters between islands are considered internal waters, and other countries have no right to transit these waters without permission. However, China's claim to archipelagic status is not recognised by the UN, which only confers this status on 22 nations, none of which are China.
China's assertiveness in the South China Sea has resulted in heightened tensions with Southeast Asian claimant states, particularly the Philippines, at the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands. Other countries with overlapping claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands include Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei. These countries have taken diplomatic steps to resolve the disputes, but China has refused to draft a binding Code of Conduct for the South China Sea.
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China's use of a 'nine-dash line' to delineate its claims
China's use of a nine-dash line to delineate its claims in the South China Sea has been a source of controversy and has been criticised as an abuse and misapplication of international law. The nine-dash line, also known as the eleven-dash line, the U-shaped line, or the dotted line, appears on some official Chinese maps and maps of disputed claims in the region. It serves to outline the islands and rocks in the South China Sea over which China asserts territorial sovereignty, as well as the maritime zones governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The nine-dash line has been criticised for its inconsistency and ambiguity. China has not clarified the line's legal nature, including how the dashes would be joined and which specific maritime features are being claimed. This ambiguity has led to concerns that China is attempting to create a veneer of legal legitimacy for its expansive claims, which are more sweeping than those of any other rival claimant.
The United States government has explicitly stated that the nine-dash line is contrary to international law. Any use of the line by China to claim maritime rights not based on claimed land features would be inconsistent with international law. The Philippines has also challenged the nine-dash line, asking the Court to invalidate it and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands.
China, however, defends its use of the nine-dash line, arguing that it has the same rights as archipelagic states, or countries mainly made up of islands. Archipelagic status, conferred by the UN, allows for the waters between islands to be considered internal waters, similar to rivers inside a country. China's claims are based on its interpretation of historical rights dating back to the Western Han dynasty, which ruled between 200 BCE and 9 CE.
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China's Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone
China has passed the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which lays claim to the entire South China Sea based on its historical right to the area dating from the Western Han dynasty. The law employs more generous methods of territorial determination that would not necessarily be recognised by the UNCLOS.
The outer limit of the territorial sea of the People's Republic of China is the line every point of which is at a distance equal to twelve nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline of the territorial sea. The contiguous zone of the People's Republic of China is the sea belt adjacent to and beyond the territorial sea. The outer limit of the contiguous zone is the line every point of which is at a distance equal to twenty-four nautical miles from the nearest point of the baseline of the territorial sea.
The People's Republic of China has the right to exercise control in the contiguous zone to prevent and impose penalties for activities that infringe the laws or regulations concerning security, customs, finance, sanitation or entry and exit control within its land territory, internal waters or territorial sea. No aircraft of a foreign state may enter the air space over the territorial sea of the People's Republic of China unless there is a relevant protocol or agreement between the two governments, or approval or acceptance by the Government of the People's Republic of China or the competent authorities authorised by it.
The competent authorities of the People's Republic of China may, when they have good reasons to believe that a foreign ship has violated the laws or regulations of the People's Republic of China, exercise the right of hot pursuit against the foreign ship. Such pursuit shall be commenced when the foreign ship or one of its boats or other craft engaged in activities by using the ship pursued as a mother ship is within the internal waters, the territorial sea or the contiguous zone of the People's Republic of China.
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China's obstruction of the US and Soviet Union's efforts to secure freedom of navigation for warships
China has been accused of bending the rules and violating international law in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over almost all of the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters. This claim is more expansive than those of any other rival claimant. China's claim is based on its historical right to the area, dating back to the Western Han dynasty.
China has passed the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which lays claim to the entire South China Sea. This law employs more generous methods of territorial determination that would not necessarily be recognised by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed a decade earlier. China's actions have been seen as a bid to obtain greater maritime security for itself, as Beijing was one of the most active countries at UNCLOS in attempting to obstruct the United States and Soviet Union's efforts to secure freedom of navigation for warships.
China also claims it has the same rights as archipelagic states, those countries mainly made up of islands. One of the benefits of archipelagic status is that the waters between islands are considered internal waters, like rivers inside a country. Other countries have no right to transit these waters without permission. This archipelagic status is conferred through the UN, and only 22 nations claim it.
The Philippines has asked the Court to invalidate China's Nine-Dash Line and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands. The Philippines has a strong case for why the PRC's artificial islands should not be considered real islands. The UNCLOS and past decisions by international tribunals suggest that land reclamation will not affect the Permanent Court of Arbitration's decision because artificial islands do not have the same legal significance as natural islands, and land reclamation occurred after the "critical date" when the China-Philippines dispute "crystallised" in international legal terms.
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Frequently asked questions
China passed the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which lays claim to the entire South China Sea based on its historical right to the area dating from the Western Han dynasty. This is seen as an abuse and misapplication of international law.
China claims it has the same rights as archipelagic states, those countries mainly made up of islands. One of the benefits of archipelagic status is that the waters between islands are considered internal waters, like rivers inside a country. Other countries have no right to transit these waters without permission.
China creates a veneer of legal legitimacy for its position. In 2009, Dai Bingguo, then a top Chinese official, first referred to the South China Sea as a “core interest”, a term often used for Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet.
