UNCLOS deadline raises temperatures in South China Seas
May 11th 2009
The temperature of the South China Sea has risen several degrees as the deadline for continental shelf extensions has finally arrived. On May 7th, Malaysia and Vietnam submitted a joint claim for the delineation of the outer limits of their continental shelf. The countries have declared that there are no unresolved disputes in the areas described.
China begged to differ in its analysis and in a note issued the same day to the United Nations insisted that the joint Malaysian-Vietnamese claim to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles had “seriously infringed China’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the South China Sea,” and went on to “seriously request” the International Commission “not to consider” the joint claim.
A map attached to the declaration illustrated the Chinese claim - which appears to extend to the vast majority of the maritime area, including the entirety of the hotly disputed Spratly and Paracel islands.
On May 8th, Vietnam reasserted its claim: “the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratlys) archipelagos are parts of Viet Nam’s territory. Viet Nam has indisputable sovereignty over these archipelagos. China’s claim over the islands and adjacent waters in the Eastern Sea…has no legal historical or factual basis, therefore is null and void.”
China made its own “preliminary information indicative of outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles” on May 11th, insisting that it would safeguard its maritime rights and interests in line with “existing propositions and positions” but that “meanwhile” it adhered to peaceful and equitable negotiations for maritime delimitations.
Invariably described as a “potential tinderbox” for the SE Asian region, the Spratly islands have been a source of conflict between the states concerned (China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines) for decades. In 1992 the member states of ASEAN signed a declaration which committed them to resolving their disputes peacefully – nonetheless, several events in the region have almost tipped into military action, raising questions as to the extent that a peaceful solution may in reality be possible.
Interest in the region is driven both by strategic considerations, and by the possibility of substantial hydrocarbon resources. While tensions have increased as a result of the UNCLOS deadline, it may at least drive a faster resolution than would otherwise been possible.
As expected, the last week has seen a spate of last minute submissions from countries not exempted from the deadline. These have included The United Kingdom, with respect to the Falkland Islands, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Spain, India, Trinidad and Tobago and Namibia. Given the volume of technical data contained within even the simplest submissions, it will almost certainly be years before the Commission will have processed the huge number of claims before it.
The full list of claims is available to see at:
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/commission_submissions.htm
The temperature of the South China Sea has risen several degrees as the deadline for continental shelf extensions has finally arrived. On May 7th, Malaysia and Vietnam submitted a joint claim for the delineation of the outer limits of their continental shelf. The countries have declared that there are no unresolved disputes in the areas described.
China begged to differ in its analysis and in a note issued the same day to the United Nations insisted that the joint Malaysian-Vietnamese claim to continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles had “seriously infringed China’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the South China Sea,” and went on to “seriously request” the International Commission “not to consider” the joint claim.
A map attached to the declaration illustrated the Chinese claim - which appears to extend to the vast majority of the maritime area, including the entirety of the hotly disputed Spratly and Paracel islands.
On May 8th, Vietnam reasserted its claim: “the Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratlys) archipelagos are parts of Viet Nam’s territory. Viet Nam has indisputable sovereignty over these archipelagos. China’s claim over the islands and adjacent waters in the Eastern Sea…has no legal historical or factual basis, therefore is null and void.”
China made its own “preliminary information indicative of outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles” on May 11th, insisting that it would safeguard its maritime rights and interests in line with “existing propositions and positions” but that “meanwhile” it adhered to peaceful and equitable negotiations for maritime delimitations.
Invariably described as a “potential tinderbox” for the SE Asian region, the Spratly islands have been a source of conflict between the states concerned (China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines) for decades. In 1992 the member states of ASEAN signed a declaration which committed them to resolving their disputes peacefully – nonetheless, several events in the region have almost tipped into military action, raising questions as to the extent that a peaceful solution may in reality be possible.
Interest in the region is driven both by strategic considerations, and by the possibility of substantial hydrocarbon resources. While tensions have increased as a result of the UNCLOS deadline, it may at least drive a faster resolution than would otherwise been possible.
As expected, the last week has seen a spate of last minute submissions from countries not exempted from the deadline. These have included The United Kingdom, with respect to the Falkland Islands, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Tonga, Spain, India, Trinidad and Tobago and Namibia. Given the volume of technical data contained within even the simplest submissions, it will almost certainly be years before the Commission will have processed the huge number of claims before it.
The full list of claims is available to see at:
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs_new/commission_submissions.htm