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- Title
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF CHINA'S LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS IN THE SPRATLY ISLANDS.
- Authors
ANDREEFF, DANIEL
- Abstract
This note examines the legal implications of China's large-scale land reclamation projects in the Spratly Islands area of the South China Sea. Over approximately the past two years, these projects have led to the creation of seven new artificial islands, which are being used as a foundation for both civilian and military installations and which are situated just off the western coast of the Philippine island of Palawan. Portions of the Spratlys are claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam and the dispute is currently the subject of a United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) arbitration between China and the Philippines in which the Philippines is seeking a determination of the legal status of the reefs that are the site of the projects. The note is an exploration of the potential implications of the land reclamation projects for Chinese entitlements to maritime zones in the Spratlys and for the delimitation of China's maritime boundary with the Philippines if the reclaimed land and the underlying maritime features are ultimately determined to belong to China. It takes no position on the underlying questions of sovereignty. In order to assess these issues, the note examines UNCLOS standards for classifying both the artificial islands and their underlying maritime features and applies those standards to the historic geography and contemporary facts of each of the seven locations. It concludes that the artificial islands themselves generate no maritime entitlements and that the underlying features at each of the seven locations are each properly classified as rocks or low-tide elevations with limited or nonexistent maritime entitlements. It also analyzes the location of each of these seven features in relation to the Philippines' exclusive economic zone and the island of Itu Aba and argues that only Johnson South Reef is likely to generate an entitlement that will create a need for delimitation unless China successfully asserts a claim to Itu Aba. The note concludes by suggesting that certain ambiguities in UNCLOS are potentially motivating a significant portion of China's activity in the Spratlys and that, contrary to some conventional wisdom, international law may be playing a substantial role in shaping certain kinds of state conduct in the area.
- Subjects
SPRATLY Islands; CHINA; RECLAMATION of land; UNITED Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982); SOVEREIGNTY; MARITIME boundaries -- Law &; legislation; PHILIPPINE politics &; government; CHINESE politics &; government, 2002-; TWENTY-first century
- Publication
New York University Journal of International Law & Politics, 2015, Vol 47, Issue 4, p855
- ISSN
0028-7873
- Publication type
Article