ABSTRACT
At the heart of the South China Sea (SCS) disputes lies the legality of the Nine Dash Line or the “dotted U shaped line” that is perceived differently by China and the other littoral states. China, through its various statements, has shown that it regards the NDL region and the resources within the region as a part of its territorial and maritime boundary, and claims its legitimate rights, based upon its history of traditional fishing and shipping routes in the region. However, several states contest this, and consider that several of the land bodies that are being reclaimed by Beijing as islands are in violation of international laws, specifically UNCLOS that came into existence in 1982. The counter provided by UNCLOS and these states against Chinese claims on these islands forcefully argues that the landforms do not have the status of islands; hence, they cannot be used to claim territorial waters and the EEZ thereof. Some of the islands (such as the Spratly Islands) fall beyond the existing Chinese EEZ and, therefore, China cannot claim these islands under its territorial sovereignty based upon the 200 nm criterion of UNCLOS. Moreover, the neighbouring littoral states such as the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia have been claiming their rights on some of the islands in the region. Not only is Beijing disagreeing with the claims of these states, it is also advancing its island reclamation activity and construction of dual-use infrastructure on these islands. The legality of these claims on the basis of UNCLOS as the international maritime regime, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) as its international adjudicating body, comprise the scope of this chapter. It also explains why the aggrieved parties of the SCS claims could not approach the International Court of Justice, the UN’s intergovernmental dispute resolution organisation.
