Managing Vietnam's Maritime Boundary Disputes

This article examines the progress made in managing Vietnam's maritime boundary disputes and analyzes the challenges that lie ahead relating to unsettled disputes. The continuity and change in Vietnam's approach to dispute a settlement and the difficulties in managing the unresolved maritime disputes are assessed. Vietnam has made considerable progress in managing its maritime disputes; however, continued efforts are needed to address the unresolved disputes.     

Universalizing the Law of the Sea in the South China Sea Dispute

This article argues that a resolution of the maritime disputes in the South China Sea must be based upon a universalist framework where the maritime interests of the world are upheld. The article discusses the universalist framework of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the universalist approach taken by the Tribunal on 12 July 2016 in the South China Sea Arbitration regarding the extinguishment of a state's “exceptionalist” maritime claims and the adoption of strict criteria for the characterization of features at sea.     

United States policy on international straits

Abstract

United States policy on international straits is dictated by the vital importance to U.S. national security interests of unimpeded commercial and military transit through, over, and under sea lines of communication. Although perceived flaws in the deep seabed mining regime of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention precluded U.S. signature or ratification of that document, the United States considers that the navigational articles of the convention reflect customary international law. Accordingly, U.S. policy on international straits is premised on recognition of and respect for the balance of interests set forth in the navigational articles of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention.     

Reflections on the Interpretation and Application of Article 121(3) in the South China Sea Arbitration (Merits)

The 2016 South China Sea Arbitration Award provided a detailed review of the interpretation of Article 121(3) of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to the Tribunal, Article 121(3) performs a preventive function by disabling tiny features from unfairly generating enormous entitlements to maritime space that does not serve the local population. This provision also contributes to safeguarding of the Common Heritage of Mankind. The Tribunal's interpretation seems to reflect development of the law of the sea toward protection of the common interests of the international community. However, since the Tribunal's interpretation is not anchored in state practice and the jurisprudence, whether the interpretation can be generalized needs careful consideration.     

Some problems concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the republic of china (Taiwan) and the Philippines

Abstract

This paper analyzes the issue of how the relevant provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea can be applied to the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippine island of Luzon and in the South China Sea area. It concludes that the Philippines’ extensive territorial sea claim based on the 1898 U.S.‐Spanish Peace Treaty can hardly find any basis in customary rules of international law and the U.N. Convention and, therefore, should be disregarded in such delimitation. On the other hand, the archipelagic principle provided in the Convention can be applied here. With respect to rules of delimitation, it suggests that the equitable principle of the delimitation of the continental shelf, enunciated in the Anglo‐French Continental Shelf Arbitration (1977) and the Tunisian‐Libyan Continental Shelf Case (1982), can mutatis mutandis be applied to the delimitation of the maritime boundary. As an interim solution, the maritime boundary of certain disputed islands in the South China Sea should be declared neutral zones open to nationals of both countries.     

The 1987 law of yugoslavia on the coastal sea and the continental shelf

Abstract

This article analyzes the recent Yugoslav legislation on the regime of internal waters, the territorial sea, and the continental shelf which was initiated by the ratification of the Law of the Sea (LOS) Convention on behalf of Yugoslavia on November 27, 1985. The highlights of the 1987 law are the clauses strengthening the national security interests in the internal waters of Yugoslavia, the repair of foreign ships in domestic shipyards, the introduction of the system of prior notification of foreign warships entering the territorial waters, and the extension on the continental shelf of sovereign rights over archeological and historical objects. It is maintained that the law has failed to incorporate the novelties of the LOS Convention such as the proclamation of the Yugoslav exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Adriatic Sea and the reestablishment of its contiguous zone.     

Canada and the law of the sea

Abstract

This paper gives a compact overview of Canadian policy on the law of the sea. Section I looks at Canada's maritime attributes, and the policy interests which arise from them. Section II describes the development of Canada's policy in ten issue areas, and examines the outcomes for Canadian diplomacy at UN‐CLOS. Section III covers the strategy and technique used by Canada in pursuit of its law of the sea objectives, and explores five reasons underlying its high level of influence and success. The conclusions consider Canada as a case study of middle‐power influence, and look at the role of unilateral action in the process of international law‐making.     

The United States and the revision of the 1982 convention on the law of the sea

Abstract

It may now be possible to breach the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention impasse. The UN Secretary‐General's informal consultations have opened realistic discussions on the deep seabed regime. Many important changes have occurred since the Convention was signed. Dramatic developments have taken place in the international community. Nations now appreciate the limited potential of deep seabed mining. While United States reliance on customary law provides some benefits, other more important U.S. interests cannot be protected absent entry into force of the Convention with widespread participation. Many alternative procedures are available to forge an accommodation. The approach taken in the Secretary‐General's consultations is to make specific changes in deficient articles. Alternatively, the present regime might be jettisoned in favor of a framework regime. Such a regime would preserve only the essential basic policies of the Convention's seabed regime. It would contain a system for constructing a viable mining system if a deep seabed regime is needed.     

China's jurisdiction over its offshore petroleum resources

Abstract

The recent promulgation of China's offshore petroleum regulations has attracted worldwide attention. The law is of particular importance to foreign investors due to possible massive involvement of foreign interests in China's biggest oil venture. However, the success of this multi‐billion‐dollar offshore oil development program hinges on a single issue: to what extent does China have the sovereign rights over its offshore mineral resources?

The aim of the present paper is to: (1) Review China's position on the continental shelf regime; (2) Discuss China's maritime boundary problems with its coastal neighbors in light of the new law of the sea; (3) Analyze China's options under the status quo in the region; and (4) Note briefly China's oil development policy based on the new offshore regulations.     

American Security and Law of the Sea

With the election of President Barack Obama and renewed interest in the Law of the Sea Convention inside the United States, this article pulls from obscurity the key U.S. declarations, understandings, and conditions of ratification to the Treaty, considers their context and meaning for U.S. security interests, and helps to place them into the lexicon of oceans law and policy that informs the greater dialogue of international security and strategy.     

Law of the Sea Issues Between the United States and East Asian States

The United States is the sole superpower in the contemporary world and its role in the development of the law of the sea cannot be ignored. Although having not yet acceded to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, the United States has contributed to the development of the international law of the sea in numerous ways, including responding to the so-called excessive maritime claims in East Asia and creating new rules of maritime enforcement. This article assesses this recent U.S. practice.     

The Issue of Jurisdiction Over Mixed Disputes in the Chagos Marine Protection Area Arbitration and Beyond

The real issue in the Chagos Marine Protection Area Arbitration should have been the dispute concerning the Lancaster House Undertakings, over which the Arbitral Tribunal had no jurisdiction. The UNCLOS has no express provision respecting the jurisdiction over mixed disputes—disputes involving territorial sovereignty and maritime boundary delimitation. Thus, a court or tribunal facing a mixed dispute should refrain from exercising its jurisdiction over the maritime issue if its resolution is premised on the resolution of the sovereignty issue involved.     

Historic Rights in International Law and in China's Practice

Despite the great expansion of maritime zones of the coastal states, consequent to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, state practice indicates continued attempts at using concepts of historic waters and/or historic rights to assert jurisdiction. The Chinese claim to historic rights in its 1998 Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf is a new addition to the whole picture. It is the People's Republic of China's clear intention that the historic claim applies to the water areas in the South China Sea wherever China could not establish its 200-nm exclusive economic zone. This article assesses China's historic claim in the context of international law, state practice, and judicial pronouncements.     

A Tribunal Navigating Complex Waters: Implications of the Bay of Bengal Case

The International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea's March 2012 Judgment in the Bay of Bengal Case is a landmark decision in multiple ways. It represents the first maritime boundary to be delimitated by the Tribunal. It is the first adjudication of a maritime boundary in Asia, and it is also the first judicial delimitation of a maritime boundary for parts of the extended continental shelf located seaward of the 200-nautical-mile limit from baselines. While the Tribunal's ruling largely resolves the maritime dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar, it also raises a number of questions and concerns that are highlighted in this article, including the Tribunal's approach to delimitation both within and beyond the 200-nautical-mile limit, the treatment of islands, the interplay between law of the sea institutions and the creation of a so-called grey area where continental shelf jurisdiction falls to one state and water column jurisdiction to the other.     

Indices of national interest in the oceans

Abstract

Each of the 148 independent States of the world has a particular set of interests in the oceans; these interests are reflected in policies regarding the international law of the sea. By analyzing the nature of national marine interests it is possible both to develop a generalized model which can be applied to any one of the world's countries, and to divide States into groupings, depending on their physical, economic, historic or other characteristics with respect to the marine environment. The four basic components of the national marine interest are accessibility, investment, dependence and control. These components are important to an understanding of the positions of the 30 land‐locked, 20 shelf‐locked and 98 other countries in current and upcoming law of the sea negotiations.     

Brazil at the third United Nations conference on the law of the sea

Abstract

As Brazil began to emerge as a major power in the years leading up to theThird United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), national ocean policy came to have a quite continuous, distinctive impact on global law of the sea negotiations. Brazil's participation at UNCLOS III offers a particularly good vantage point from which to analyze its more prominent international role as an emerging major power, its related growth as a maritime power, and its significant contribution to international organization.

UNCLOS III, in turn, affects Brazil. The broad implications of the emerging ocean order for both national and international jurisdiction issues, within which Brazilian ocean policy must operate, are analyzed. Brazil's distinctive position as an emerging power between the industrialized countries and the Third World has conditioned its involvement at UNCLOS III. As a developing state, Brazil has favored revision of the traditional order for the purpose of redressing the balance with the developed states. At the same time, as an emerging power, Brazil has an interest in supporting a stable, open international order. In spite of such policy dilemmas, Brazil stands out as one of the few big potential winners in the Third World from both the seabed and non‐seabed portions of the law of the sea negotiations.     

The Sino-Vietnamese Agreement on Maritime Boundary Delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin

This article addresses the recently ratified Sino-Vietnamese Boundary Delimitation Agreement in the Gulf of Tonkin and its implications for bilateral cooperation and development of friendly and neighboring relations between China and Vietnam. As the first maritime boundary line for China, the delimitation in the Gulf of Tonkin is indicative of China's positive attitude towards the resolution of other maritime issues with Vietnam and other neighboring countries.     

A Note on the United States and the Law of the Sea: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Since the Antarctic Treaty was negotiated in 1959, there have been substantial developments in the law of the sea. One of the most significant developments has been the recognition granted to coastal state entitlements to claim a range of offshore maritime areas. Yet, one of the principal aims of the Antarctic Treaty was to eliminate sovereignty disputes between territorial claimants, and the treaty placed limitations on the assertion of new claims. Nevertheless, most Antarctic territorial claimants have asserted some form of Antarctic maritime claim. This article particularly considers Australia's position toward maritime claims offshore the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT). It reviews the limitations imposed by the Antarctic Treaty, the difficulties in determining baselines in Antarctica, Australia's practice in declaring Antarctic maritime claims, and the potential range of maritime boundaries that Australia may one day have to delimit with neighboring states in the Southern Ocean.     

Climate change and its impacts on Vietnam agriculture: A macroeconomic perspective

Vietnam is an important contributor to the world's food industry as a major exporter of rice, seafood, and coffee. Climate change poses a serious threat to Vietnam's agricultural sector since it adversely affects food security in Vietnam and globally. This study investigates the short- and long-term effects of climate change on Vietnam's agriculture, both in terms of production and values at the macro level. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and the Toda-Yamamoto (1995) Granger causality test with annual data from 1990 to 2019, we confirm the detrimental impacts of global warming on Vietnam's agricultural performance in both the short and long term. We also reveal the favorable effects of CO₂ emissions, land, and fertilizer on Vietnam's agricultural production and economics. Other factors, including rainfall and labor, however, adversely affect Vietnam's agricultural output and economic performance. Based on the study's results, we provide policy recommendations to assist the government limit the negative effects of climate change on the national economy, thereby promoting poverty alleviation and sustainable development in Vietnam.     

The Dispute Concerning the Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary Between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire: Implications for the Law of the Sea

The final judgment in the maritime boundary delimitation case between Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire was delivered by an ad hoc special chamber (the Chamber) of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 23 September 2017. The decision addressed important legal questions relating not only to maritime boundary delimitation but also to the balancing of various rights and interests at the provisional measures stage and international responsibility for unilateral resource exploitation activities in disputed zones pending delimitation. This article analyzes the decision of the Chamber with respect to its findings on tacit boundary agreements, delimitation methodology, and international responsibility.