The Impact of the Law of the Sea Convention on Conflict and Conflict Management in the South China Sea

This article examines the impact of the UN Law of the Sea Convention on conflict behavior and management in the South China Sea during four periods: during its negotiation (1973–1982); from its signing to the entry into force (1982–1994); from then until the China-ASEAN Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (1995–2002); and from the setting of a timeline for outer limits of continental shelf submissions to the events following the 2009 submissions (2003–2013). Ambiguous effects were found. On the one hand, the Convention has generated or exacerbated conflict by raising the stakes, failing to resolve key legal issues, and encouraging overlapping zone claims. On the other hand, it has provided obligations, language, and techniques for conflict management and resolution. The conflict-enhancing impact was found to have been more substantial than the peace-promoting effects. Nevertheless, the balance has shifted toward more emphasis on conflict management and also some utilization of the Convention's peacemaking potential. If this long-term trend continues and the Convention is more rigorously respected and applied, the Convention may in the end be found to have contributed to regional peace.     

China's U-Shaped Line in the South China Sea Revisited

Despite its existence on the Chinese maps for more than six decades, the U-shaped line, as a traditional maritime boundary line of China in the South China Sea, has never received a wide recognition in the world community, much less by the other claimant states in the South China Sea. The U-shaped line is a legal conundrum not only for China but also for the world community, particularly after the map with the U-shaped line, together with China's Notes Verbale with respect to the claims to the outer continental shelves made by Malaysia and Vietnam, were submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf in May 2009. This article discusses China's recent practice relating to the U-shaped line as well as the external factors that affect the validity of the line and tries to unravel the legal puzzle posed by the line.     

Straits used for international navigation

Abstract

This article summarizes our perspective of U.S. and Soviet interactions during a joint physical oceanography experiment. One author (RHH) was involved in early instrumentation and logistic work with the Soviets beginning in 1970, and was U.S. executive manager for the program from 1976–84. One author (CAC) was the National Science Foundation program manager responsible for administering the program. The experiment began with a preliminary meeting of Soviet and American oceanographers in 1973 and activities concluded with the publication of an atlas (see n. 9) in 1986. The intervening years included a variety of joint scientific activities which spanned a broad spectrum from theory and numerical modeling to at‐sea experiments. The total cost of U.S. activities as part of this program was about $25 million.     

Offshore Archipelagos Enclosed by Straight Baselines: An Excessive Claim?

This article examines the conclusion in the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Case that straight baselines may not be used to enclose off-shore archipelagos unless they meet the criteria set out in Articles 46 and 47 of the Law of the Sea Convention.     

Can the United States Establish the Outer Limits of Its Extended Continental Shelf Under International Law?

Although most provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea are regarded customary international law and the United States views most of its provisions as such, the outsider status of the United States causes problems in some areas, especially concerning the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This article asks whether it is possible for the United States to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in line with international law without becoming a state party to the convention, and if that is possible, how could the United States proceed?     

Climate Change and the Use of the Dispute Settlement Regime of the Law of the Sea Convention

This article explores the connection between obligations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the climate change regime and obligations to protect the marine environment under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Within the context of the state of the science on the links between climate change and the marine environment, the article considers whether the emission of greenhouse gases as a result of human activity constitutes a violation of various obligations under the UNCLOS. Having identified a number of possible violations, the article proceeds to consider the application of the binding dispute settlement process under the UNCLOS and the possibility of a successful claim.     

Submarine Telecommunication Cables in Disputed Maritime Areas

There are a considerable number of maritime areas where no boundary exists, or where a boundary is delimited only in part. This article deals with the issue of submarine telecommunication cables, which are sometimes placed on the seabed or buried in the subsoil of areas that are claimed by multiple states, and identifies specific issues that arise in the context of areas of overlapping claims.     

Compulsory Pilotage in International Straits: The Torres Strait PSSA Proposal

At a time when the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) concept is under intense scrutiny by IMO member states, Australia and Papua New Guinea jointly proposed an extension to the existing Great Barrier Reef PSSA to include the waters of the Torres Strait. As a measure to protect this PSSA, a compulsory pilotage regime was proposed for adoption by the IMO. This article analyzes the Torres Strait proposal and, in particular, the reaction by many IMO member states to the proposal for compulsory pilotage in a strait used for international navigation. Consideration is given to the legal basis for such a measure and the options available to the proposing states to implement a pilotage regime in the Torres Strait.     

承载力评估在区域人口配置中的应用：以常州为例

从城市生态系统承载力的空间差异性出发,集成GIS空间评价技术和系统动力学（SD）模型,确定城市区域适度总人口规模和各分区人口数量,提出人口分区定量配置新思路和技术集成方法,并将该方法应用于300万人口城市--常州.结果表明： 通过构建常州市区人口、经济、土地与环境的系统动力学模型和多情景模拟分析,在同时满足城市经济发展与环境保护需求下,常州市区远景（2050年）总人口约400万;基于城市承载力空间差异评价进行常州市区总人口的空间配置,将形成240万人的主城及5个15～40万人新城的空间格局,研究结果可为国土开发管理中人口与经济的空间分配提供科学依据.     

A Review of the Legal and Policy Framework for Vessel Source Pollution in Hong Kong

Vessel source marine pollution is an increasingly major concern at both the national and international levels. Hong Kong, as an important maritime center, is naturally concerned with vessel source pollution. To meet the challenges, Hong Kong has formulated policies and measures that emphasize “green shipping” as part of an overall planning strategy that promotes a “green economy.” This article provides a review and analysis of Hong Kong's marine pollution laws, with a view toward making policy suggestions. It argues that the general perception of the adequacy of Hong Kong's marine laws in combating vessel source pollution is flawed. It suggests that Hong Kong should adopt a more forward-looking perspective in the formulation of legal measures to control vessel source pollution.     

Declarations and Statements with Respect to the 1982 UNCLOS: Potential Legal Disputes between the United States and China after U.S. Accession to the Convention

This article discusses the implications of U.S. accession to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for the future development of Sino-American relations in the areas of ocean law and politics. The declarations and understandings contained in the Senate Resolution of Advice and Consent to U.S. Accession to the UNCLOS are examined in detail in the context of previous maritime conflicts between the United States and China.     

An interpretation of the Geneva proceedings—part I

Abstract

This interpretation of the second substantive session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is based on observations of the Plenary, General Committee, Committees I, II, and III, and their Working Groups from 7 April to 9 May 1975 in Geneva. The observations are supplemented with information derived in multiple interviews with sixty‐seven delegates from twenty‐nine delegations. Part I of the paper describes general characteristics of the Geneva negotiations and compares them with the first round of substantive negotiations held in Caracas in 1974. There was much less rhetoric used in Geneva as compared to Caracas, especially in Committee I. Also in Committee I, the Algerian delegation succeeded within the Group of 77 in their initiative to link the seabed issue with the problem of control over global commodities in the context of claims to establish a New Economic Order. The negotiations in Committee II were seriously affected by the absence of effective leadership and the proliferation of small negotiating groups without links between them. Moreover, within Committee II the tension between the coastal states and the “Disadvantaged Group”; within the Group of 77 increased almost to the point of rupture.

As negotiations proceeded in Committee I, the gap between the advanced industrial countries and the Group of 77 widened on a number of crucial issues. This gap increased to the point where delegates from the Group of 77 were privately arguing that the seabed issue had been added to the issue of the Economic Zone as the price for the major maritime countries securing their preferences on the issue of unimpeded passage through straits used for international navigation. The Informal Single Negotiating Text, Part I, which was distributed at the end of the Geneva session, was different in several important respects from the text on which a consensus had been privately negotiated. This stimulated the expression of views within the delegations of several advanced industrial countries that the price of agreement on a treaty was currently too high.     

The Return to a Mare Clausum Through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations?

The operation of regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) may transform the high seas into mare clausum, by threatening the premise of the freedom of the high seas―equal access of all states to the high seas. This arises since the procedure to become a party to RFMOs prevents states from enjoying the freedom of fishing. Moreover, formal and substantive equality is not ensured in the decision-making process of RFMOs. However, in order to avoid this threat to mare liberum, RFMOs are making some efforts toward more rational and equitable management.     

The U.S.-Led Proliferation Security Initiative and UNCLOS: Legality,Implementation, and an Assessment

This article examines the relationship between the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It attempts to answer the questions of whether the PSI is legal or illegal under UNCLOS and whether U.S. accession to UNCLOS would enhance or create difficulties for the implementation of the PSI. The author concludes that U.S. accession to the Convention would not affect adversely the implementation and effectiveness of the PSI. On the contrary, accession to UNCLOS could help increase U.S. credibility and leadership in dealing with the threat to international peace and security posed by weapons of mass destruction proliferation. It also suggests that all the relevant information needs to be gathered and examined carefully in order to answer the question of whether a PSI interdiction action is legal under UNCLOS or not.