Study On Sino-Japanese Conflict Of Delimitation In The East China Sea

From the view of International Law, this paper analyzed the continental shelf dispute of Sino-Japanese in the East China Sea with references of related national practices and international justice practices. Beginning with the policies of continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the paper first illustrated the causes of the dispute by introducing the development of the Law of the Sea. Then, by studying the principles and practices of the delimitation of the sea boundary of the International Law, it put forward and analyzed the standings of both P.R. of China and Japan on the dispute. At the end of the paper, the writer provided the proper solution to solve the dispute. This paper is consisted of four parts as following:Part I introduced the basic theory of this paper. It illustrated the causes of the continental shelf dispute of Sino-Japanese in the East China Sea and introduced the establishment of EEZ and their application on the delimitation of the boundary of East Sea of China.Part II stated the allegations of both P.R.of China and Japan on this dispute. It first made a brief introduction on East Sea of China and the continental shelf of East Sea of China. Then this part presented the natural resources of East Sea of China, such as natural gas, petroleum and fishing, and the claims of the two nations on the resources. And then, it discussed the main bifurcations of the two nations on the delimitation of the boundary of East Sea of China of the two nations, including the contents of the delimitation, the principles of delimitation, and the positions of Diaoyutai Islands and Okinawa sea valleys on the delimitation.As main part of this paper, Part III made a detailed analysis on the dispute from the view of International Law. The writer first presented the unitary boundary method and the delimitation dispute, and proved the necessity and feasibility of setting up a unitary sea boundary covering continental shelf and EEZ. The writer stated that it is proper for both nations to establish a unitary sea boundary. Then, this paper analyzed the principles of International Law adopted in the dispute by both sides. It proved that "equitable principle /correlation and "natural extension" be fundamental for the judgment of dispute. "Equidistance line" / "exemption principle" is applied to realize equitability. The so-called "medium line" of Japan is not conformed to laws. And then, this part studied the sovereignty of Diaoyutai Islands and the juridical position and effect of Diaoyutai Islands on the delimitation. At last, the writer discussed the importance of Okinawa sea valleys on the delimitation.The last part presented the solution. With reference to the model of dispute solution of International law, it stated that negotiation is the first choice to settle the dispute. Neither international arbitration, International Court of Justice, nor International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea can take effect in short run. For the negotiation, it is feasible to apply the "target-focusing theory" with the third-part consulting institution.