Research On The Legal System Developed By The South China Sea

In South China Sea, China has disputed waters of640,000square kilometers,500,000square kilometers,230,000square kilometers,50,000square kilometers, and40,000square kilometers with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesiarespectively, totalled at1,180,000square kilometers. Disputed waters in South ChinaSea claimed by claimant countries are overlapping, including EEZ claimed byIndonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, waters claimed by Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, thePhilippines and Vietnam, EEZ claimed by Brunei and Malaysia. Equally worth notingis the delineation dispute over Natuna Islands between Vietnam and Indonesia and theterritorial dispute over Sabah between the Philippines and Malaysia whose claimedwaters extend across the dash lines.Until now, Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia have occupied29,9and6islandsor reefs the this region respectively. China actually controls11islands or reefs apartfrom Taiping Island controlled by Taiwan. In recent years, Vietnam, Malaysia andother countries have been exploiting oil and gas resources in South China Sea whilestrengthening the control of occupied islands and stepping up the construction onthem, so as to showcase to the international community their competent jurisdictionover the Islands or reefs occupied by them. On the other hand, some claimantcountries have attempted to legalize their occupation of these islands and reefs bymeans of domestic legislation and submission of the application of outer continentalshelf (OCS) to the UN OCS committee. With the increase of demand for energy andmaritime goods, claimant countries have stepped up the exploitation of resources inSouth China Sea. Therefore, China is faced with serious situation in this region.Up till now, there have been some interim arrangements between some other countiesin the world in handling bilateral disputes of maritime rights with tangible results. Yetsituation in South China Sea is more complicated because of the overlapping ofwaters claimed by different countries and the fact that there is no precedent of jointdevelopment to follow. Theoretical exploration has begun in this area. However itscontent and system are yet to be improved. On the one hand, joint development, as an interim arrangement, needs to be normalized and systemized; on the other hand, itcalls for system design with the introduction of international law. Thus jointdevelopment should be carried out on the basis of contemporary international law andnorms while promoting the development of international law as a new and effectiveway to resolve disputes of maritime rights between countries. Also joint developmentis of great importance to safeguarding regional and world peace, which is consistentwith original purpose of establishing international law and norms.