The Single Maritime Delimitation In Delimitation Of The Maritime Boundary

Since the legal concept of exclusive economic zones has been confirmed in the“United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”, countries started to havedisputes on the delimitation of the continental shelf and the exclusive economic zones.“United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” and the “Convention on theContinental Shelf” separately made provisions about the delimitation rules of theexclusive economic zones and the continental shelf. However, these provisions cannot fully resolve the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf delimitationdispute within200nautical miles between these coastal states. And the singlemaritime delimitation came into being. There is no clear provision about the rules andapplication of the single maritime delimitation in the “United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea” and there is also no article of prohibiting the application of it.International judicial and arbitral practice show that the courts and the states graduallyaccept the use of the single maritime delimitation to solve the dispute.This article, first of all, analyzes the provisions of delimitation rules on theexclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the “United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea” and the “Convention on the Continental Shelf”, and explores thelegal basis for the existence of the single maritime delimitation. Secondly, it analyzesthe cases from international judicial and arbitral practice by using the single maritimedelimitation to solve the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, andsummarizes the reasons why the international courts and arbitral tribunals wouldapply the single maritime delimitation to resolve the maritime disputes in the case ofdelimitation of the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Maine area, the case ofdelimitation of the maritime boundary between Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, the case ofdelimitation of the maritime boundary between France and Canada, the case ofdelimitation of the maritime boundary between Denmark and Norway, and the case ofterritorial disputes and maritime delimitation between Qatar and Bahrain, as well as the case of territorial disputes and maritime delimitation between Cameroon andNigeria. It has concluded that the application of the single maritime delimitation in theexclusive economic zone and the continental shelf should take the coastline lengthand direction, island location and other geographic factors into consideration, as wellas the factors of the distribution of fishing and other natural resources in the area.Thirdly, this article analyzes the status of the single maritime delimitation. Althoughcountries have applied the single maritime delimitation to resolve the disputes, thismethod has not yet become an international custom, and it still can not be regarded asa principle to apply in the maritime delimitation disputes. Finally, it evaluates thepossibility of application of the single maritime delimitation to solve the maritimedelimitation in the East China Sea between China and Japan. It discourses the use ofthe equidistance line is not appropriate in the delimitation of the exclusive economiczone, and Okinawa Trough is the boundary of the continental shelf in the East ChinaSea. Meanwhile the application of the single maritime delimitation would disregardthe obvious different length of the two countries’ coastline. And the article draws aconclusion that the single maritime delimitation is not applicable in the maritimedelimitation of the East China Sea.