A Critical Study On The "Negativism" Of The Archipelagic Status Of China's Nansha Qundao

At present,there are some erroneous arguments that deny the archipelago status of China's Nansha Qundao in the international community.Their core view is that:Article 46(2)of UNCLOS only can be applied to the archipelago of archipelagic states and cannot be applied to the archipelago of countries which are not archipelagic states;China's Nansha Qundao,as a dependent outlying archipelago of a continental country,could not apply this provision,and that's why China's Nansha Qundao are not an archipelago from the international law aspect.In light of the "negativism" of the archipelago status of China's Nansha Qundao,this article is divided into three parts to do research.The first part sorts out,summarizes and condenses the core view point of the "negativism" of the archipelago status of China's Nansha Qundao and the main legal issues related to the "negativism"from the following two dimensions:the international judicial decision and arbitration award and the positions and propositions of counteies which are related to the issues;the second part analyzes the first major legal issue involved in the "negativism",that is to say,whether Article 46(2)of UNCLOS' provision on archipelagos could be applied to countries which are not archipelagic states,and probes into the legislative intention of Article 46(2)of UNCLOS from the following four ways:the interpretation of ordinary meaning,the interpretation of the treaty in their context,the interpretation of object and purpose,and the interpretation of subsequent practice,and and analyse the status of Article 46(2)of UNCLOS in international law;the third part analyzes the second major legal issue involved in the "negativism",that is to say,whether China's Nansha Qundao could constitute a geographical,economic,and political entity in itself,or be conseidered to be such an entity historically,according to the geographical,economic,political and historical basis of Nansha Qundao.Through researching,this article considers and concludes that Article 46(2)of UNCLOS can not only be applied to the archipelago of archipelagic states but also can be applied to the archipelago of countries which are not archipelagic states,and Article 46(2)of UNCLOS' provision on the archipelago complies with the requirements of international customary law,and China's Nansha Qundao meets requirements stipulated in Article 46(2)of UNCLOS,that is to say,Nansha Qundao is an archipelago that complies with the requirements of international customary law and shall has the status of archipelago from the international law aspect.