| With the constantly and rapidly rise in sea level,“Disappearing Islands” will not be a remote issue in the near future.The newest report of the International Panel on Climate Change has concluded that,up to 1.1m of global mean sea level will rise by2100 if the greenhouse gas emissions is not controlled.“Disappearing Islands” has already resulted in realistic impacts,as for the land area,it will destroy habitats and endanger species,as well as threaten coastal investments such as coastal cities and harbors;as for the sea area,the low-water line can be changed,the important base points can be inundated,and the boundaries are to advance or recede in step with the baselines from which they are drawn.However,at the time the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(hereinafter the “UNLCOS” or the “Convention”)was stipulated,the factor of sea level rise was not considered,and now the possibilities of rising sea level force us to rethink many of our fundamental assumptions about the world.The International Law Association established the Baselines Committee and the Sea Level Rise Committee respectively in 2008 and 2012,which considers how international law may be able to respond to those unprecedented existential challenges as well as the serious human dimension of the issues.Therefore,it is reasonable and necessary to predict the impacts to maritime entitlements of “Disappearing Islands” under the situation ofrising sea level and provide coping strategies.The second chapter mainly discusses the problem that: whether the baselines can be moved in step with the rising sea level.Firstly,it analyzes the present law of baselines under the UNCLOS,including normal baselines,straight baselines and archipelagic baselines,as well as differentiates legal baselines between geographic baselines;secondly,it discusses the changes “Disappearing Islands” may bring to the baselines;further,it examines the present accepted “ambulatory baselines”,and believes that the “ambulatory baselines” can have much limitations,including leading states confronted with such possible recession to respond in inefficient ways,thereby wasting resources,and also lead to uncertainty in the position of maritime boundaries,and hence increases the likelihood of interstate and private transnational conflict.The third chapter mainly discusses the problem that: whether and how should the maritime entitlements of “Disappearing Islands” be protected.Firstly,it analyzes the impacts rising sea level can bring to maritime entitlements,and it is reasonable to protect maritime entitlements because there is no acquisition of rights but the retention of rights;secondly,to decide which method should be used to protect the maritime entitlements,it takes several factors including the soundness as a boundary system,technical feasibility and cost,fairness as a boundary system given the present international allocation of authority into consideration;finally,protecting maritime entitlements can also be legal from the perspectives of the interpretation of the convention.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the responses of coastal countries of“Disappearing Islands”.Firstly,it analyzes both the advantages and risks of the present coping measures of small island state,including the technical measures and legal measures;secondly,it also discusses two possible options for protecting maritime entitlements,the first option is to propose a new rule freezing the existing baselines in their current position,and the second option is to propose a new rule freezing the existing defined outer limits of maritime zones as originally measured from the baselines established in accordance with the UNCLOS;finally,it also takesthe Chinese factor into consideration,which analyzes the actual risks China is facing,and suggests to protect the coastlines and important baselines and base points,through proper land reclamation activities and constructions,and also promote the cooperation with surrounding countries to help those small island developing countries. |
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