Chapter 7
The Application of Straight Baselines
to Mid-Ocean Archipelagos Belonging
to Continental States: A Chinese
Lawyer’s Perspective
Hua Zhang
7.1 Introduction
In the law of the sea, there is a long-lasting controversy over whether straight baselines can be applied in the demarcation of territorial seas of mid-ocean/outlying
archipelagos belonging to continental States.
1 During the Third UN Conference on
the Law the Sea (“UNCLOS III”), the introduction of archipelagic baselines provided
a solution for those mid-ocean archipelagos that are constituent of archipelagic States,
but for those mid-ocean archipelagos belonging to continental States, the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“LOSC”) remains silent.
2 In practice,
whenever continental States apply straight baselines to their dependent mid-ocean
archipelagos, the USA puts forward protest.
3 China proclaimed straight baselines
around the Xisha/Paracel Islands and Diaoyu Islands in 1996 and 2012 respectively,
and the possibility of applying straight baselines to other groups of islands in the
South China Sea cannot be totally excluded in the foreseeable future.
4
1 “Mid-ocean archipelago” and “outlying archipelago” are used interchangeably by international
lawyers to refer to those dependent archipelagos belonging to continental/mainland States. For the
most comprehensive study on this topic, see Sophia Kopela, Dependent Archipelagos in the Law
of the Sea, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013.
2 Mohamed Munavvar, Ocean States: Archipelagic Regimes in the Law of the Sea, Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 1995, p. 184.
3 See J. Ashley Roach & Robert W. Smith, Excessive Maritime Claims, 3rd Edition, Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 2012, pp. 108–115.
4 According to China’s Declaration on Territorial Sea 1958 and Law of Territorial Sea and
Contiguous Zone 1992, the straight baselines method shall be employed for measuring the breadth
of the territorial sea, and that it is applicable to all China’s territory including the four groups of
islands in South China Sea.
H. Zhang (B)
Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
e-mail: fxyzhanghua@nju.edu.cn
© Kobe University 2021
D. Tamada and K. Zou (eds.), Implementation of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6954-2_7
115
The Application of Straight Baselines
to Mid-Ocean Archipelagos Belonging
to Continental States: A Chinese
Lawyer’s Perspective
Hua Zhang
7.1 Introduction
In the law of the sea, there is a long-lasting controversy over whether straight baselines can be applied in the demarcation of territorial seas of mid-ocean/outlying
archipelagos belonging to continental States.
1 During the Third UN Conference on
the Law the Sea (“UNCLOS III”), the introduction of archipelagic baselines provided
a solution for those mid-ocean archipelagos that are constituent of archipelagic States,
but for those mid-ocean archipelagos belonging to continental States, the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“LOSC”) remains silent.
2 In practice,
whenever continental States apply straight baselines to their dependent mid-ocean
archipelagos, the USA puts forward protest.
3 China proclaimed straight baselines
around the Xisha/Paracel Islands and Diaoyu Islands in 1996 and 2012 respectively,
and the possibility of applying straight baselines to other groups of islands in the
South China Sea cannot be totally excluded in the foreseeable future.
4
1 “Mid-ocean archipelago” and “outlying archipelago” are used interchangeably by international
lawyers to refer to those dependent archipelagos belonging to continental/mainland States. For the
most comprehensive study on this topic, see Sophia Kopela, Dependent Archipelagos in the Law
of the Sea, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013.
2 Mohamed Munavvar, Ocean States: Archipelagic Regimes in the Law of the Sea, Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 1995, p. 184.
3 See J. Ashley Roach & Robert W. Smith, Excessive Maritime Claims, 3rd Edition, Martinus Nijhoff
Publishers, 2012, pp. 108–115.
4 According to China’s Declaration on Territorial Sea 1958 and Law of Territorial Sea and
Contiguous Zone 1992, the straight baselines method shall be employed for measuring the breadth
of the territorial sea, and that it is applicable to all China’s territory including the four groups of
islands in South China Sea.
H. Zhang (B)
Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
e-mail: fxyzhanghua@nju.edu.cn
© Kobe University 2021
D. Tamada and K. Zou (eds.), Implementation of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6954-2_7
115