14
K. Zou
1 December 1947, the Chinese Ministry of Interior renamed the islands in the South
China Sea and formally allocated them into the administration of the Hainan Special
District.
50 Meanwhile, the same ministry prepared a location map of the islands in
the South China Sea, which was first released for internal use. In February 1948, the
Atlas of Administrative Areas of the Republic of China, which included the above
map, was officially published. This is the first official map with the line for the South
China Sea and it has had a substantial influence on subsequent maps published by
either mainland China or Taiwan. It has two general characteristics: the southernmost
end of the line was set at 4° north latitude including the James Shoal; and the line
consisted 11 segments instead of the previous continuous line.
51 According to the
then official explanation, the basis for drawing the line was that “[t]he southernmost
limit of the South China Sea territory should be at the James Shoal. This limit was
followed by our governmental departments, schools and publishers before the antiJapanese war, and it was also recorded on file in the Ministry of Interior. Accordingly
it should remain unchanged”.
52
Historic rights have been prescribed in China’s 1998 Law on the Exclusive
Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf, Article 14 of which provides that “the
provisions of this Law shall not affect the historic rights enjoyed by the People’s
Republic of China’.
53 It is acknowledged that “historic rights“ are not equivalent
to “historic waters“ in international law, although the former may carry a broader
meaning and even include “historic waters”.
After the South China Sea initiated by the Philippines in 2013
54 and ended in
July 2016,
55 China reiterated that it enjoyed historic rights in the South China Sea.
56
Despite remaining controversies, there is no sign that China will compromise its
original position on the U-shaped line and recent practices demonstrate that China
has made constant efforts to further consolidate the line by various activities including
50 See Ministry of Interior, An Outline of the Geography of the South China Sea Islands, National
Territory Series, 1947, fig 11, p. 861; as cited in J.K.T. Chao, “South China Sea: Boundary Problems
Relating to the Nansha and Hsisha Islands”, in R.D. Hill, Owen Norman and E.V. Roberts (eds.),
Fishing in Troubled Waters, Proceedings of the Academic Conference on Territorial Claims in the
South China Sea (Hong Kong: Centre for Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1991), 88.
51 Two segments in the Gulf of Tonkin were removed by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s
without an official explanation to the public, though it is believed that the removal was linked to
the transfer of the ownership over the Bai Long Vi Island from China to Vietnam.
52 See Han, supra note 47, 181–184.
53 See People’s Daily (in Chinese), 30 June 1998. An unofficial English version of the Law is
appended to Zou, supra note 8, 342–345.
54 The diplomatic note and Philippines’ “Notification and Statement of Claim” are available
at http://www.gov.ph/downloads/2013/01jan/20130122-Notification-and-Statement-of-Claim-onWest-Philippine-Sea.pdf.
55 The text of the award is available at http://www.pcacases.com/pcadocs/PH-CN%20-%202016
0712%20-%20Award.pdf.
56 See ‘Statement of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on China’s Territorial
Sovereignty and Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea’, 12 July 2016, available at
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/nanhai/eng/snhwtlcwj_1/t1379493.htm.
K. Zou
1 December 1947, the Chinese Ministry of Interior renamed the islands in the South
China Sea and formally allocated them into the administration of the Hainan Special
District.
50 Meanwhile, the same ministry prepared a location map of the islands in
the South China Sea, which was first released for internal use. In February 1948, the
Atlas of Administrative Areas of the Republic of China, which included the above
map, was officially published. This is the first official map with the line for the South
China Sea and it has had a substantial influence on subsequent maps published by
either mainland China or Taiwan. It has two general characteristics: the southernmost
end of the line was set at 4° north latitude including the James Shoal; and the line
consisted 11 segments instead of the previous continuous line.
51 According to the
then official explanation, the basis for drawing the line was that “[t]he southernmost
limit of the South China Sea territory should be at the James Shoal. This limit was
followed by our governmental departments, schools and publishers before the antiJapanese war, and it was also recorded on file in the Ministry of Interior. Accordingly
it should remain unchanged”.
52
Historic rights have been prescribed in China’s 1998 Law on the Exclusive
Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf, Article 14 of which provides that “the
provisions of this Law shall not affect the historic rights enjoyed by the People’s
Republic of China’.
53 It is acknowledged that “historic rights“ are not equivalent
to “historic waters“ in international law, although the former may carry a broader
meaning and even include “historic waters”.
After the South China Sea initiated by the Philippines in 2013
54 and ended in
July 2016,
55 China reiterated that it enjoyed historic rights in the South China Sea.
56
Despite remaining controversies, there is no sign that China will compromise its
original position on the U-shaped line and recent practices demonstrate that China
has made constant efforts to further consolidate the line by various activities including
50 See Ministry of Interior, An Outline of the Geography of the South China Sea Islands, National
Territory Series, 1947, fig 11, p. 861; as cited in J.K.T. Chao, “South China Sea: Boundary Problems
Relating to the Nansha and Hsisha Islands”, in R.D. Hill, Owen Norman and E.V. Roberts (eds.),
Fishing in Troubled Waters, Proceedings of the Academic Conference on Territorial Claims in the
South China Sea (Hong Kong: Centre for Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong, 1991), 88.
51 Two segments in the Gulf of Tonkin were removed by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s
without an official explanation to the public, though it is believed that the removal was linked to
the transfer of the ownership over the Bai Long Vi Island from China to Vietnam.
52 See Han, supra note 47, 181–184.
53 See People’s Daily (in Chinese), 30 June 1998. An unofficial English version of the Law is
appended to Zou, supra note 8, 342–345.
54 The diplomatic note and Philippines’ “Notification and Statement of Claim” are available
at http://www.gov.ph/downloads/2013/01jan/20130122-Notification-and-Statement-of-Claim-onWest-Philippine-Sea.pdf.
55 The text of the award is available at http://www.pcacases.com/pcadocs/PH-CN%20-%202016
0712%20-%20Award.pdf.
56 See ‘Statement of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on China’s Territorial
Sovereignty and Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea’, 12 July 2016, available at
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/nanhai/eng/snhwtlcwj_1/t1379493.htm.