Chapter 5
A Chinese Perspective on the Innocent
Passage of Warships, Contemporary
Issues and Analysis
Yinan Bao
5.1 Introduction
Throughout the historical development of the international law of the sea, the
endeavour to obtain a kind of balance between the freedom of navigation and the
jurisdiction and security of the coastal States has given rise to several everlasting
controversies. Perhaps, there is no better example of such controversy than the debate
over the right of innocent passage of foreign warships in the territorial sea of a coastal
state. As a matter of fact, the debate over the right of innocent passage of warships
has not only caused great antagonism between maritime States in the past decades,
1
but also witnessed extensive confrontations between China and the United States
in the South China Sea in recent years. As time goes by, the tense situation in the
South China Sea gradually becomes deteriorating. On 6 September 2018, the British
amphibious warship HMS Albion sailed through the territorial sea of the Paracel
Islands,
2 adding the United Kingdom onto the list of challengers of China’s maritime
claims in the South China Sea. Then, on 30 September 2018, the US guided-missile
destroyer USS Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs
in the Spratly Islands, creating more tensions between the US and China.
3 Indeed,
1 J. Kraska and R. Pedrozo, The Free Sea: The American Fight for Freedom of Navigation.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, pp. 224–246 (2018)
2 T. Kelly, “Exclusive - British Navy Warship Sails Near South China Sea Islands, Angering
Beijing”. 6 September 2018, Reuters, available at https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-chinasouthchinasea-exclusive/exclusive-british-navy-warship-sails-near-south-china-sea-islands-ang
ering-beijing-idUKKCN1LM00V. Accessed 12 September 2018.
3 R. Browne, US Navy sails past contested islands in South China Sea amid U.S.-China tensions.
30 September 2018, CNN, available at https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/30/politics/us-sails-southchina-sea/index.html. Accessed 3 October 2018.
Y. Bao (B)
East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China
e-mail: ruixilyy@hotmail.com
© 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_5
79
A Chinese Perspective on the Innocent
Passage of Warships, Contemporary
Issues and Analysis
Yinan Bao
5.1 Introduction
Throughout the historical development of the international law of the sea, the
endeavour to obtain a kind of balance between the freedom of navigation and the
jurisdiction and security of the coastal States has given rise to several everlasting
controversies. Perhaps, there is no better example of such controversy than the debate
over the right of innocent passage of foreign warships in the territorial sea of a coastal
state. As a matter of fact, the debate over the right of innocent passage of warships
has not only caused great antagonism between maritime States in the past decades,
1
but also witnessed extensive confrontations between China and the United States
in the South China Sea in recent years. As time goes by, the tense situation in the
South China Sea gradually becomes deteriorating. On 6 September 2018, the British
amphibious warship HMS Albion sailed through the territorial sea of the Paracel
Islands,
2 adding the United Kingdom onto the list of challengers of China’s maritime
claims in the South China Sea. Then, on 30 September 2018, the US guided-missile
destroyer USS Decatur sailed within 12 nautical miles of Gaven and Johnson Reefs
in the Spratly Islands, creating more tensions between the US and China.
3 Indeed,
1 J. Kraska and R. Pedrozo, The Free Sea: The American Fight for Freedom of Navigation.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, pp. 224–246 (2018)
2 T. Kelly, “Exclusive - British Navy Warship Sails Near South China Sea Islands, Angering
Beijing”. 6 September 2018, Reuters, available at https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-chinasouthchinasea-exclusive/exclusive-british-navy-warship-sails-near-south-china-sea-islands-ang
ering-beijing-idUKKCN1LM00V. Accessed 12 September 2018.
3 R. Browne, US Navy sails past contested islands in South China Sea amid U.S.-China tensions.
30 September 2018, CNN, available at https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/30/politics/us-sails-southchina-sea/index.html. Accessed 3 October 2018.
Y. Bao (B)
East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China
e-mail: ruixilyy@hotmail.com
© 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_5
79