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From a legal point of view, the U-shaped line is fully consistent with contemporary international maritime law. Its legal status is unchallengeable.
The U-shaped line, established by the Chinese Government based on international law, is legally valid. The line has been in use for more than 60 years, while the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which the Philippines refers to as a major basis for its sovereignty claims, came into effect only in 1994.
Moreover, the line has received broad recognition or acquiescence from the international community. More than 200 maps and marine atlases in the world have clearly marked China's U-shaped line in the South China Sea. The line, however, is not a boundary line of territorial waters and is non-exclusive. It does not block other countries' freedom of flight, navigation and laying submarine cables and pipelines granted by the UNCLOS. In other words, the line is not contradictory to the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf systems.
The Philippines' sovereignty claims over South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters are untenable historically and legally. The Philippines gained independence from the United States in July 1946 with its territory defined by the U.S.-Spain Treaty of Paris (1898), the U.S.-Spain Treaty of Washington (1900) and the Convention Between the United States and Great Britain (1930). The treaties state that the western limit of the Philippine territory is 118 degrees east longitude. No part of the Philippine territory lies within the U-shaped line.
The Philippines did not claim sovereignty over the South China Sea islands until the 1970s when it occupied some islets and reefs of the Nansha Islands heedless of China's strong protests. The Philippines "legalized" its occupation through domestic legal procedures, taking the excuse of the Nansha Islands being terra nullius. Its violation of the international law is the direct cause of South China Sea territorial disputes.
The move of the Philippines to bring the disputes to a UN arbitration tribunal is unreasonable. On August 25, 2006, in accordance with Article 298 of the UNCLOS, China made it clear that it would not accept any compulsory procedure that can lead to binding decisions including the arbitration tribunal. China therefore has full grounds to ignore the Philippines' action. Moreover, the Philippine Government has no right to file the lawsuit. Article 298 of the UNCLOS provides that any dispute that involve the concurrent consideration of any unsettled dispute concerning sovereignty or other rights over continental or insular land territory shall be excluded from such submission. The Philippines occupied Chinese islets and reefs within the U-shaped line, raising territorial disputes between the two countries that are still ongoing. In this context, the lawsuit the Philippines laid against China is not justifiable under the UNCLOS.
Given the legitimacy of the U-shaped line and China's sovereignty over South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters, the Philippines' attempt to bring the territorial disputes to international arbitration will be in vain. The ultimate way to solve the South China Sea issue requires all parties to respect history, face the reality and be committed to the principles of shelving disputes and jointly developing resources in the area.
The author is a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies
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