China's Maritime Boundaries in the South China Sea

Historical and International Law Perspectives

Jinming Li

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367546748
• eBook ISBN: 9781000200942
• Topic: Política y relaciones internacionales
• Subtopic: Derecho internacional

Maritime boundary disputes in the South China have existed for centuries, and researchers from a variety of countries have analysed the situation from a great many points of view. Yet, and despite its status as one of the major countries in the region, Chinese perspectives have often been absent from the international literature. This book redresses that balance.

Bringing together scholarship from history and international law, this book provides a lens through which maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea can be interrogated. Not only does it detail the historical and jurisprudential evidence that support maritime boundaries in the South China Sea for different stakeholders, but it also clarifies some misconceptions related to China's nine-dash lines by referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Moreover, the book offers in-depth discussion and observation on the most recent developments in the South China Sea.

This book is an essential resource for researchers, teachers and students who specialize in Southeast Asian Studies, China maritime studies, and the international law of the sea.

Part I
Introduction

1
Geographical overview of China’s maritime boundaries in the South China Sea

Nanhai (南海), also called the South China Sea, refers to the vast expanse of water stretching from latitude 23°27′ North to 3° South and longitude 99°10′ to 122°10′ East in the southeast of China. It is located between mainland China, the Indochinese Peninsula, Borneo, Palawan, Luzon, and the Taiwan Island of China, and surrounded by Sumatra, Bangka, Borneo, Palawan, Mindoro, Luzon, Taiwan Island, Hainan Island and the Indochinese Peninsula. Spreading 1,380 kilometers east to west and 2,380 kilometers north to south, it embraces an area of about 3.5 million square kilometers. The South China Sea is an important maritime hub linking two oceans and three continents. Its strategic significance has been presented from the following aspects:

1. the South China Sea, as one of the richest fishing grounds around the globe, has seven of the world’s top 30 fishing nations by annual catch;
2. it has the two dominant ports of Asia: Hong Kong and Singapore;
3. it has one of the most hotly contested island territories in the world—the Nansha Islands;
4. it has promising offshore oil and gas reserves;
5. it has several Pacific/Indian Ocean choke-points, that is, the Strait of Malacca, the Singapore Strait, the Sunda Strait and the Lombok Strait;
6. more than 10,000 merchant ships pass through the sea each year. It is one of the major oceanic routes for crude oil tankers from the Persian Gulf to Asia, and one of the major east-west oceanic routes for goods from Asia to rest of the world.¹

The South China Sea territory of China in this book refers to the area located south of the southern end of the Taiwan Strait and the southern shores of Guangdong Province (23°N), north of James Shoal (4°N), east of the Natuna Islands of Indonesia and the southern shores of Vietnam (108°E), west of the coasts of the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and the Philippine islands of Palawan and Luzon (120°E), including three archipelagos and one submerged bank: the Xisha Islands, the Nansha Islands, the Dongsha Islands and the Zhongsha Islands (in English, the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, the Pratas Islands and the Macclesfield Bank, respectively) which together constitute the oft-mentioned “Nanhai Zhudao” (the South China Sea Islands).

Spreading north to south from the Beiwei Tan (North Vereker Bank) around 21°N to Zengmu Ansha (James Shoal) and Yaxi Ansha (Tanjong Payong) around 3°40′N and extending east to west from the Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal) at 117°50′E to the Wan’an Tan (Vanguard Bank) at 109°30′E, Nanhai Zhudao consists of over 200 islands, cays, shoals and reefs that scatter across the vast area south and east of the Hainan Island. It stretches about 900 kilometers along the latitude and about 1,800 kilometers along the longitude.

1.1 Geographical overview of the Dongsha Islands

The Dongsha Islands, comprised of Dongsha Dao (Pratas Island) and two coral banks, Beiwei (North Vereker) and Nanwei (South Vereker), is the northernmost archipelago of Nanhai Zhudao.

Dongsha Dao is located at 20°42′N, 116°43′E, on the western edge of Dongsha Jiao (Pratas Reef) which encloses a lagoon. The island, flat and sandy, rises in the northeast and dips in the southwest. It is about 5 kilometers long, 1.5 kilometers wide and 12 meters above sea level. Its north end is about 140 nautical miles away from Shantou, its northwest end 120 nautical miles away from Jiazimen, a port in Guangdong, and its northeast end is 240 nautical miles away from Taiwan. Lying 170 and 400 nautical miles away from Hong Kong and Manila respectively, the island constitutes a hub to vessels en route between the two cities. When the Northeast Monsoon blows, the weather is frequently thick and hazy, and the breakers on the island may not be seen until within 1 nautical mile. On its west side, there is a deep inlet, which affords shelter to the Chinese fishermen from Fujian and Guangdong. In the northeast of the island lies a fishing village. In 1866, an Englishman called Pratas came across a storm on the sea and sought shelter here. The British therefore named the island after him. The Chinese, however, have been calling it “Da Dongsha” (Great Dongsha). Both the south and north sides of the island are connected to the lagoon by a waterway. The southern waterway is comparatively wider and deeper, navigable by boats with a draft of under 4.6 meters, and the northern waterway about 2.25 nautical miles north of the island, though 2.3 meters to 3.7 meters deep in most parts, are rife with coral heads and some parts can be as shallow as 0.6 meters.

Dongsha Dao is a windy place. It is recorded in the Local Records of Guangdong Province compiled and published by Guangdong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs in 1934: “Every three days a strong wind would attack; with it are loud noises like the explosion of firecrackers. When wind rises on the island, no ship within 100 meters could feel it. Hence, the island was nicknamed ‘fengku’ (wind cave) by the seafarers.” Despite the weather, fishermen from Fujian and Caton have frequented here for the abundant resources and always returned with ships fully loaded. The number of fishing vessels heading here “exceeds a hundred in an average year, not counting the numerous small boats that come for fishing or for both fishing and prospecting. Large ships can always make a good profit.” So there was a popular saying among the fishermen then: “To seek fortune, go to Dongsha.”²

Nanwei Tan and Beiwei Tan are two submerged coral banks located 45 nautical miles northwest of Dongsha Dao. Beiwei Tan lies 5 nautical miles away to the northeast of Nanwei Tan and is comparatively larger. It is 11 nautical miles in length with a least depth of 64 meters and an average depth of 185 meters. About 334 meters of deep water separate Beiwei from Nanwei, which is 10 nautical miles in length and has a least depth of 50 meters.

1.2 Major features of the Xisha Islands

The Xisha Islands, lying to the west of the main Hong Kong-Singapore route between 15°46′N and 17°08′N latitude and 111°11′E and 112°54′E longitude, are made up of extensive coral islands and reefs. The archipelago is 240 nautical miles south of Haikou in Hainan, 390 nautical miles southwest of Hong Kong, 240 nautical miles east of the central shores of Vietnam, and 150 nautical miles southeast of Yulin Port in Hainan.

The Xisha archipelago has two major island groups—Xuande Qundao and Yongle Qundao (known as the Amphitrite Group and the Crescent Group in English)—and several small islands and reefs.

Xuande Qundao consists of two parts separated by a deep-water channel about 4 nautical miles wide. The northern portion has two main reefs bisected by Zhaoshu Pass (Zappe Pass) 0.5 kilometers wide.

The reef on the western side is about 6 kilometers long and 1.75 kilometers wide. Near its western extremity lies a sandy cay named Xi Sha (West Sand). And about 2 nautical miles away from the eastern extremity of the reef is an island called Zhaoshu Dao (Tree Island).

Zhaoshu Dao is situated at 16°59′N, 112°16′E, about 32 nautical miles northwest of the eastern reef. It is covered with tropical bushes and surrounded by a white sand beach. The reef base of the island stretches about 1.5 nautical miles eastward and 4.5 nautical miles westward.

The reef on the eastern side is about 4 kilometers in length, including three islands and three cays—Bei Dao (North Island), Zhong Dao (Middle Island), Nan Dao (South Island), Bei Shazhou (North Sand), Zhong Shazhou (Middle Sand) and Nan Shazhou (South Sand). Bei Dao is located about 2 nautical miles east-southeast of Zhaoshu Dao across Zhaoshu Pass. A reef extends about 0.5 nautical miles northwest from Bei Dao and about 4 nautical miles southeast. Zhong Dao and Nan Dao lie to the south of the reef and are about 0.5 nautical miles and 1 nautical mile away from Bei Dao respectively. The three islands are all covered with tropical bushes. So are the three cays near the southeast end of the reef.

Zhaoshu Pass is about 0.5 nautical miles wide between the reefs. With a depth of mere 4.6 meters, it is navigable only by small craft.

The southern portion of Xuande Qundao can be divided into two parts. In the eastern part is a reef upon which lie Yongxing Dao (Woody Island) and Shi Dao (Rocky Island); in the western part is a bank, known as Yinli Tan (Iltis Bank).

Yongxing Dao is located at 16°50′N, 112°20′E, about 9 nautical miles southeast of Zhaoshu Dao. It is the largest island of the Xuande Qundao. With an elliptical shape, it is 1,950 meters in length and 1,350 meters in width, covering an area of about 2.1 square kilometers. The island is covered with tropical shrubs, coconut trees, papaya trees and the like. It is also surrounded by a white sand beach.

Shi Dao lies about 730 meters northeast of Yongxing Dao. In a slightly circular shape, the island is 375 meters long and 340 meters wide, covering an area of about 0.08 square kilometers. With a height of 13.7 meters, it is the highest of the islands. In its vicinity lies an exposed reef that extends about 0.75 nautical miles toward the northeast of Yongxing Dao and about 0.4 nautical mile northward. The reef is about 18.3 meters deep.

Yinli Tan is located about 7 nautical miles southwest of Yongxing Dao. With depths of 14.6 to 18.3 meters, it is about 3 nautical miles long, 0.5 nautical miles wide, and is quite steep-to. There is another bank, 21.9 meters deep, lying 4 nautical miles south of Yongxing Dao.

Yongle Qundao is situated 37 nautical miles southwest of Yongxing Dao. The island group comprises several islands, reefs and sand islets that form a crescent, so the Westerners call it the Crescent Group. Its major features include:

Jinyin Dao (16°27′N, 111°31′E), 6.1 meters high and brush-covered, lies at the western end of a reef which is separated from the southwest horn of the crescent by a channel about 1.5 nautical miles wide. On the same reef lie several sand cays that are situated to the east of Jinyin Dao.

Lingyang Jiao (Antelope Reef) constitutes the southwest horn of the crescent. The reef is about 3 nautical miles long, 2 nautical miles wide, and is partly exposed above water. A sand cay is located on its southeast extremity.

Ganquan Dao (Robert Island) is about 7.9 meters high and lies 0.5 nautical miles north of Lingyang Jiao. The island is fringed by a reef and covered with vegetation. The water is 9.1 meters deep where it extends about 0.5 nautical miles northeast.

Shanhu Dao (Pattle Island), 2.5 nautical miles long, 0.25 nautical miles wide, about 9.1 meters high, lies about 2 nautical miles northeast of Ganquan Dao. The island is covered with tropical bushes. A reef surrounding the island extends some distance southwest and about 1.75 nautical miles northeast. Near the reef about 0.2 nautical miles north of the island, a rock rises above water. And on the other side there is a clear channel. In the south of the island lies a bight where boats can land at low tide, but there are rocks close to the shore.

Yin Yu (Observation Bank) forms the northern extremity of Yongle Qundao. Located about 6 nautical miles northeast of Shanhu Dao, the islet is joined with a brush-covered sand cay. And a reef surrounding the cay extends about 1 nautical mile northwest and southeast. There is a detached reef between Yin Yu and the reef extending toward the northeast of Shanhu Dao. Close to the reef’s southern end a small reef patch lies 5 meters underwater, and near its northeast end is another small detached reef. Between this reef and the reef extending towards the west of Yin Yu there stretches a channel where a small reef patch lies 7.8 meters deep.

Jinqing Dao (Drummond Island), lying about 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Yin Yu, is 900 meters long, 493 meters wide, about 4.6 meters high and is covered with tropical bushes. A reef surrounding it extends some distance to its south. And meanwhile, the reef stretches about 4 nautical miles northeast, then curving northwest about 4 nautical miles. The area between the island and Yin Yu features a complex reef-studded sea floor. There are also several sand cays whose height varies from 0.9 meters to 3.0 meters, some of them covered with shrubs.

Chenhang Dao (Duncan Islands), lying on the southeast horn of the crescent, is made up of two islets. The island lies about 1.5 nautical miles southwest of Jinqing Dao across a channel. It is formed by coral reefs joined by a sand spit. Surrounding the brush-covered island, a reef extends some distance northward and about 0.5 nautical mile southward.

Apart from the previously mentioned two island groups, other small islands and reefs include:

Bei Jiao (North Reef) (17°05′N, 111°30′E), whose eastern end is about 41 nautical miles west-northwest of Zhaoshu Dao, stretches about 6 nautical miles westward. Rocks break the surface all around the edge of the reef and breakers on the reef can be heard at a considerable distance. The reef encloses a lagoon and there is a passage on the southwest side, allowing only small ships.

Dong Dao (Lincoln Island) (16°40′N, 112°44′E), occupying the eastern corner of the Xisha Islands, lies on the end of a narrow region that rises from the sea floor. With varied depths up from 73.2 meters, it extends about 20 nautical miles toward the northeast of Binmei Tan and Zhanhan Tan. The island is 4.6 meters high and the depth increases sharply on the northeastern side. It is brush-covered and fringed by a drying coral reef. The island stretches a short distance southwest, about 0.3 nautical miles northeast and over 1 nautical mile northwest, reaching 18.3 meters deep.

Gaojian Shi (Pyramid Rock), 5.2 meters high and cone-shaped, lies about 7 nautical miles southwest of Dong Dao. Seen from afar, it could be mistaken for a junk, so it is also called “Shuangfan (double sails).”

Xidu Tan (Dido Bank), with a depth of 23.8 meters, lies about 12 meters northeast of Dong Dao. It is a steep-to sand bank.

Zhongjian Dao (Triton Island) (15°47′N, 111°12′E) lies in the southwest of the Xisha Islands. It is a sand cay about 3 meters high. It sits on a coral reef which extends about 1 nautical mile northeast and about 0.5 miles in other directions. The reef is steep-to, with at most 1.8 meters of water over it.

Panshi Yu (Passu Keah) lies about 36 nautical miles nort...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Part I Introduction
• Part II Chinese historical records of the South China Sea
• Part III Controversy over the dotted line
• Part IV Mixed reactions to new developments in contested waters
• Index