US rejects legality of China’s Sea claim

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 10): US rejects legality of China’s Sea claim

The United States government has, for the first time, publicly rejected the legality of China’s “Nine-Dash Line” claim in the South China Sea.

During his testimony before Congress last week, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel stated that under international law, maritime claims in the South China Sea must be derived from land features.

“Any use of the ‘nine-dash line’ by China to claim maritime rights not based on claimed land features would be inconsistent with international law,” Russel said.

“The international community would welcome China to clarify or adjust its nine-dash line claim to bring it in accordance with the international law of the sea,” he added.

The nine-dash line, also known as the 9-dotted line or the “ox tongue” line, represents the nine dashes that mark China’s claim to the entire South China Sea which China officially submitted to the United Nations only on May 7, 2009.

The US government has never actually publicly stated this argument before as it has reiterated that it takes no position on any sovereignty disputes.

“I think it is imperative that we be clear about what we mean when the United States says that we take no position on competing claims to sovereignty over disputed land features in the East China and South China Seas,” said Russel.

“First of all, we do take a strong position with regard to behavior in connection with any claims: we firmly oppose the use of intimidation, coercion or force to assert a territorial claim. Second, we do take a strong position that maritime claims must accord with customary international law.”

With this statement from Russel, the US is now challenging China to try to fit its Nine Dash Line into the legal framework created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On Jan. 22, 2013, the Philippines filed a case against China over the disputed West Philippine Sea before a United Nations-backed Arbitral Tribunal under the 1982 UNCLOS which governs the world’s oceans. Both countries are a signatory to UNCLOS.

The purpose of the case is to halt Chinese incursions into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and to invalidate China’s nine-dash line claim to the waters which the Philippines has repeatedly described as an “excessive declaration” of maritime territory.

China, however, refused to participate in the proceedings from the outset, asserting its “indisputable sovereignty” over most of the South China Sea. It later responded on February 19 with a diplomatic note to the Philippines rejecting any participation to the case. It instead maintained that territorial disputes must be resolved bilaterally.

According to maritime experts, clarification from China as to the legal basis for its Nine Dash Line would be helpful, since it would shift the burden on China to explain its legal position.

Moreover, the US government is also offering a legal roadmap for other countries that are not claimants in the region.

•China Decries US Comments

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has accused the United States of undermining peace and development in the Asia-Pacific after a senior U. official said concern was mounting over China’s claims in the South China Sea.
“These actions are not constructive,” Hong Lei, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in a statement issued late on Saturday.

“We urge the US to hold a rational and fair attitude, so as to have a constructive role in the peace and development of the region, and not the opposite,” Lei said.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all claim parts of the sea that provides 10 percent of global fish catches and carries $5 trillion in ship-borne trade.

China claims about 90 percent of the 3.5 million square km South China Sea, depicting what it sees as its area on maps with a so-called nine-dash line, looping far out over the sea from south China.

http://www.mb.com.ph/us-rejects-legality-of-chinas-sea-claim/