Mô tả
Prof. Dr. Li Jinming, Institute of International Relations, Xiamen University, China "...In 2009, enormous changes have been witnessed in the South China Sea (SCS). It is essential to note a few security issues as follows: First, as the UNCLOS set the deadline for all coastal states to submit their establishments of the outer limits of the continental shelf to the Commission of the Limits on the Continental Shelf (CLCS) by May 13, 2009, Southeast Asian states adjacent to the SCS were hastened to submit their submissions in the SCS’s sea areas. Notably, on February 17th, the Filipino Congress approved the legislation on territorial waters, putting Scarborough Shoals and part of Spratlys under the Filipino jurisdiction. On May 6th, Malaysia and Vietnam made a joint submission relating to an area in the South of the SCS. On May 7th, Vietnam submitted a separate submission on its own relating to an area near the center of the SCS. In accordance with the Article 9, Annex II of the UNCLOS: “The actions of the Commission shall not prejudice matters relating to delimitation of boundaries between states with opposite or adjacent coasts”. In accordance with Article 46 (sic) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission: “In cases there is a dispute in the delimitation of the continental shelf between opposite or adjacent states , or in other case of unresolved land or maritime disputes, submission shall be considered in accordance with Annex I to these rules. In accordance with para.5 of the Annex I of the Rules of Procedure “In cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the Commission shall not examine and qualify a submission made by any of the states concerned in the dispute”; and “the submissions made before the Commission and the recommendations adopted by the Commission thereon shall not prejudice the position of states which are parties to land or maritime dispute”. From these regulations, the Commission is not in the position to settle disputes of sovereignty on the sea, and has no mandate to resolve the overlapping areas in the extended continental shelf. They are, instead, in charge of the delimitation of the extended continental shelf. Therefore, any solutions to SCS disputes would eventually depend on claimants themselves through their negotiations. Submissions of the outer limits of the continental shelf only highlight the existing disputes and increasingly broaden the dispute scope..."
