China's Basepoints and Baselines under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: A Critical Analysis

• Author: Hyunsoo Kim
• Position: Professor of International Law at Inha University School of Law, Korea
• Pages: 135-153

China’s Basepoints and Baselines

135

VI JEAIL 1 (2013)

Hyunsoo Kim

∗

China󼚩s straight baseline regime deviates from the UN Convention on the Law

of the Sea in a number of ways. Such discrepancies are likely to induce legal and

     

       

  󼚩s straight baselines and basepoints



     

   󼚩s State practices and laws

      

nor generally recognized as being in accordance with the international law of the

sea. This paper provides important legal insights into China󼚩

     



Keywords

Basepoint, Straight Baseline, Territorial Sea, UNCLOS, State Practice,

Special Circumstances, Maritime Boundary Delimitation

China󼚩s Basepoints and

Baselines under the United

Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea:

A Critical Analysis

∗ Professor of International Law at Inha University School of Law, Korea. LL.B./LL.M. (SNU), Ph.D.(Wales). This

work was supported by the Inha University Research Grant. The author may be contacted at: kimhsoo@inha.ac.kr /

Address: Inha University Law School, 100 Inharo, Nam-gu, Incheon 402-751 Korea.

NOTES & COMMENTS

2013-05-27 󱹙󲻹 2:22:25

136 Hyunsoo Kim

1. Introduction

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (󼚬UNCLOS󼚭)

1

was signed on

December 10, 1982 to establish a reasonable and comprehensive maritime order.

Despite the lofty goals, some countries have recently stretched the provisions of

UNCLOS to expand their marine resources and territory, ignoring the spirit of the

agreement. In particular, China has unilaterally employed straight baselines along

its coastline, thereby establishing a legal basis for claiming vast maritime zones.

However, many of China’s State practices and laws based on straight baselines are

neither in accordance with international law, nor generally recognized as being

international custom.

The main objective of this research is to examine and evaluate China󼚩s straight

baseline regime based not only on UNCLOS, but also on the international law of

the sea. This paper consists of four parts including Introduction and Conclusion.

Part two will provide the background of China’s straight baselines. Part three will

analyze the legal issues surrounding these baselines.

2. Background: China󼚩s Straight Baselines

A. What is the Straight Baseline?

The territorial sea is a particular domain that allows a coastal State to exercise its

sovereignty.

2

The UNCLOS limits the maximum breadth of any territorial sea to

12 nautical miles.

3

In the determination of the breadth of a State󼚩s territorial sea,

it is necessary to establish the point along the coast from which the outer limits

of the territorial sea is to be measured. Here, the baseline is the ground for this

measurement.

4

A baseline is a line from which outer limits of the territorial sea,

1 U.N.T.S. 1833. The UNCLOS was entered into force in 1994 through the joint agreement by 150 member States. See

the full text of the UNCLOS, available at http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_

convention.htm (last visited on Feb. 5, 2013).

2 For details, see R. CHURCHILL & A. LOWE, THE LAW OF THE SEA 71-75 (1999); S. Sharma, Territorial Sea, 11 ENCYCLOPEDIA

OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW 328-333 (R. Bernhardt ed., 1989).

3 UNCLOS art. 3.

4 Id. art.5. For details on the baseline, see P.BEAZLEY, MARITIME LIMTS AND BASELINES (1987); I. BROWNLIE, PRINCIPLES OF

PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW 176 (2008); M. EVANS, INTERNATIONAL LAW 626 (2006); L. Alexander, Baseline Delimitation

and Maritime Boundaries, 23 VA. J. INTL L. 503-536 (1983); R. Hodgson & R. Smith, The Informal Single Negotiating

2013-05-27 󱹙󲻹 2:22:25