China Being A Maritime Power under the UNCLOS: Issues and Ways Ahead

AuthorMincai Yu
Pages313-314
China Being a Maritime Power 313
VII JEAIL 2 (2014)
Mincai Yu
China has recently established a strategic goal of building herself into a maritime
power. Chinas pursuit of this goal is interconnected with the UNCLOS. However,
China faces increasingly serious challenges resulting from the application of the
UNCLOS, especially the provisions in relation to the EEZ and the new continental
shelf, which were strongly supported by China herself at the UNCLOS III. Drawing
lessons from the participation in the UNCLOS III, this article argues that the only
option for China in response to the challenges is to transform her traditional position
of a coastal State into that of a maritime power by actively applying and defending
the relevant UNCLOS regimes as well as taking future law-making seriously
on marine biodiversity, including the marine genetic resources, beyond national
jurisdiction. At the same time, China should hold an open attitude in the revision of
national laws which are arguably incompatible with the UNCLOS.
Keywords
China, A Maritime Power, UNCLOS, UNCLOS III, South China Sea, Real
Challenges, Possible Options, Dotted Line
Associate Professor of International Law at Renmin University of China Law School & Senior Fellow at Collaborative
Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies. LL.B.(CUPL), Ph.D.(Peking). ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-
6207-1678. This paper is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Research
Funds of Renmin University of China (No. 14XNK001). The author may be contacted at: ymc685@sina.com /Address:
Renmin University of China School of Law, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, 100872, Beijing, China.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2014.7.2.01
China Being A Maritime
Power under the UNCLOS:
Issues and Ways Ahead
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