Sea-Level Rise and the Law of the Sea in the Western Pacific Region

• Author: Nguyen Hong Thao
• Position: Vice Chairman of the United Nations International Law Commission
• Pages: 121-142

Nguyen Hong Thao

∗

Sea-level rise (SLR) is considered one of the most serious consequences of climate

change. The risk of SLR compels legal consideration of this phenomenon related to

many interrelated domains including the Law of the Sea. The Western Pacic region

contains the most low-lying coastal countries and small island States seriously affected

by SLR in the world. This research has been carried out as a contribution paper on the

State practice in the Western Pacic region to the topic of “Sea-level rise in relation to

international law” conducted by the Study Group of the United Nations International

Law Commission in the period of 2020-2021. It aims to summarize the consequences

of SLR for the Western Pacic States and outline their legal positions in relation to the

sea-level rise. It also discusses specic issues, challenges and opportunities facing the

Western Pacic States in supporting the maintenance of maritime baselines and limits

notwithstanding physical changes caused by SLR.

Keywords

Sea Level Rise, Law of the Sea, Western Pacic, Baseline Limit, Low-lying

Coastal Countries, Small Island States, UNCLOS

Sea-Level Rise and the Law

of the Sea in the Western

Pacic Region

∗ Vice Chairman of the United Nations International Law Commission; Associated Professor of Diplomatic Academy of

Vietnam; Vietnamese Arbitrator under Article 2 of Annes VII to UNCLOS. A.B. (Navy College of Bacu, ex-USSR).

LL.M./ Ph.D.(Paris I-Panteon-Sorbonne). The author may be contacted at: thaonguyenhong57@gmail.com/Address: 69

Chua Lang Str. Hanoi, Vietnam.

All the websites cited in this article were last visited on May 6, 2020.

J. East asia & int’l l. Vol. 13/No.1 (2020); 121-142

Publication type : Research Article

Section : Regional Focus & Controversies

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2020.13.1.06

1. Introduction

Sea-level rise (“SLR”) is considered one of the most serious consequences of climate

change

1

that will occur in the twenty-rst century or even beyond 2100.

2

It heavily

affects the global economy, environment, security and order at sea.

3

The risk of

SLR compels legal consideration of this phenomenon related to the Law of the Sea,

International Law on Statehood, Environmental Law, Human Right Law, Migration

Law and others. It has gradually been claried by studies of the International Law

Association (“ILA”),

4

the UN International Law Commission (“ILC”)

5

and other

researchers. Most of them conrm that the main legal implications of SLR concern the

Law of the Sea, in particular, maritime baselines and limits. At a regional level, the

Western Pacic region contains the most low-lying and small island States seriously

affected by SLR in the world.

This research aims to summarize the consequences of SLR for the Western Pacic

States and outline their legal positions in relation to this phenomenon. This paper

consists of four parts including Introduction and Conclusion. Part two will focus on

the impact of SLR and the response of States in the region. Part three will discuss

the legal basis of maintaining maritime baselines and boundaries notwithstanding

physical changes caused by SLR.

1 SLR is estimated in the range of 0.84 m (0.61-1.10 m, likely range) by 2100. See IPCC, 2019: Summary for

PolicymakerS-SPecial rePort on the ocean and cryoSPhere in a changing climate B.3.1, 23 (H.-O. Pörtner, et al.

eds. 2019), available at https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/3/2019/11/SROCC_FinalDraft_FullReport.pdf.

2 IPCC, AR5 Synthesis Report: Climate Change, iPcc.ch (2014), available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr.

3 R. Nicholls, ‘Case study on sea-level rise impacts,’ OECD Workshop on the Benefits of Climate Policy: Improving

Information for Policy Makers (2003). See M. Hayashi, Sea Level Rise and the Law of the Sea: How can the Affected

States be Better Protected?, in the limitS of maritime JuriSdiction 609-25 (2014); y. Takamura, Climate Change and

Small Island Claims in the Pacific, in climate change: international law and global governance 1. 657-83 (O.

Ruppel et al. eds., 2013).

4 d. Vidas, D. Freestone, & J. McAdam, International Law and Sea Level Rise: Report of the International Law

Association Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise (2019), available at https://www.researchgate.net/

publication/330938568_International_Law_and_Sea_Level_Rise_Report_of_the_International_Law_Association_

Committee_on_International_Law_and_Sea_Level_Rise.

5 ILC, Commentary to Draft Article 3 of the “Protection of Persons in the event of Disasters” Report (Report on the work

of the sixty-eight session), U.N. Doc. A/71/10 (2016), 23, ¶ 4; “Sea-level rise in relation to international law” (Report

on the work of the seventh session), U.N. Doc. A/73/10 (2018), ¶ 152; G.A. Res. 73/265 (Dec. 22, 2018).

122 Nguyen Hong Thao