The China Coast Guard (CCG) task group led by CCGS Daishan conducted routine law-enforcement patrols in accordance with the law in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island on Monday, said CCG spokesperson Jiang Lue. This is a necessary operation in response to the announcement by Japan and the Philippines on their own, to begin negotiations on maritime delimitation in the waters east of China’s Taiwan island, which seriously infringed upon China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
Relevant experts told the Global Times that there is no overlapping maritime area between Japan and the Philippines that can be delimited without taking China’s maritime rights and interests into account, and that China will certainly take necessary measures to safeguard its maritime rights and interests.
“From the perspective of international law, China’s Taiwan Island is highly relevant to maritime delimitation issues between Japan and the Philippines, particularly those involving the delimitation of exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and continental shelf boundaries,” Ding Duo, Director of the Research Center for International and Regional Issues at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times. He said the so-called maritime boundary negotiations between Japan and the Philippines are fundamentally flawed and highly unreasonable.
The law-enforcement patrols conducted by the CCG in the waters east of Taiwan island are not only a legitimate act to safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, but also a just action to uphold international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning recently stated that, in accordance with China’s domestic laws and international law including the UNCLOS, China enjoys exclusive economic zone and continental shelf rights in the relevant waters. She noted that the unilateral launch of the so-called “negotiations to delimit the maritime boundary” by Japan and the Philippines seriously infringes on China’s maritime rights and interests and grossly violates international law including UNCLOS as well as the basic norms governing international relations.
“The southern tip of China’s Taiwan island is only about 80 to 140 kilometers from the Batanes Islands, while its eastern and northeastern coasts are approximately 70 to 120 kilometers from Japan’s Yaeyama Islands,” Ding said. In his view, this geographical reality means that there is no overlapping maritime area between Japan and the Philippines that can be addressed without taking China’s maritime rights and interests into account. Any maritime delimitation negotiations must first confront the inescapable geographical fact of China’s Taiwan Island.
Commenting on the Japan-Philippines talks, which, in his view, seriously violate international law and basic norms of international relations, Ding said the move reflects an attempt both to “privately allocate maritime rights and interests” and to use maritime delimitation as a tool to squeeze China’s maritime operational space under the guise of “strategic security.”
“In addition, they also intend to involve the Taiwan question, linking delimitation issues with Taiwan and security concerns in order to constrain China,” he said.
Furthermore, the proposed delimitation area announced by Japan and the Philippines lies east of Taiwan Island. Under Chinese domestic law and international law including UNCLOS, China holds rights to an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the area. However, Japan has in recent years unilaterally claimed that a rock in the area – Okinotori – is an “island,” and based on this tiny feature has attempted to illegally assert jurisdiction over nearly 700,000 square kilometers of maritime space. Ding noted that the Japan-Philippines talks may also involve issues related to Japan’s claims to an exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, and extended continental shelf based on Okinotori.
“Japan may seek to legitimize its illegal claims through this process, but whether the Philippines will recognize Japan’s EEZ and continental shelf claims based on Okinotori remains to be seen,” he said. He further stressed that, in any case, the unilateral initiation of such maritime delimitation talks by Japan and the Philippines is intended to infringe upon China’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the relevant waters, in violation of international law. “Under such circumstances, any outcome of such negotiations would be invalid, and China will certainly take necessary measures to safeguard its maritime rights and interests.”
According to previously reported public information, CCG patrols in the Diaoyu Dao waters began in 2012, after Japan staged the illegal “purchase of the Diaoyu Dao,” which seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty. The CCG subsequently conducted law-enforcement patrols in accordance with the law to assert sovereignty and established normalized presence in the area. In 2013, following the Philippines’ unilateral initiation of the illegal South China Sea arbitration, the CCG strengthened its patrol and law-enforcement operations around South China Sea islands and reefs. Today, CCG vessels maintain a regular presence around Huangyan Dao, Ren’ai Jiao, Xianbin Jiao, and surrounding waters.
Jiang, the spokesperson for the CCG, also urged Japan and the Philippines to immediately cease all illegal acts that undermine China’s sovereign rights and interests. The CCG will continue to strengthen control and management over relevant waters and take practical actions to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, he said.
