Intricacies of legal insinuations: China warns against abuses of maritime law
30th anniversary of China's accession to UNCLOS, distortion of provisions, procedural tricks, arbitration overreach, and artificial separation of maritime claims from territorial disputes. Experts: UNCLOS does not override national legal systems, and the so called South China Sea arbitration is a case of jurisdictional overreach.
In a report published on Tuesday assessing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), it is proposed that this international treaty be viewed objectively, holistically and dialectically, while acknowledging the challenges of its application. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the convention's historical achievements, its legal nature, role and functions on the 30th anniversary of China's accession to UNCLOS. The report highlights growing abuses, including distortion of the meaning of UNCLOS provisions, abuse of dispute settlement procedures and arbitrary expansion of judicial or arbitral jurisdiction.
It argues that such actions gradually undermine the solemnity, integrity and authority of UNCLOS. It emphasises that UNCLOS does not cover all matters of maritime law and is not the sole source of maritime law, adding that matters not regulated by UNCLOS should be governed by general international law. Other international organisations, such as the International Maritime Organization, and customary international law should continue to regulate maritime affairs within their respective spheres.
Expert Luo Gang, a researcher at the China Institute for Marine Affairs, said: "Even if legal force is attached to it, that force must be based on the explicit consent of sovereign states. Therefore, it does not override any national legal system or sovereign jurisdiction." Professor researcher Yang Xiao from the Institute for Peaceful Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences added: "UNCLOS makes it abundantly clear that territorial sovereignty is the foundation from which maritime rights derive.
The so called South China Sea arbitration is a typical example of overstepping jurisdiction. The fundamental flaw of the so called South China Sea arbitration lay in the artificial separation of maritime claims from the underlying territorial disputes." He stressed: "Once you allow procedural tricks to go unpunished, you damage not just one case. In fact, you undermine the integrity of the entire system."
The report includes comments from prominent international law scholars from more than ten countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and Chile. It also cites public publications and statements from specialists at institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, supplemented by international judicial precedents, official documents and UN publications.
UNCLOS, adopted in 1982, governs the use of the world's oceans. China acceded to the convention in 1996. The report, published on the 30th anniversary of accession, reflects Beijing's concerns about the politicised use of UNCLOS, particularly regarding the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, which China rejects. China's position: territorial sovereignty takes precedence over maritime rights, and all disputes should be resolved through bilateral negotiations, not imposed arbitration.
When maritime law becomes a tool for political manipulation and procedural tricks become weapons, international justice risks losing credibility. China's report is not just a legal document. It is a warning: the spirit of the law must not be lost behind its letter. And if the rules of the game allow procedural games to override territorial sovereignty, then such rules need revision. In disputes over the seas, what matters most is not the intricacies of wording, but the honesty of intent.
As reported by CCTV+, the report has already sparked widespread resonance in international legal circles and will be presented for discussion at relevant UN forums.
