Central East Asian Maritime Boundaries and the Law of the Sea

Abstract

One of the most difficult areas for maritime boundary delimitation is the seas adjacent to Central East Asia. This area, which encompasses the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Sea of Japan, and the Yellow Sea, is surrounded by the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan (the Republic of China), Japan, North and South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Russia. Only a few of the maritime boundaries in the area have been settled, leaving most open to dispute. (See map 1, p. 726.) Efforts to settle the unresolved boundaries have not moved forward. Much has been written about the boundary disputes in this area, and efforts to resolve them have explored means other than delimitation.