China's Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf:
Marine Policy 25 (2001) 71}81
China 's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf: developments, problems, and prospects
Zou Keyuan*
East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore, 7 Arts Link, Singapore 117571, Singapore Received 1 October 2000; accepted 29 November 2000
Abstract China promulgated its Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf in 1998 after it had rati"ed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996. By so doing, China has formally established a legal regime for its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. However, China has much to do in implementing the above law. Domestically, it needs some detailed regulations for the implementation; and regionally China has to negotiate with its neighboring countries on the maritime boundary delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: China; Taiwan; Exclusive economic zone; Continental shelf; Maritime boundary delimitation
1. Introduction The ocean extends over 140 million square miles, some 71% of the Earth 's surface. Human society is closely bound up with the ocean: life itself arose from the sea, climate and weather, even the quality of the air people breathe, depend in great measure on an interplay of the ocean with the atmosphere. The ocean provides man with indispensable food and other important resources, and has also served as a road of communication for trade and commerce among nations as well as among continents from earliest recorded history. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the LOS Convention) has now become a universal code to govern the ocean uses throughout the world. In accordance with the Convention, every coastal State has the right to establish its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles measured from the baselines of the territorial sea. In the EEZ, the coastal State enjoys sovereign rights to the
China 's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf: developments, problems, and prospects
Zou Keyuan*
East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore, 7 Arts Link, Singapore 117571, Singapore Received 1 October 2000; accepted 29 November 2000
Abstract China promulgated its Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf in 1998 after it had rati"ed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996. By so doing, China has formally established a legal regime for its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. However, China has much to do in implementing the above law. Domestically, it needs some detailed regulations for the implementation; and regionally China has to negotiate with its neighboring countries on the maritime boundary delimitation of the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: China; Taiwan; Exclusive economic zone; Continental shelf; Maritime boundary delimitation
1. Introduction The ocean extends over 140 million square miles, some 71% of the Earth 's surface. Human society is closely bound up with the ocean: life itself arose from the sea, climate and weather, even the quality of the air people breathe, depend in great measure on an interplay of the ocean with the atmosphere. The ocean provides man with indispensable food and other important resources, and has also served as a road of communication for trade and commerce among nations as well as among continents from earliest recorded history. The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the LOS Convention) has now become a universal code to govern the ocean uses throughout the world. In accordance with the Convention, every coastal State has the right to establish its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles measured from the baselines of the territorial sea. In the EEZ, the coastal State enjoys sovereign rights to the
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