18 May 2012 | CIL Seminar Series
Does Size Matter? – The Role of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries and Implications for the South China Sea
Introduction
Islands are a perennial feature and source of discord in the context of both claims to maritime jurisdiction and the delimitation of maritime boundaries. This is clearly the case in East and Southeast Asia where disputes over island sovereignty as well as their capacity to generate extensive maritime claims, and thus role in ocean boundary making remain rife.
LOSC provides for several different types of insular feature, notably islands capable of generating extended maritime claims (continental shelf and exclusive economic zone rights) and “rocks” which are unable to do so. Unfortunately, and despite abundant scholarly attention, no definitive way to distinguish between these two types of island is presently available. Considerable progress has, however, been made in overcoming the challenges posed by islands in the process of delimiting maritime boundaries.
The presentation briefly outlined types of island, their capacity to generate maritime claims and key definitional dilemmas. The role of islands in maritime and territorial disputes is assessed with particular reference to East and Southeast Asia. Developments in addressing issues with islands in ocean boundary making were then traced. It was suggested that although State practice in this context is somewhat mixed, an increasingly clear approach to the treatment of islands in maritime delimitation has emerged from the rulings of international courts and tribunals. In particular, it was posited that recent jurisprudence indicates that geographical factors are critical to the role of islands in maritime delimitation – in particular the location of islands relative to the other coastlines involved in the delimitation equation coupled with the relative relevant coastal fronts involved – rather than their mere size. It was concluded that the island/rock debate is a an unhelpful distraction as even if certain islands can be classified as being capable of generating extended maritime claims this by no means suggests that they will be accorded full weight in the delimitation of maritime boundaries. Potential implications for the multiple island disputes in the South China were then drawn.
About the Speaker
Clive Schofield is Professor and Director of Research at the Australian Centre for Ocean Resource and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, Australia. He currently holds an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. Dr Schofield is a political geographer whose research interests relate to international boundaries and particularly maritime boundary delimitation. He has researched and published primarily on issues related to the delimitation of maritime boundaries, geo-technical issues in the law of the sea, maritime security and regarding maritime boundary disputes and their resolution. He has been involved in the peaceful settlement of boundary and territory disputes, for example through the provision of technical advice and research support to governments engaged in boundary negotiations and in dispute settlement cases before the International Court of Justice.
