Marco Benatar

Dots and Lines in the South China Sea: Insights from the Law of Map Evidence

On 7 May 2009, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) protested Vietnamese and joint Malaysian-Vietnamese submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). In support of Chinese claims, a map was annexed to the letter of protest portraying a dotted U-shaped line engulfing the greater part of the South China Sea. Following a brief primer on the genesis of the U-line, this article aims to decipher the text of the protest letter accompanying the U-line, suggesting several possible interpretations. This contribution argues that the map is of doubtful probative value in the light of various factors fleshed out in international jurisprudence regarding map evidence. Attention will be paid to the reactions of third-party states to the U-line. This article maintains that effective protest on the part of regional states has prevented the map from becoming opposable to them.

Introduction: The South China Sea: An International Law Perspective

This piece offers the Guest Editors’ Introduction to this Special Issue of The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law—dedicated to the South China Sea. It outlines the history of the 2015 Brussels Conference at which the papers in the Special Issue were first presented, notes the key presentations and introduces the authors. Four subject matters are addressed: fisheries, navigation, the regime of islands, and international dispute settlement.