The two Chinese Territorial Sea Laws: Their implications and comparisons
✍ Scribed by Nien-Tsu Alfred Hu
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1993
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 515 KB
- Volume
- 20
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0964-5691
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
In the first half of the year of 1992, the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) on Mainland China took certain actions in the maritime/marine policy sphere, which shall carry significant legal and political implications in a regional context.
The PRC's Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Law (abbreviated as PRC Territorial Sea Law hereinafter) was adopted by the Standing Committee of the 7th National People's Congress in its 24th meeting on 25 February and signed off by President Yang Shankun, becoming effective immediately. 1 On the other side of the Taiwan Straits, the Executive Yuan 2 of the ROC Government approved the drafts of two pieces of maritime zone laws, the ROC Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Law (abbreviated as ROC Territorial Sea Law hereinafter) and the ROC Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Law, respectively, on May 21, 1992, 3 which were a product of a more than two year long effort. Although the ROC maritime zone laws, especially the ROC Territorial Sea Law, are currently in their draft form and queuing up in the Legislative Yuan 4 for its review and final approval, some comparisons and observations concerning these two Chinese territorial sea laws can still be made.
The PRC Territorial Sea Law and Relevant Actions
With its Territorial Sea Law, thePRC, once again, affirms its territorial sovereignty over the Chinese Mainland and its coastal islands, as well as Taiwan and its surrounding islands including Diao-Yu-Tai Islets (or Senkaku in Japanese), 5 the Penghu Islands, the Dongsha (or Pratas) Islands, the Xisha (or Paracel) Islands, the Zhongsha Islands (or Macclesfield Bank), the Nansha (or Spratly) Islands, and all other islands belonging to China. 6 The intentional inclusion of Taiwan and its surrounding islands as the PRC's land territories as well as the request for prior approval for foreign military vessels on the entry into PRC's 89