Dependent Archipelagos in the Law of the Sea examines the archipelagic concept in international law of the sea with respect to dependent archipelagos, both coastal and outlying, and evaluates the contribution of state practice to solutions and developments

Dependent Archipelagos in the Law of the Sea examines the archipelagic concept in international law of the sea with respect to dependent archipelagos, both coastal and outlying. The monograph offers a thorough examination of the regime of straight baselines, and the implications arising from their application to archipelagos. It further analyses the practice of States with regard to the delimitation of the maritime zones of archipelagos, and assesses its value both as an element contributing to the interpretation of the Law of the Sea Convention - especially related to the application of article 7 - and as a factor leading to new developments in international law with an emphasis on customary law.

This book analyses he implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in the light of state practices of China and Japan. The special character of the book can be found in its structure of comparative analysis of the practices of China and Japan in each part. The focus is on historical aspects (Part I), implementation of the UNCLOS (Part II), navigation (Part III), mid-ocean archipelagos (Part IV), the marine environment (Part V), and dispute settlement (Part VI). By taking this approach, the book elucidates a variety of aspects of history, difficulties, problems, and controversies arising from the implementation of the UNCLOS by the two nations. Furthermore, contributors from China and Japan tend to show different perspectives on the UNCLOS, which, by clarifying the need for further debate, are expected to contribute to the continuing cooperation between the academics of the two states.

Many of the maritime disputes today represent a competing interest of two groups: coastal states and user states. This edited volume evaluates the role of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in managing maritime order in East Asia after its ratification in 1994, while reflecting upon various interpretations of UNCLOS. Providing an overview of the key maritime disputes occurring in the Asia Pacific, it examines case studies from a selection of representative countries to consider how these conflicts of interest reflect their respective national interests, and the wider issues that these interpretations have created in relation to navigation regimes, maritime entitlement, boundary delimitation and dispute settlement.

This ground-breaking book challenges legal orthodoxy, presenting an original approach to the treatment of islands in international law. It offers a new perspective on how to define islands in international law, questioning how they differ from other maritime features. It focuses on the contextual factors that bear upon the legal treatment of islands, recognising that, in practice, islands have varied and unequal impacts and arguing that greater focus on context is needed to understand legal outcomes, particularly those concerning maritime boundary delimitation.

The Spratly Islands and International Law examines legal solutions to problems arising from the absence of maritime boundaries in the Spratly Islands. The book draws on extensive sources of international law and formulates novel, concrete proposals for the way forward.

Islands and their status in international law have become one of the more contentious issues in public international law. However, despite this, there is no contemporary book-length study on the question. This book fills that gap. Written by one of the world's leading public international lawyers, it offers an authoritative overview of how public international law operates in relation to islands. Key issues such as artificial islands, archipelagos, sovereignty, territorial rights, maritime entitlements, and governance are explored in depth. This will become a classic text in the field of international law.

Peaceful Maritime Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Region includes contributions from the most influential figures in the law of the sea to provide context and direction for developing maritime governance in East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Peaceful management of disputes includes cooperation over deep seabed mining, negotiations for a legally binding instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, contending approaches to baselines and East Asia maritime boundary disputes, freedom of navigation and maritime law enforcement. Chapters also explore new interpretations for preservation of the marine environment and the special problems posed by marine plastics and nexus between the ocean and climate change.

The South China Sea is a major strategic waterway for trade and oil shipments to Japan, Korea as well as southern China. It has been the focus of a maritime dispute which has continued now for over six decades, with competing claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei. Recently China has become more assertive in pressing its claims – harassing Vietnamese fishing vessels and seizing reefs in the Philippine claim zone. China has insisted that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the area and has threatened to enforce its claim. All of this is unsettling and draws in the United States which is concerned about freedom of navigation in the area. The US has been supporting the Philippines and has been developing security ties with Vietnam as a check upon China. This book examines the conflict potential of the current dispute, it discusses how the main claimants and the United States view the issue, and assesses the prospects for a resolution of the problem.

Exploring everything from contemporary challenges to ocean security this book offers detailed insights into the increasing activities of state and non-state actors at sea. Chapters revisit the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), highlighting how not all maritime security threats can be addressed by this, and further looking at the ways in which the LOSC may even hinder maritime security.