Legal status of islands in the delimitation of sea ares by A/Prof. Nguyen Ba Dien

06/06/2011

Learning about the legal status of islands in the delimitation of sea areas helps identify which legal status for the two Paracel and Spratly islands related  to spatial planning in the South China Sea. This document, based on the analysis of the United Nations Convention Law of the Sea 1982 linking with two islands: Paracel and Spratly, comes to confirm: “Paracel and Spratly” islands are not "archipelagos" or "archipelagic States" so people can not establish the baselines for these islands. According to that, there can only be internal waters and territorial waters for these islands. After conducting the study, three legal requirements have been raised: 1) Affirming the islands in two areas Paracel and Spratly belongs to Vietnam, 2) Reaffirming the fact that Paracel and Spratly Islands have no exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of their own; 3) Not Allowing to draw "archipelagic baselines" for each island and give the Chinese side a pretext to strengthen "U-shaped line” claim. This paper is an important contribution on the legal path toward Vietnam's sovereignty claims over the East Sea.