The French newspaper Le Monde recently published an article stating that China’s assertion of sovereignty in the South China Sea is breaking the rules of the international law of the sea, the French broadcaster reported.
The article stressed that China’s approach in the South China Sea is to use its “historic” rights to override the rules of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1982, and to distort the principles set out by the UN in 2009, mainly by claiming jurisdiction over the 2 million square kilometers of the South China Sea, including the islands and reefs. Since 2010, China has established military bases in the South China Sea, stepped up the construction of artificial islands, and is in constant conflict with ships from other countries traveling in the nearby area.
The article cites analysis by experts that China is trying to use its growing military power to force coastal states in the South China Sea to give up their legal rights to resources in their respective exclusive economic zones, as guaranteed by UN conventions.
The article also points out that the Chinese military has been conducting multi-armed exercises in the South China Sea since February of this year, battling with U.S. warships that are also conducting exercises in the area.
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