The Legal Status of the U-shaped Line in the South China Sea and Its Legal Implications for Sovereignty, Sovereign Rights and Maritime Jurisdiction

Abstract

The U-shaped line in the South China Sea has been challenged in the international community and such a challenge has reached its climax when the Philippines presented China with a Notification and Statement of Claim under Article 287 and Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) on 22 January 2013. In its Statement of Claim, the Philippines requests the Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal to adjudge and declare that China’s maritime claims based on the U-shaped line are contrary to the LOS Convention and invalid. Against this background, this paper will analyze the issues concerning the related submissions of the Philippines.