남중국해 분쟁과 미·중 양국의 갈등 - 해양법 질서의 확립과 국제정치적 현실 - = The South China Sea Dispute and the Conflict between the United States and China: The Establishment of the Law of the Sea Order and the Realities of International Politics

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

China has long supported the policy of creeping jurisdiction as a leading coastal state. It made its position clear in the 1958 Territorial Sea Declaration, the 1992 Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone Act, and the 1998 Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Act, which declared Taiwan and several islands in the South China Sea as Chinese territory, including the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, the Macclesfield Bank, the Pratas Reef. China has claimed 90% of the South China Sea as its areas through the 9-dash line, which encompasses all of these islands.
However, the arbitral award of July 12, 2016 under Part VII of the Convention on the Law of the Sea put the brakes on China’s territorial and jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea. It found that China’s nine-dash line in the South China Sea is invalid and that the maritime features of the region are rocks or tlow-tide elevations that do not qualify for an exclusive economic zone. It was also confirmed that rocks or low-tide elevations cannot be turned into islands by land reclamation.
As a leading maritime power, the United States(US) values freedom of navigation as a fundamental principle of diplomacy and security, as well as free trade and commerce. Freedom of navigation is a non-negotiable principle and value for the US, which became the world’s most powerful nation after World War II under the Bretton Woods system. A vast naval fleet, including an aircraft carrier strike group, is an important means of supporting those interests.
The US and China have been engaged in confrontation and conflict since 2015 in the South China Sea, which had been a stage for regional disputes between China and other Southeast Asian countries. The Republic of Korea (South Korea) imports most of its energy resources, such as oil and natural gas, through the South China Sea, so it has no choice but to support freedom of navigation in the region like the US and Japan. Given the serious security situation on the Korean Peninsula due to the escalation of the North Korean nuclear crisis, South Korea must also strengthen cooperation on maritime security with its allies. In this context, South Koreans should understand the legal and political implications of the South China Sea disputes and develop a maritime policy that respects the rule of law in the sea.