Legal Aspect Of The Fisheries Dispute On The South China Sea: Boundaries And Fishing Activities

Abstract

After centuries of extensive high seas freedom of fishing, the introduction of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the adoption of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sought to provide a more effective framework for the management and conservation of marine living resources. The main focus of this article is the legal and environmental perspective of the sea, especially withinthe EEZ of a State. The EEZ is a reflection of the aspiration of developing countries towardseconomic development and their desire to gain greater control over the economic resources off their coasts, particularly their fish stocks, which in many cases were legally exploited by distant water-fleets of developed States(Lowe, 1999). Although States have already claimed their EEZ, fishing activities are still raised as issues from time to time. This article will discuss three points.First,it will outline the early development of fisheries and Coastal States’ rights and duties based on jurisdiction over their exclusive zones; second, it will discuss the current maritime dispute in the South China Sea; and third, it will consider dispute resolution enforcement measures in resolvingtheconflict of maritime boundaries and fishing activities.