Maritime law expert denounces China’s unilateral acts in East Sea
(VOVWORLD) - China's claims of sovereignty over most of the areas in the East Sea are invalid in legality and its unilateral actions in the sea are illegitimate, according to lawyer Bernard Insel, a Belgian expert of international maritime law.
 Da Lat island on Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago (Photo: VNA) |
The expert added that the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague in 2016 rejected China's claim over the so-called "nine-dash line" in the East Sea, and affirmed that China's unreasonable claims cannot change the nature of this maritime area, on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).
He said the East Sea has a strategic role for several countries in the region, because it is the most bustling maritime route in the world. Activities in the sea should be based on the principles of navigational freedom as well as those of international law pertaining to the sea.