The Effect of the Judicial Decision of unclos Tribunals on the clcs Procedure: The Case of the South China Sea Dispute

Abstract

Asia-Pacific States have recourse to the dispute settlement system provided in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (unclos) and rely on the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (clcs) to delineate the extended continental shelf. unclos tribunals are responsible for delimitating maritime zones, and the clcs for delineating the outer limits of the continental shelf. However, the work of the clcs has been suspended at times, owing to other States’ objections. This article investigates the 2019 Malaysian submission to the clcs by reviewing the precedents and existing literature. This submission has become a contentious issue, because of diplomatic note verbales submitted by, among others, China. This article argues that the clcs should handle the Malaysian submission on the premise that the Malaysia–China dispute over the so-called “nine-dash line” can be regarded as resolved, based on a 2016 Arbitral Tribunal decision under Annex vii.