중국의 도서와 해양경계 문제

Under Article 121(1) and (2) of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, an island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide, and in principle can generate its own territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Paragraph 3 of the same Article, on the other hand, provides that rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf. Article 121(3), however, does not define a "rock" clearly and the meaning of "cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own" has been subject to varied interpretations by commentators. Consequently, many coastal States have adopted a broad definition of an island in order to expand their maritime zones. In addition, an island may raise controversy over its territorial sovereignty and effects in maritime delimitation. For instance, there has been controversy over the interpretation of Article 121(3) in relation to the legal status of Dokdo because the boundaries of the maritime zones of Korea and Japan depend on the effects given to that insular feature. The maritime delimitation in the East China Sea among China, Korea and Japan also presupposes the resolution of disputes over the insular features located at the outmost of the proposed maritime boundaries. China has several complicated problems with regard to the legal status of islands. Compared to Korea China has vast maritime areas, and most of the disputes over the territorial sovereignty over certain islands and over the maritime boundaries thereof remain unsettled. In the East China Sea, China is in dispute with Japan about the sovereignty over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands and the maritime delimitation issues. In the South China Sea, too, China is in dispute with certain Southeast Asian countries about the sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, the Macclesfield Islands and Pratas Reef and their maritime boundaries. China and Vietnam have just settled the maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin, with those in the rest of the disputed seas unsettled. China and Korea, therefore, have to settle in any way the legal status of the disputed islands and the maritime boundaries with the neighbouring countries. Given the foregoing, this paper examines the arguments of China as to the status of islands and maritime boundaries in question, and their legitimacy. Since the maritime boundaries in the Northeast Asian seas cannot be easily settled without the resolution of the questions of the status of the disputed islands, this paper examining the approaches of China is intended to provide a preliminary analysis and understanding for the resolution of these questions. To be more specific, this paper examines the policies of China over islands through the analyses of the legal status and maritime zones of islands, the effects of islands in maritime delimitation, the Sino-Japanese disputes over certain islands and their maritime boundaries, the relevant domestic laws of China. This would help the Government of Korea take proper measures. In other words, this paper contains a comprehensive analysis of the legal status of islands and the approaches of China in preparation for the maritime delimitation in the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula.