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Scenarios of the China’s ADIZs above the South China Sea

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ASEAN International Law

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Abstract

Even though no international legal instrument explicitly provides the right for States to establish ADIZs, such zones have been unilaterally declared since the 1950s. China’s ADIZ above the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands—a disputed area in the East China Sea and her recent activities in disputed maritime features in the South China Sea have given rise to concerns about other ADIZs that Beijing may possibly establish above this area. In that context, this paper ventures to draw some potential ADIZs, which may be established by China above the South China Sea, and predicts diplomatic and legal reactions from other States.

Ph.D. candidate at the University of Vienna. LL.B. (Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam), LL.M. (Melbourne). ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8557-4817. The author would like to convey my sincere thanks to Dr. Nguyen Dang Thang, Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and Ms. Pham Ngoc Minh Trang, Faculty of International Relations, University of Social Science and Humanity, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City for their support and advice during this research. The author may be contacted at: leduyt86@univie.ac.at/ duytranle86@gmail.com/Address: Radelmayergasse 6/Top 1, 1190 Vienna, Austria https://doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2016.9.1.12.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944, 15 U.N.T.S. 102 (entered into force on April 4, 1947) Annex XV (Aeronautical Information Services) [1.1].

  2. 2.

    R. Abeyratne, In Search of Theoretical Justification for Air Defence Identification Zones, 5 J. Transp. Security 88 (2012).

  3. 3.

    N. Grief, Public International Law in the Airspace of the High Seas 147 (1994).

  4. 4.

    K. Hsu, ‘Air Defense Identification Zone Intended to Provide China Greater Flexibility to Enforce East China Sea Claims: Staff Report, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

    (2014) at 1, available athttp://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/Research/China%20ADIZ%20Staff%20Report.pdf (last visited on May 13, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  5. 5.

    S. Jinyuan, The East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone and International Law, 14 Chinese J. Int’l L. 275 (2015).

  6. 6.

    Supra note 4.

  7. 7.

    Jae Woon Lee, Tension on the Air: The Air Defense Identification Zones on the East China Sea, 7 J. East Asia & Int’l L. 274–81 (2014).

  8. 8.

    US Naval Institute, PACOM Harris: US. Would Ignore A ‘Destabilizing’ Chinese South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (Feb. 26, 2016), available athttps://news.usni.org/2016/02/26/pacom-harris-u-s-would-ignore-a-destabilizing-chinese-south-china-sea-air-defense-identification-zone (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  9. 9.

    China Exclusive: Defense Ministry Spokesman Responds to Air Defense Identification Zone Questions Xinhuanews, Nov. 23, 2013, available athttp://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-11/23/c_132912145.htm (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  10. 10.

    Mission of Taiwan to European Union, Defense Ministry Spokesman Yang Yujun’s Response to Questions of ADIZ at Regular Press Conference (Nov. 28, 2013), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cebe/eng/xnyfgk/t1109759.htm (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  11. 11.

    Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying Regular Press Conference on May 7, 2015, available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1261660.shtml (last visited on May 4, 2016).

  12. 12.

    Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang ‘Remarks on Issues Relating to China’s Construction Activities on the Nansha Islands and Reefs’ (June 16, 2015), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1273370.shtml (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  13. 13.

    Admiral Samuel Locklear, PACOM House Armed Services Committee Testimony (Apr. 15, 2015) US-PACOM, available athttp://www.pacom.mil/Media/SpeechesTestimony/tabid/6706/Article/585188/pacom-house-armed-services-committee-testimony.aspx (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  14. 14.

    Declaration of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Baselines of the Territorial Sea (May 15, 1996), available athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/CHN_1996_Declaration.pdf (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  15. 15.

    Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Act of the People’s Republic of China (June 26, 1998) art 2, available athttp://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/chn_1998_eez_act.pdf (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  16. 16.

    Compiled by the author.

  17. 17.

    Note Verbale No. CML/17/2009 of the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (May 7, 2009), available athttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/chn_2009re_mys_vnm_e.pdf (last visited on May 3, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  18. 18.

    Supra note 4, at 3.

  19. 19.

    US Dept. of State, 117 Limits in the Seas: Straight Baselines Claim: China 17 (July 9, 1996), available athttp://www.state.gov/documents/organization/57692.pdf. For details on China’s base lines, see Hyun-soo Kim, China’s Basepoints and Baselines under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: A Critical Analysis, 6 J. East Asia & Int’l L 135–53 (2013), available athttp://yijuninstitute.blogspot.kr/2015/12/chinas-basepoints-and-baselines-under.html (all last visited on May 12, 2016).

  20. 20.

    See, e.g., MOFA Spokesperson Le Hai Binh, Remarks on China’s Recent Activities in Hoang Sa Archipelago (Mar. 17, 2016), available athttp://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns160318232341; MOFA Spokesperson Le Hai Binh, Remarks on Award of the Tribunal in the Arbitration instituted by the Philippines against China (Oct. 31, 2015) available athttp://www.mofa.gov.vn/en/tt_baochi/pbnfn/ns151104142526 (all last visited on May 4, 2016).

  21. 21.

    Supra note 17.

  22. 22.

    Note Verbal No. 86/HC-2009 of the Permanent Mission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nations (May 8, 2009), available athttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/vnm37_09/vnm_re_chn_2009re_vnm.pdf. See also Note Verbal No. HA 24/09 of the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations (May 20, 2009), available athttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/mys_re_chn_2009re_mys_vnm_e.pdf (last visited on May 4, 2016).

  23. 23.

    Note Verbale No. CML/8/2011 (Apr. 14, 2011), available athttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/chn_2011_re_phl_e.pdf (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  24. 24.

    Compiled by the author.

  25. 25.

    J. Odom, FONOPs to preserve the right of innocent passage?, Diplomat, Feb. 25, 2016, available athttp://thediplomat.com/2016/02/fonops-to-preserve-the-right-of-innocent-passage (last visited on Apr. 30, 2016).

  26. 26.

    Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang Regular Press Conference (Oct. 27, 2015), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1309625.shtml (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  27. 27.

    Department of State Spokesperson John Kirby Daily Press Briefing (Oct. 27, 2015), available athttp://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2015/10/248870.htm (last visited on May 3, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  28. 28.

    Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, Letter to McCain on South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation (Jan. 5, 2016), US Naval Institute, available athttp://news.usni.org/2016/01/05/document-secdef-carter-letter-to-mccain-on-south-china-sea-freedom-of-navigation-operation (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  29. 29.

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi on the South China Sea Issue at the ASEAN Regional Forum (2015), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1287277.shtml (last visited on May 3, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  30. 30.

    Supra note 17.

  31. 31.

    Hong Thao Nguyen, Vietnam’s Position on the Sovereignty over the Paracels & the Spratlys: Its Maritime Claims, 5 J. East Asia & Int’l L. 203–7 (2012), available athttp://yijuninstitute.blogspot.kr/2015/12/vietnams-position-on-sovereignty-over.html (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  32. 32.

    Note Verbale No.480/POL-703/VII/10 of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia in the United Nations (July 8, 2010), available athttp://www.un.org/depts/los/clcs_new/submissions_files/mysvnm33_09/idn_2010re_mys_vnm_e.pdf (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  33. 33.

    Compiled by the author.

  34. 34.

    Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility (Phil. v China), UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal, PCA Case No 2013–19 (Oct. 29, 2015), at 26, available athttp://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/1506 (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  35. 35.

    See, e.g., Permanent Court of Arbitration, Press Release on Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China: Arbitral Tribunal Establishes Rules of Procedure and Initial Timetable (Aug. 27, 2013), available athttp://www.pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/227; Vice Foreign Minister of China Liu Zhenmin Remarks at the 2014 ARF Senior Officials’ Meeting (June 9, 2014), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/t1165765.shtml; Government of the People’s Republic of China, Position Paper on the Matter of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines (Dec. 7, 2014), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1217147.shtml; Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying Remarks on the Conclusion of the Hearing on Issues Relating to Jurisdiction and Admissibility by the South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal Established at the Request of the Philippines (July 14, 2015), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1281250.shtml (all last visited on May 3, 2016).

  36. 36.

    Supra note 34, at 399.

  37. 37.

    Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, Statement on the Philippine Arbitration Case (Nov. 10, 2015), available athttp://www.dfa.gov.ph/index.php/newsroom/dfa-releases/7836-statement-on-the-philippine-arbitration-case (last visited on May 3, 2016).

  38. 38.

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Statement on the Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility of the South China Sea Arbitration by the Arbitral Tribunal Established at the Request of the Republic of the Philippines (Oct. 30, 2015) available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1310474.shtml. See also Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang Regular Press Conference (Oct. 30, 2015), available athttp://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1310709.shtml (all last visited on May 3, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  39. 39.

    See Fact Sheet: East Asia Summit Outcomes (Nov. 20, 2012), The White House, available athttps://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/11/20/fact-sheet-east-asia-summit-outcomes (all last visited on May 3, 2016). [Emphasis added].

  40. 40.

    Japan initiated similar legal procedures against the China’s ECS ADIZ within the framework of the ICAO. See Jaemin Lee, China’s Declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea: Implications for Public International Law, 18 ASIL Insights, Aug. 19, 2014, available athttps://www.asil.org/insights/volume/18/issue/17/china%E2%80%99s-declaration-air-defense-identification-zone-east-china-sea; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 201st Session of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (Mar. 11 2014), available athttp://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press4e_000225.html (all last visited on May 4, 2016).

  41. 41.

    Supra note 34, at 114. [Emphasis added].

  42. 42.

    United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982, 1833 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force Nov. 16, 1994) art 290.1.

  43. 43.

    M/V Louisa (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines v Kingdom of Spain, Order, 2010, ITLOS 72 (Dec. 23), Case No 18, available athttps://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/case_no_18_prov_meas/18_order_231210_en.pdf (last visited on 4 May 2016).

  44. 44.

    Supra note 34, at 147.

  45. 45.

    Id. at 399 & 402.

  46. 46.

    UNCLOS art 290.5.

  47. 47.

    C. Lamont, Conflict in the Skies: The Law of Air Defence Identification Zones, 39 Air & Space L. 193 (2014).

  48. 48.

    P. Dutton, Caelum Liberum: Air Defense Identification Zones outside Sovereign Airspace, 103 Am. J. Int’l L. 709 (2009).

  49. 49.

    Supra note 47, at 192.

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  1. University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Le Duy Tran

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  1. YIJUN Institute of International Law, Seoul, Korea (Republic of)

    Eric Yong Joong Lee

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Tran, L.D. (2022). Scenarios of the China’s ADIZs above the South China Sea. In: Lee, E.Y.J. (eds) ASEAN International Law. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3195-5_6

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