Lyons, Youna; Hung, Luu Quang; Tkalich, Pavel --- "Determining high-tide features (or islands) in the South China Sea under Article 121(1): a legal and oceanography perspective" [2018] ELECD 973; in Jayakumar, S.; Koh, Tommy; Beckman, Robert; Davenport, Tara; Phan, D. Hao (eds), "The South China Sea Arbitration" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018) 128

Book Title: The South China Sea Arbitration

Editor(s): Jayakumar, S.; Koh, Tommy; Beckman, Robert; Davenport, Tara; Phan, D. Hao

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN: 9781788116268

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Determining high-tide features (or islands) in the South China Sea under Article 121(1): a legal and oceanography perspective

Author(s): Lyons, Youna; Hung, Luu Quang; Tkalich, Pavel

Number of pages: 26

Abstract/Description:

Identification of those insular coral reef formations that qualify as land areas capable of a sovereignty claim and of generating maritime zones is a critical element of the legal discussion relating to the maritime disputes in the South China Sea. This chapter discusses the determination made by the Arbitral Tribunal. First, the chapter presents the main elements of the Arbitral Tribunal’s reasoning and findings. Second, these findings and the approach of the Arbitral Tribunal are compared with the decision rendered by the International Court of Justice in Nicaragua v Colombia. The third section investigates what it means for a reef to qualify as land territory and which ‘high tide’ should be considered. The fourth section discusses the issue of permanence above the sea of high-tide features. Finally the fifth section proposes an application of the South China Sea Arbitration Final Award to the many other insular geographic formations in the South China Sea, the status of which has not been determined by the Arbitral Tribunal.