A research institute under China's primary maritime policy agency has launched a direct critique of the United States, accusing it of undermining international maritime order by selectively asserting rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) without actually being a party to the treaty.
On Tuesday (June 30), the China Institute for Marine Affairs, affiliated with the Ministry of Natural Resources, released the 'Evaluation Report on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea' at the National People's Congress Conference Center in Beijing.
Adopted in 1982 and effective since 1994, the convention is an international treaty that establishes a comprehensive legal framework governing maritime spaces, including territorial waters, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), continental shelves, and the high seas, as well as rights, jurisdiction, navigation, resource utilization, and marine environmental protection.
China ratified the convention and became a state party in 1996.
The report is interpreted as a move by China to systematically organize and present its legal arguments regarding the convention to the international community, amid ongoing U.S. efforts to develop deep-sea minerals and escalating tensions between the U.S. and China over the South China Sea.
The institute specifically singled out the United States, a non-party to the convention, stating, "Despite not having joined the UNCLOS, the U.S. unilaterally announced the outer limits of its extended continental shelf in December 2023 based on Article 76 of the convention." It criticized the U.S. for damaging the solemnity, integrity, and authority of the convention through the selective application of its provisions.
At that time, the U.S. disclosed geographic coordinates defining the outer limits of its extended continental shelf, which lies beyond 200 nautical miles from its coast.
The report further pointed out that "unilateralism and hegemonism are currently rampant, and some countries are adopting pragmatism and double standards toward international law, using it when it suits them and discarding it when it does not."
Regarding U.S. plans for deep-sea mineral mining, the institute emphasized, "Some countries that have not ratified the convention are bypassing the multilateral procedures of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to pursue deep-sea mining independently, which violates the principle of the common heritage of mankind."
Addressing the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling, which found no legal basis for China's claims to most of the South China Sea, the institute argued that the decision "broke the balance formed at the time of the convention's conclusion" and led to the politicization and instrumentalization of the convention and its dispute resolution mechanisms.
Additionally, China suggested that while the world faces new challenges not anticipated when the convention was drafted—such as climate change, rising sea levels, and artificial intelligence (AI)—these issues can be addressed through subsequent agreements and multilateral cooperation.
(Photo: Yonhap News)