Chapter 3. The Romania-Ukraine Decision and Its Effect on East Asian Maritime Delimitations

Abstract

The Romania-Ukraine Case provides strong support that Dokdo should a 12-nautical-mile territorial. The Romania-Ukraine decision should help dispel the notion that the Senkakus/ Daioyudao Islands should any impact on the maritime delimitation of the East China Sea. These eight uninhabited island features in the East China Sea 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan are now controlled by Japan but are also claimed by Taiwan and by the People's Republic of China. The Romania-Ukraine Case makes it clear that they should be given 12-nautical-mile territorial seas but ignored in the delimitation of the boundaries in the South China Sea, because any reliance upon them would have a disproportionate effect on the delimitation line under consideration. Romania-Ukraine decision is whether the tiny reef system called Okinotorishima, referred to as Douglas Reef, which was claimed by Japan in 1931, is entitled to generate an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. Keywords:continental shelf; Dokdo; East China Sea; maritime delimitation; Okinotorishima; Romania-Ukraine decision