| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In April 2012 the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) adopted certain decisions and recommendations regarding Japan's 2008 outer continental shelf submission. The Japanese and Chinese differing interpretations of these recommendations demonstrate the still controversial legal status of Oki-no-Tori Shima under Article 121(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Such a contradiction enlarges another dispute on the legal status of the surrounding maritime zone proclaimed by Japan as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This article examines the decisions and recommendations of the CLCS as well as Japan's Submission so as to clarify the confusing situation. The decisions by the CLCS have wider implications on the unsettled scope of disputes under Rule 46 of and Annex I to the Rules of Procedure (ROP) of the CLCS, affecting submissions by other States. These implications will be explored by this article. Finally, the author offers his views on the future of such confrontational situations.
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