US challenges the legality of China's "nine-dash line"

The United States on February 5 called on China to clarify and adjust its sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, while urging a peaceful solution to one of Asia's increasingly dangerous flashpoints.

While tensions are high over Beijing's imposition of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over islands administered by Japan in the East China Sea, concerns are growing about a new showdown in a separate dispute in the South China Sea.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel (Source: AFP/VNA)

Referring to these disputes, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel challenged Beijing's so-called "nine-dash line" that represents China's territorial claims over much of the South China Sea.

Mr. Russel said that maritime claims under international law should be based on land features.

“Any Chinese claim to maritime rights that is not based on claimed land features is inconsistent with international law,” he said. “China could demonstrate its respect for international law by clarifying or adjusting its claim to be consistent with international maritime law.”

Mr. Russel also supported the Philippines' right to bring its dispute with China to the United Nations International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea as part of efforts to find a "peaceful, non-coercive" solution.

However, this measure was rejected by China last year.

According to Mr. Russel, China's failure to clarify its claims in the East Sea has created uncertainty in the region and limited the prospect of reaching a consensus solution or equitable joint development agreements.

Mr. Russel's comments demonstrate America's increasingly assertive stance in the East Sea.

In 2010, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that freedom of navigation is a US national interest in the East Sea, a shipping route for more than half of the world's commercial cargo./.

According to VNA