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Who can fish in waters near Natuna Islands and how?
Recently, it seems that Indonesian scholars have been paying much more attention to the fishing activities of Chinese vessels in the waters southwest of Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands), describing it as a “new action” by China
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span>Recently, it seems that Indonesian scholars have been paying much more attention to the fishing activities of Chinese vessels in the waters southwest of Nansha Qundao (Nansha Islands), describing it as a “new action” by China. Actually, China’s fishing vessels have been fishing there for a long time and it is nothing new.
The “southwest fishing ground” is the unique name of that area given by Chinese fishermen since long ago.
As correctly analyzed in an article published by Global Times on Jan. 6, there is no territorial sovereignty dispute between the two countries. According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statements from both sides, the dispute between China and Indonesia is about overlapping maritime claims and relevant maritime interests. In the current situation, the dispute is mainly about fishing rights in the context of the maritime dispute.
The fishing activities are within an area pending maritime delimitation, which overlaps between China’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) claim based on Nansha Islands and Indonesia’s EEZ claim based on Natuna Islands. China and Indonesia have not started the maritime delimitation. This is a fact.
Unlike oil and gas exploitation and exploration, fishing activities are not excluded by law from a sea area pending maritime delimitation for the parties in a dispute.
On the contrary, according to general international law, traditional rights are always preserved and not extinguished by boundary claims and problems.
Besides, traditional fishing rights are preserved under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Thus, no matter whether China and Indonesia have a dispute over the maritime delimitation or even if the relevant maritime claims of both sides are in complete opposition, traditional fishing rights will not be excluded.
Thus, international law does not exclude Chinese fishermen from conducting fishing activities in the waters southwest of Nansha Islands. Moreover, according to international law, the two countries would be better, for example, managing the fishing activities jointly, instead of escalating the problem by advocating “protecting our sovereign rights” with naval or coast guard vessels.
Moreover, Article 74(3) of the UNCLOS clearly requires that coastal states make every effort to achieve a provisional arrangement pending the maritime delimitation agreement. It is common for coastal states to establish a special regime for fishing activities before the final solution of the maritime boundaries.
For instance, China and Japan concluded a fishery agreement in disputed waters and provided “waters with provisional measures” in 1997. China and the Republic of Korea also concluded a fishery agreement in 2001.
Moreover, pursuant to Article 123 of the UNCLOS, as coastal states in the South China Sea, a semi-enclosed sea defined by UNCLOS, China and Indonesia should cooperate on the conservation and management of living resources.
China and the relevant coastal states in the South China Sea have established bilateral mechanisms to deal with the maritime issues. China and Vietnam established a bilateral negotiation mechanism years ago, together with several working groups in the area of maritime cooperation, joint development, etc.
In 2016, China and the Philippines set up the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea, and the two countries have established joint working groups on fisheries, oil and gas development and other issues.
In August, 2019, China and Malaysia announced that they would establish a bilateral mechanism. It is obvious that a bilateral mechanism and bilateral consultation would be the best way and the pragmatic method for managing maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
And it is time for China and Indonesia to consider setting up such a mechanism to deal with the fishing problems and manage disputes in the South China Sea. As long as the two countries sit down and negotiate, an effective and durable solution can be found to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
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Associate professor in China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies (CIBOS), Wuhan University, specializing in international law with research interest mainly in peaceful settlement of South China Sea disputes and legal issues in the law of the sea
