美國挑戰中國南海「洋中群島」制度的國際法分析

Abstract

自《南海仲裁案》仲裁判斷公布後，各方推動仲裁案法制化及落實其終局效力問題的進程停滯。然而，隨著川普政府逐步將其南海立場明確化，敦促了南海各聲索國啟動新一波的法律論述。2019年12月12日，馬來西亞引據《聯合國海洋法公約》，單獨向「聯合國大陸礁層界限委員會」（CLCS）遞交該國在南海大陸礁層延伸案。中國於同日提交外交照會，抗議馬國侵害中國南海主權權利，此案引發美國及各方透過反對聲明，進一步推動仲裁案法制化。本案中美國以第三方角色介入，其法律論述主軸轉向，反對中國在南海主張適用「洋中群島」及其群島基線制度。本文將檢視中國主張的法律立場及美國歷年對於「過度聲索海域權利」立場，析論美國挑戰中國南海群島制度法律論據的具體效果。

Has the U.S.-led ＂second wave＂ of legal warfare in the South China Sea started? This paper aims to explore the legal implication concerning 2019 Malaysia`s partial submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) regarding the extended continental shelf beyond 200 NM in the SCS. As US-China tensions rise, the claimant countries in the SCS to strengthen the practice of the legalization in the 2016 ＂South China Sea Arbitration.＂ This article argues that, under the guidance of the United States, the discourse of the stated positions of the parties (the SCS claimants and non-claimants) have turned to challenge China`s claim of the straight baseline in the disputed SCS`s waters. This article also reviews the U.S.`s stance on the ＂excessive maritime claims＂ of coastal countries over the years, and analyze the U.S. legal arguments for the straight baseline of the territorial waters of the South China Sea.