US' unilateral delimitation of continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles typical act of unilateralism and hegemony: Chinese FM

The US unilaterally establishing outer limits of continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast is a typical act of unilateralism and hegemonism,a spokesperson for Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

Wang Wenbin said that the delimitation rules of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast were set in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), not customary international law. The US is not a state party to UNCLOS and has no right to claim extended continental shelf based on UNCLOS or review its extended continental shelf outer limits through the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. 

The US' unilateral claim is illegal, null and void. It seriously violates international law, encroaches on the international seabed which is the common heritage of mankind, undermines the overall interests of the international community and will not be recognized by the international community, Wang noted. 

It once again reveals the hegemonism and utilitarianism that define the thinking and behavior of the US and its selective approach to international law, the spokesperson stressed. 

According to the US Department of State in its announcement in late 2023, the US ECS area is approximately one million square kilometers spread across seven regions. This maritime zone holds many resources including corals, crabs and vital habitats for marine life.

Even though the US State Department cites UNCLOS provisions in its announcement, Washington has never signed or ratified the Convention following its adoption by the UN in 1982.

Russia has also voiced objection to US unilateral claims. Citing Grigory Karasin, head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia's upper house of parliament, Sputnik said that "Unilateral expansion of borders in the Arctic is unacceptable and can only lead to increased tension. It is necessary, first of all, to prove the geological affiliation of these territories, just as Russia did."