
South China Sea claims map by Voice of America, http://blogs.voanews.com/state-department-news/2012/07/31/challenging-beijing-in-the-south-china-sea/
Defense News reports that Vietnam and Indonesia have agreed on demarcation of their respective EEZs where they had previously been in dispute.
Peaceful settlement of conflicting SE Asian nation claims would go a long way toward presenting a united front against China’s expansive 9 Dash Line claims and clarify IUU fisheries enforcement.
“Practically, the successful Indonesia-Vietnam EEZ [exclusive economic zone] demarcation will help both countries to resolve illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which has been a serious bilateral irritant and a broader issue involving third-party countries, including China and Thailand,” according to Bich Tran, a visiting fellow writing in the Fulcrum, a publication of the ISEAS—Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
I am struggling to find a UNCLOS map of the South China Sea that doesn’t feature the Chinese claim. Just a flat map with the EEZ’s marked.
Part of the problem is that China is not the only country that buys into this idea that these features grant them rights to an extended EEZ, though UNCLOS is very explicit that they do not. So, there are several conflicting claims. ASEAN nations really need to use the courts to established agreed EEZs so they can simultaneously strengthen recognition of the international tribunal and present a united front against Chinese claims.
China appears to have the least legitimate claim of all those countries on the map.