BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced Sunday thatChina has decided to submit its Partial Submission Concerning the Outer Limits of theContinental Shelf beyond 200 Nautical Miles in the East China Sea to the Commissionon the Limits of the Continental Shelf under the United Nations Convention on the Lawof the Sea (UNCLOS).
The ministry said technical preparations for China's State Oceanic Administration'ssubmission "are close to being completed."
According to relevant provisions of the UNCLOS, if the continental shelf of a coastalstate extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth ofthe territorial sea is measured, information on the limits of the continental shelf beyond200 nautical miles shall be submitted by the coastal state to the commission.
The commission shall make recommendations to the coastal state on matters related tothe establishment of the outer limits of its continental shelf, the ministry said.
According to the long-standing position of the Chinese government, "the naturalprolongation of the continental shelf of China in the East China Sea extends to theOkinawa Trough and beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which thebreadth of the territorial sea of China is measured," said the ministry.
The Chinese government submitted to the commission its Preliminary InformationIndicative of the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles in May2009, which stated that "China is making preparations for the submission of theinformation on the outer limits of the Continental Shelf Beyond 200 Nautical Miles" andthat "China intends to issue a submission" at an appropriate date."
