Beijing could face Asean’s wrath over ‘naming and claiming’ of South China Sea features, observers say

Formal identification of 80 topographical formations unlikely to impress the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with which China is trying to agree a code of conduct for the disputed waterway

Naming of underwater features might also be in breach of international law, regional affairs expert says

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Beijing has given names to 80 features in the South China Sea, the disputed waterway that it claims almost entirely as its own. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Apr 2020Updated: 12:00pm, 27 Apr 2020

China’s naming of, and effectively claiming, 80 geographical features in the disputed South China Sea might be a breach of international law, and could trigger a backlash from its Southeast Asian neighbours, analysts have warned.

Over the weekend, Beijing gave names to 25 islands, shoals and reefs, and 55 undersea mountains and ridges. The last time it made such a move was in 1983, when it identified 287 features in the region where several nations hold competing territorial claims.

While it is perfectly acceptable for countries and marine scientists to give names to geographical features, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea states that nations cannot claim sovereignty over an underwater feature unless it is within 12 nautical miles of a land feature.

The 80 topographical formations identified by Beijing over the weekend comprised 10 sandbars and two small reefs in the Paracel Island chain that were previously unnamed, 13 smaller reefs, described as “features”, around West Reef, which is currently occupied by Vietnam, and 55 underwater features spread across the South China Sea.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea states that nations cannot claim sovereignty over an underwater feature unless it is within 12 nautical miles of a land feature. Photo: EPA-EFE

Gregory Poling, director of the Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative – a platform for information about maritime security issues across Asia – said Beijing’s move to name the South China Sea features was unusual and possibly in breach of international law.