An incomplete maritime map: Progress and challenges in the delimitation of maritime boundaries in South East Asia

Authors

Clive H. Schofield, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

140568

Publication Details

Schofield, C. (2019). An incomplete maritime map: Progress and challenges in the delimitation of maritime boundaries in South East Asia. Law of the Sea in South East Asia: Environmental, Navigational and Security Challenges (pp. 33-62). New York: Taylor and Francis.

Abstract

© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Donald R. Rothwell and David Letts; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved. While the land boundaries of South East Asia are largely well established and stable in character, as reflected by familiar lines on political maps of the region, the equivalent maritime map of South East Asia is profoundly incomplete. This chapter provides a survey of progress as well as challenges in the delimitation of boundaries in maritime South East Asia. Maritime South East Asia encompasses a series of semi-enclosed seas located between the East Asian continental mainland and islands offshore. These waters are connected via the Malacca and Singapore Straits to the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand, framed by the mainland littoral of Indochina to the west and China to the north, and Borneo and the archipelagos of the Philippines and Indonesia to the east and south. The chapter highlights the complexity and diversity of delimitation scenarios and concludes with considerations on remaining challenges that need to be overcome before the maritime map of South East Asia is completed.