International Law regarding Enforcement Powers at Sea

ABSTRACT.The theory that we shall seek to elaborate here puts considerable emphasis on the legal situation of maritime zones in the South China Sea, the sovereignty of the coastal state over the territorial sea, the evolution of the law of the sea, and the legal system relating to oceans and seas. The main focus of this paper is the study of the sea rulemaking process, international law of the sea principles, the development of Chinese naval power in the South China Sea, and the freedom of navigation on the high seas.Keywords: maritime space, international law of the sea, territorial sea1. IntroductionScholarly research reveals strong correlations between the principle of freedom of the seas, maritime spaces in international law of the sea, the provisions for the delimitation of the territorial sea, and the median-line system as a principle suitable for the delimitation of territorial seas. The mainstay of the paper is formed by an analysis of international cooperation on the law of the sea, the rules of the law of the sea, states' near-exclusive control over their coastal seas, and the definition and regime of the territorial sea. In addition, this paper provides implications for practice and research to further explore the dynamic character of the Beaufort Sea and its ecosystem, the navigational and other freedoms and duties of all states under the international law of the sea, the analysis of the law applicable to the delimitation of the territorial sea, and contemporary trends of the law of the sea.2. Maritime Spaces in International Law of the SeaTanaka explains that the law of maritime delimitation plays an important role in the international law of the sea: the extent of legal rights is determined by the law of the sea with a certain degree of precision, and the international law of the sea regulates human activities in the ocean according to the legal category of ocean spaces. The outer limit of the internal waters constitutes the inner limit of the territorial sea. Coastal State jurisdiction over internal waters and the territorial sea is of territorial character. The median-line system is a guiding principle to be followed for the delimitation of the territorial sea. Tanaka remarks that the baselines of the territorial sea and those used for maritime delimitation1 in principle coincide. Seabed characteristics may influence the location of boundaries connecting navigational interests. Seabed concessions play little role for the delimitation of continental shelves or the tracing of single maritime boundaries. Maritime delimitation is at the heart of the international law of the sea. "The definition of the spatial extent of coastal State jurisdiction is at the heart of the international law of the sea. "2According to Posner and Sykes, resources at sea are outside the land territory3 of any individual nation (nations and their citizens may assert competing claims to the common pool resources of the sea): international externalities are a commonplace with activities at sea, states have a weaker interest in regulating behavior in the contiguous zone than in the territorial seas, whereas states cannot agree on all rules for the exploitation of seabed minerals because of conflicting interests. Posner and Sykes note that the resources of the high seas are generally subject to open access (states must obey certain rules in the navigation of the high seas and the exploitation of its resources). The high seas are governed by the classic principle of freedom of the seas. The freedom of the seas establishes an unregulated open access regime, reflecting the assumption that no country has the power to control oceans except along the coasts. States may gain little from the resources in the high seas due to the high costs of exploiting them.According to this discussion, the passages are part of the territorial seas of the state or states that control those bodies of land. Posner and Sykes think that the contiguous zone is a zone of water contiguous to the territorial sea (its width is twelve nautical miles). …