Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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May 13, 2009

China Submits Maritime Claims to United Nations
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2437328:A6F02AD83191E160AB659D0A567B4962F47489ACC27D21EE&
 
At heart of matter are two groups of rocky islands in South China Sea
that lie near vital shipping lanes, and are believed to be rich in oil,
gas 
China says it will rely on peaceful negotiations to establish its
maritime boundaries, even as it aggressively rejects claims by other
countries to territories in the East and South China Seas. At the heart
of the matter are two groups of rocky islands in the South China Sea.
China calls them the Nansha and Xisha islands. Internationally, they are
better known as the Spratlys and the Paracels. They lie near vital
shipping lanes and are believed to be rich in oil and gas. The issue of
disputing claims to the islands is in the news again because Wednesday
is the deadline for countries to submit to the United Nations their
claims to territories on the outer limits of their continental shelves.
This roughly means territories that are more than 200 nautical miles
beyond their coasts. The China Daily newspaper Wednesday quotes Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu as reiterating his country's claim
of what he calls "indisputable ... jurisdiction over South China Sea
islands and their adjacent waters." At the same time, he said the
Chinese government will resolve maritime issues through peaceful
negotiations. The Spratly islands also are claimed, in full or
partially, by Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. The
article says China has urged the United Nations Commission on the Limits
of the Continental Shelf not to review a submission from Vietnam and a
joint submission from Vietnam and Malaysia. It quotes the Chinese
mission to the world body as saying the submissions infringe on China's
sovereignty in the South China Sea. The paper quotes Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences maritime law expert Wang Hanling as saying that, by
submitting their disputing claims to the United Nations, the two
countries are trying to make this an international issue. The news
follows the Chinese Foreign Ministry's recent announcement that it has
set up a Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs. Foreign Ministry
spokesman Ma Zhaoxu says the!
  new department will deal with land and maritime boundaries and is aim
ed at increasing diplomacy with neighboring countries. Ma says this new
office is part of what he describes as an "appropriate reshuffle" for a
country that has such long land and sea borders. Another maritime
dispute involves overlapping claims with Japan for the Diaoyu or Senkaku
Islands in the East China Sea. The new department is also tasked with
dealing with China's 22,000 kilometers of land border with 14 other
countries. China settled its border demarcation with Vietnam in February
and with Russia last October. China's only outstanding land border
issues are with Bhutan and India. 


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