南海仲裁案与中国在南海的历史性权利

South China Sea Arbitration Case and China's Entitled Historic Rights in the South China Sea

近年来,南海"U形线"突然受到来自国际社会某些成员的质疑。在这样的背景下,本文针对菲律宾提交国际仲裁的关于U形线以及该线所产生的历史性权利所涉及的国际法问题展开讨论和解析。国际法是一个立体的系统,仅仅局限于单一的法规无法解决当今社会诸多复杂的实际问题。在南海问题上,《联合国海洋法公约》不能作为仅有的国际法依据渊源。U形线在国际法上有着特殊的地位,中国在U形线范围内主张的法律权利,都是在国际法的框架下享有的应有权利。除领土主权和主权权利之外,中国还享有国际法上的历史性权利。国际社会对于中国在南海U形线内的历史性权利不甚了解甚至有重大误解,这与中国政府历来未明确U形线的法律地位有关。

In recent years,the U-shaped line in the South China Sea has been challenged by a few members of the international society.Against this background,this article will discuss related issues in international law focusing on the U-shaped line and historic rights in the context of the submissions of the Philippines to the Arbitral Tribunal.International law is a complex system,and it will be little help to only focus on a single and specific international regulation to resolve complicated international issues.The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea cannot be the only source of international law to resolve South China Sea issues.The U-shaped line has special legal meaning in international law,and all legitimate rights China enjoys within it are consistent with international law.In addition to sovereignty and maritime rights,China also enjoys historic rights under international law.However,historic rights within the U-shaped line are not fully understood by the international society,and one of the reasons lies the fact that the Chinese Government has not yet defined the legal status of the U-shaped line.Therefore,it becomes necessary for China to clarify further the applicable scope,sources of international regulations and some other issues when making policies on the U-shaped line and historic rights.Furthermore,China should participate in the process of international law making,transforming itself from a law compliant to a law maker so as to win a bigger say at the international fora.