South China Sea: Beijing urges UN not to consider Philippine request to extend continental shelf
- Beijing says the move would ‘seriously infringe’ its sovereignty over the disputed waters
China has formally urged a United Nations body not to consider a Philippine bid to extend the legal outer limits of its continental shelf in the disputed South China Sea.
In a diplomatic note last week, China called on the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf not to review the submission, which aims to confirm the outer boundaries of its legal continental margin beyond the 200-nautical mile (370km) limit.
“[The Philippine claims] have seriously infringed China’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the South China Sea,” the mission said in the note to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao [the South China Sea islands] and the adjacent waters, and enjoys sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters as well as the seabed and subsoil thereof.
“The Chinese government seriously requests the commission not to consider the submission by the Philippines.”
China claims almost all of the South China Sea but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims to the waterway, a key global shipping hub.