The Chinese Permanent Mission to the United Nations presented a note to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday, urging the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) not to review the joint submission of information by Malaysia and Vietnam on the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, a Chinese mission spokesman told Xinhua.
Malaysia and Vietnam presented the joint submission to the United Nations on Wednesday, infringing upon China's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the South China Sea, the Chinese mission said in the note.
The Chinese government, therefore, solemnly urged in the note that the CLCS not to consider the joint submission of information in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Rules of Procedure of CLCS, the spokesman said.
The joint submission came about one week before the May 13 deadline set by the United Nations for countries to submit claims over extended continental shelves.
According to the CLCS Rules of Procedure, "in cases where a land or maritime dispute exists, the commission shall not consider and qualify a submission made by any of the states concerned in the dispute."
With the opposition from China, the CLCS will not consider the joint submission in line with the Rules of Procedure, the spokesman added.
(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2009)
