Legal Journals

Naval Incident Between China and U.S.

By ltieh

The U.S. and China are currently engaged in a skirmish over a confrontation which occurred in the South China Sea and involved five small Chinese vessels and an unarmed American surveillance vessel, the USNS Impeccable.  The US claims that the Chinese vessels harassed its ship in violation of the law of the seas, while China claims that the US intruded on an economic exclusion zone in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Admiral Timothy Keating, the head of the Pacific Command, declined to comment on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response, but noted the American reaction would come through the State Department.   The Chinese embassy in Washington issued a statement after the incident clarifying its position.

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Full post as published by Harvard International Law Journal Digest on March 18, 2009 (boomark / email).