The US Department of State’s Paper on China’s Maritime Claims in the South China Sea was published on December 5, 2014. It has confused China’s “dash-line” claim.

China’s controversial “nine-dash line” claim in the South China Sea has triggered long-running misunderstanding in the United States government due to its perennial anxiety and repeated cross-examinations. This misunderstanding basically originates from the different thoughts over territorial and maritime legal matters between China and the West.

This has been reflected in the recent paper on China’s Maritime Claims in the South China Sea, put out by the Department of State, which focuses on the coordinates of the dashes, and on the terminologies regarding the maritime laws and Notes Verbales of China, and comes to confusing conclusions.

…Ye Qiang and Jiang Zong-qiang are research fellows at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, China. This piece was contributed to the RSIS Commentary series.