CWP alum Isaac Kardon testifying to the 'U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission'
People’s Republic of China (PRC) domestic law enforcement and policy implementation in disputed maritime zones are the practical methods by which China seeks to change maritime rules. These organized assertions of China’s claimed maritime rights are effective mainly in maritime East Asia, where we can observe: (1) PRC maritime law enforcement (MLE) vessels (2) enforcing PRC maritime law and regulations and (3) implementing maritime and boundary policies issued by the state bureaucracy (including executive, legislative, and judicial organs) (4) under the political direction of central Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership. Collectively, these patterns of PRC practice can be understood as “China’s law of the sea,” a creeping process that is transforming regional maritime order.1
The law of the sea is the primary body of international rules affected by China’s maritime practices. Legally meaningful changes may arise through (a) revised interpretation and application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in East Asia, and/or (b) formation of new regional or local customary international norms relating to maritime jurisdiction and territorial sovereignty. Empirical analysis alone cannot determine whether legal rules have formally changed.2 Nonetheless, we can consider the stated intent of China’s party-state leadership to change (interpretations of) several specific rules. We can further analyze how effectively those preferred rules are put into practice, operationally and diplomatically.
Rule by Law: China’s Increasingly Global Legal Reach
ISAAC KARDON - MAY 04, 2023
TESTIMONY: U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION
Isaac B. Kardon is a senior fellow for China studies in the Asia Program. He was formerly assistant professor at the U.S. Naval War College, China Maritime Studies Institute, where he researched China’s maritime affairs, and taught naval officers and national security professionals about PRC foreign and security policy.
Photo Credit: https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/05/04/rule-by-law-china-s-increasingly-global-legal-reach-pub-89688
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
