The building of artificial islands of China in the Spratly Islands - An analysis in the viewpoint of international law

Abstract

The illegal building of the artificial islands in the Spratly Islands of China has been started since the beginning of 2014, and considerably boomed since 2015. China has conducted the dredging and the land reclamation in order to change the natural formation of seven reefs in the Spratly Islands, establish the artificial islands and complete the other man-made outposts in the features which were occupied unlawfully by China in the South China Sea. In the paper, the author shall evaluate the maritime environmental impacts, increasing defense and political chaos in the disputed area posed by China’s land reclamation, and legal disputes of the related parties about the legal status of the artificial islands. In the next part of the paper, the author presents how China’s land reclamation has violated of the international law, UNCLOS 1982, and broken binding international commitments of China. Hence, the author suggests the solutions for Vietnam in the current context of robust land reclamation conducted by China in the Spratly Islands.