The (unequal) relationship between Hong Kong’s waters and China’s baselines
The (unequal) relationship between Hong Kong’s waters and China’s baselines
This article aims to clarify the legal relationship between Hong Kong’s sea territory and China’s baseline system by conducting an historical inquiry into how the current status quo was reached and considering the implications for Hong Kong’s future development. China’s well-known position is that the treaties granting authority to the British in Hong Kong, including the ninety-nine year lease of the New Territories, were ‘unequal’ and therefore invalid so that sovereignty over the land and waters of Hong Kong never left Chinese hands and this position would be recognized and remedied at the appropriate time. As the Hong Kong experience illustrates, when territory is surrendered or leased, rights and claims are altered and sometimes extended. The historical evolution of those rights and claims therefore impacts on current territorial relationships. The example of Hong Kong may additionally serve as a reference point for modern day lease arrangements concerning coastal territory made outside the colonial context.
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Jørgensen, Nina
0fed4805-c315-414c-a10a-b292248f0193
30 June 2019
Jørgensen, Nina
0fed4805-c315-414c-a10a-b292248f0193
Jørgensen, Nina
(2019)
The (unequal) relationship between Hong Kong’s waters and China’s baselines.
Asia-Pacific Journal of Ocean Law and Policy, 4 (1), .
(doi:10.1163/24519391-00401001).
Abstract
This article aims to clarify the legal relationship between Hong Kong’s sea territory and China’s baseline system by conducting an historical inquiry into how the current status quo was reached and considering the implications for Hong Kong’s future development. China’s well-known position is that the treaties granting authority to the British in Hong Kong, including the ninety-nine year lease of the New Territories, were ‘unequal’ and therefore invalid so that sovereignty over the land and waters of Hong Kong never left Chinese hands and this position would be recognized and remedied at the appropriate time. As the Hong Kong experience illustrates, when territory is surrendered or leased, rights and claims are altered and sometimes extended. The historical evolution of those rights and claims therefore impacts on current territorial relationships. The example of Hong Kong may additionally serve as a reference point for modern day lease arrangements concerning coastal territory made outside the colonial context.
Text
HK China Baselines
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
In preparation date: 2019
Accepted/In Press date: 3 January 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 June 2019
Published date: 30 June 2019
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 430004
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/430004
PURE UUID: 0a2d7a8b-c644-44f6-a729-cc1516eacaae
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Date deposited: 09 Apr 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:37
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