China deposits statement on baselines of Huangyan Dao with UN

Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, on Monday deposited the "Statement of the People's Republic of China on the Baselines of the Territorial Sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao" and relevant charts with Stephen Mathias, acting under-secretary-general of the UN.

The statement and charts will be published on the UN website.

In a separate statement published on its website, China's permanent mission to the UN noted that Huangyan Dao has always been China's territory. 

It added that the Chinese government delimited and announced the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao in accordance with international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, on November 10.

This is a natural step by the Chinese government to lawfully strengthen marine management and is consistent with international law and common practices, the mission added.

According to UNCLOS, a coastal state should deposit with the secretary-general of the United Nations charts and relevant information, including geodetic data, permanently describing the outer limits of its continental shelf.

China is fulfilling its obligations under the UNCLOS as a state party to the convention, the mission noted, and the deposit of the statement is also a legitimate move to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.