Stability in the East China Sea

China’s less discussed territorial dispute is one that has the greatest potential for the United States to be drawn into conflict. While China has been more aggressive in building up military power in the South China Sea, for the past three years the Chinese have slowly been seizing control over the East China Sea from the Japanese.

China and Japan are both entitled under international law to an exclusive economic zone that includes the 200 nautical miles off their respective coasts. However, the East China Sea is only 360 nautical miles in width. Japan observes the median line between China and Japan as their EEZ, whereas China cites the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, “the natural prolongation of the continental shelf of China in the East China Sea extends to the Okinawa Trough and beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of China is measured.”