Thayer Consultancy Background Brief

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Philippines and Vietnam to
Discuss Maritime Boundary
Delimitation
October 12, 2018

President Duterte today talked about prospective negotiations with Vietnam to

delineate their maritime boundaries. Has there been any such maritime boundary
delineation talks in the South Chia Sea in the past or is this an unprecedented move
by the Philippines and Vietnam in the disputed region? How will China react?
ANSWER: There have been several maritime boundary delimitation agreements in the
South China Sea both before UNCLOS was adopted and after. The list below may not
be exhaustive. Since UNCLOS came into effect there have been three agreements. In
1997. Thailand and Vietnam reached two agreements, one on delimiting their
Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and the second on delimiting their continental shelf.
The second was an agreement between China and Vietnam to delimit their respective
maritime zones in the Gulf of Tonkin. The third agreement was between Indonesia and
Vietnam to delimit their continental shelf boundary. They are now negotiating on their
overlapping EEZs. It should be noted that EEZs and continental shelves are not
necessarily congruent. Indonesia may have been overly generous in the 2003
agreement with Vietnam and Jakarta opposes extending Vietnam’s EEZ to match its
continental shelf.
In 2009, the Philippines decided to bring its maritime zones into conformity with
UNCLOS. Any agreement with Vietnam would help to clarify their respective maritime
zones; and it would make managing illegal fishing easier.
UNCLOS calls on states to adopt “provisional measures of a practical nature” if they
cannot resolve their disputes peacefully. The Philippines and Vietnam could agree to
delimit their maritime zones” as a “provisional measure” without prejudice to their
sovereignty claims.
China will object because it claims all the land features and adjacent waters in the
South China Sea supposedly contained within its nine-dash line map. But China does
not base its claims on UNCLOS in the Spratlys. China has not promulgated baselines
around any of its artificial islands. Several, most notably Mischief and Subi reefs, are
low tide elevations and are not entitled to any maritime zones (and they are not
subject to appropriation but that is a moot point). Vietnam has always said it would
negotiate maritime boundaries with another state if no third party was involved.

LIST OF SOUTH CHINA SEA MARITIME DELIMITATION AGREEMENTS

 2

1969 Indonesia-Malaysia overlapping continental shelf

1973 Indonesia-Singapore territorial sea

1979 Malaysia-Thailand territorial seas and separate agreement on continental

shelves

UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA 1982

1997 Thailand-Vietnam EEZ/continental shelf boundary

2000 China-Vietnam Gulf of Tonkin territorial sea, EEZ, continental shelf

boundaries

2003 2003 Indonesia-Vietnam continental shelf boundary

2009 Malaysia-Vietnam joint boundary submission on extended continental

shelves (not a formal agreement)

2018 Indonesia-Vietnam negotiation on Exclusive Economic Zones

The move by the Philippines and Vietnam to delimit their boundaries is significant
given current negotiations on the ASEAN-China Single Draft South China Sea Code of
Conduct Negotiating Text (SDNT). The SDNT does not clearly define the geographic
scope of the South China Sea. However, under the section headed General Provisions,
Vietnam suggested that, “the present Code of Conduct shall apply to all disputed
features and overlapping maritime areas claimed under the 1982 UNCLOS in the South
China Sea.” Indonesia inserted, “the Parties are committed to respect the Exclusive
Economic Zone and continental shelf of the coastal states as provided for in the 1982
UNCLOS.” Malaysia proposed, “depending on the operative elements/contents of the
COC, the geographic scope/scope of application may have to be defined,” while
Singapore inserted the comment “the Parties may wish to consider the utility of
including a section defining the terms contained herein.” These four proposals will be
rationalized as negotiations continue between China and ASEAN members. A
successful conclusion to negotiations between the Philippines and Vietnam to delimit
their maritime zones would be an advantage to them if and when the SDNT is finally
adopted.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Philippines and Vietnam to Discuss Maritime

Boundary Delimitation,” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, October 12, 2018. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
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