China's claims through the continental shelf: Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, state territory may extend to the continental shelf, while the exclusive economic zone may be extended 200 miles from the coastline. This however, serves only as a basic scheme. Foreign territory, which extends into the continental shelf, would adjust the size of any adverse territorial claims. Fascist China's claims in the South China Sea are based on its continental shelf. However, this creates problems because its territorial claims extend into the claims of other states, which are in turn based upon their own continental shelves and outlying islands. Thus in this area, basing territory exclusively upon the continental shelf brings no resolution to any of the underlying claims. Exclusive reliance on the Law of the Sea produces overlapping claims.
China, Vietnam and Taiwan claim all of the Spratly Islands, while the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei claim portions.
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