Artificial Island

What is Artificial Island?
Artificial islands, installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone.
South China Artificial Island.

Artificial Island


An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means. Artificial islands may vary in size from small islets reclaimed solely to support a single pillar of a building or structure, to those that support entire communities and cities.



 

Artificial islands, installations and structures in the exclusive economic zone


According to Article 60 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) III

1. In  the  exclusive  economic  zone,  the  coastal  State  shall  have  the exclusive right to construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation and use of:

(a)   artificial islands;

(b)  installations  and  structures  for  the  purposes  provided  for  in article 56 and other economic purposes;

(c)   installations  and  structures  which  may  interfere  with  the exercise of the rights of the coastal State in the zone.

2. The coastal State shall have exclusive jurisdiction over such artificial islands,  installations  and  structures,  including  jurisdiction  with  regard  to customs, fiscal, health, safety and immigration laws and regulations.

3. Due  notice  must  be  given  of  the  construction  of  such  artificial islands, installations or structures, and permanent means for giving warning of their presence must be maintained.  Any installations or structures which are abandoned or disused shall be removed to ensure safety of navigation, taking into account any generally accepted international standards established in this regard by the competent international organization.  Such removal shall also have due regard to fishing, the protection of the marine environment and the rights and duties of other States.  Appropriate publicity shall be given to the  depth,  position  and  dimensions  of  any  installations  or  structures  not entirely removed.

4. The coastal State may, where necessary, establish reasonable safety zones around such artificial islands, installations and structures in which it may take appropriate measures to ensure the safety both of navigation and of the artificial islands, installations and structures.

5. The breadth of the safety zones shall be determined by the coastal State, taking into account applicable international standards.  Such zones shall be  designed  to  ensure  that  they  are  reasonably  related  to  the  nature  and function  of  the  artificial  islands,  installations  or  structures,  and  shall  not exceed a distance of 500 metres around them, measured from each point of their  outer  edge,  except  as authorized  by  generally  accepted  international standards or as recommended by the competent international organization. Due notice shall be given of the extent of safety zones.

6. All  ships  must  respect  these  safety  zones  and  shall  comply  with generally accepted international standards regarding navigation in the vicinity of artificial islands, installations, structures and safety zones.

7. Artificial islands, installations and structures and the safety zones around them may not be established where interference may be caused to the use of recognized sea lanes essential to international navigation.

8. Artificial  islands,  installations  and  structures  do  not  possess  the status of islands.  They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf.



South China Artificial Island


Extending south of China and ringed in by the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, and Malaysia is a 1.35 million-square-mile body of water known as the South China Sea. If it truly is the case that East Asia is the global economy’s center of gravity, then the South China Sea might be its singularity. In 1405, the Chinese admiral Zheng He set sail with a fleet of treasure ships, traveling to neighboring nations and eventually as far as Mombasa, spreading knowledge of China’s wealth. Today, the South China Sea is again a venue for China to display its power — though with a very different fleet.

Although from on high the sea may seem a blue wasteland, punctuated occasionally by specks of uninhabited land, the islands have seen a frenzy of activity in recent years: China has constructed a series of artificial islands throughout the area. These artificial islands are a showcase of Chinese engineering, and this muscle-flexing has provoked strong reactions from China’s neighbors in the region, particularly the Philippines, which brought a suit against China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. On July 12, 2016, the international tribunal ruled against China, however, the superpower refused to acknowledge the decision or even the court’s jurisdiction.

What exactly are China’s artificial islands, and why are they so important? As it turns out, China’s island-building plan sits on a contentious intersection of technology, politics, and the environment.

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