A Comparative Study on the Cooperation in the Arctic Ocean and the South China Sea

Delineation and delimitation of extended continental shelves is an emerging issue in international relations. Submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) triggered disputes among the coastal states with the overlapping claims. However, some of them managed to reach non-objection agreements which allowed the CLCS to proceed. The aim of this study is to identify the critical variable which influenced the cooperation process on delineation. The methodology is based on comparative study of two cases: the Arctic Ocean and the South China Sea. The original hypothesis of this research was that the pre-existing international, much functional, cooperation was the critical variable which influenced the adoption of non-objection memoranda of understanding in the Arctic Ocean, and that it might have potential to influence in the South China Sea. The main objectives of this study are to contribute towards a better understanding of a legal nature of delineation and to demonstrate interrelations between international law and geopolitics in regard to the delineation.