WASHINGTON (TIP): Two Chinese tactical aircraft carried out an “unsafe” intercept of a US military aircraft on May 17, the Pentagon said in a statement on Wednesday.
The incident took place in “international airspace” as the US maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft carried out “a routine US patrol” in the South China Sea, the statement said. Washington has accused Beijing of militarizing the South China Sea after creating artificial islands while Beijing, in turn, has criticized increased US naval patrols and exercises in Asia. The statement added that the Department of Defense was addressing the issue through military and diplomatic channels. “Over the past year, DoD has seen improvements in PRC actions, flying in a safe and professional manner,” the statement said. PRC is an acronym for the People’s Republic of China. (PTI)
Effective sovereignty Argument Uninhabited Islands: A case that supports this view of effective sovereignty is relevant is the Minquiers and Ecrehos Case, France/UK of 17th November 1953. In this case both the UK and France had requested the ICJ to determine which country held sovereignty over the uninhabited Islets and rocks in the Minquiers and Ecrehos. France had claimed sovereignty because of historic sovereignty going back to the Dutchy of Normandy in the 11th century while the UK claimed that Jersey had historically exercised administrational jurisdiction on them. The Court decided that in the absence of valid treaty provisions, they considered the argument that the British government has exercised effective control to be superior, so that sovereignty control over the Minquiers and Ecrehos belonged to the UK. (the UK had protested to the French government when a French national had intended to build a house on one of the islats and any deaths occurring on the islets were dealt with by inquests held on Jersey). ICJ Minquiers & Ecrehos Judgment, 17 Nov 1953, p28, paras 6 & 12.
No delimitation between states with opposite or adjacent coasts may be affected unilaterally by one of those states. For some interesting judgments on territorial seas and to gain an understanding as to how the world court deals with such disputes:
https://www.academia.edu/10574593/Falklands_Islands_Territorial_Waters