Eye of the Beholder

An old subject that I don't like to dwell. In the news today, found out that 13th of May is the deadline for coastal states to submit declarations on where they see their boundaries to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. So far a total of 48 nations have made full claims, and dozens more have made preliminary submissions.

Obviously there are many overlapping submissions. But perhaps one of the most complicated areas to resolve is who owns what in the South China Sea, with many countries having competing claims. China claims the Spartly island chains amongst others are part of its sovereign territory - and so is claiming almost the whole of the South China Sea barring the sand beaches of the other states!