China’s 9-dash line has no legal basis: int’l experts

Many French and European experts in foreign policies and politics have said that the “U-shaped line”, also known as nine-dotted or nine-dash line, drawn by China over the East Sea has no legal basis, according to a conference in France last month. It would be a serious mistake to assume that the conflicts in the East Sea just involve regional countries. It has the potential to be a world-scale conflict, said researcher Patrice Jorland, a veteran expert on Southeast Asia. The event, organized by the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS) and Gabriel Peri Foundation, a reputable research organization specializing in political issues in France, attracted leading experts in France and Europe. The conflicts in the East Sea have long been simmering, but became intensified in 2009. “The sea and land areas around the East Sea has now become a new El Dorado with huge economic potentials for maritime fisheries and mining industries with rare minerals such as rare earths and gas, not to mention huge biological resources from marine flora and fauna, said Cyrille P. Coutansais, deputy of maritime law office of the General Staff of the French Navy. “As above-ground resources are being depleted, regional countries are heading towards the sea, which has yet to be exploited,” he added. “So as not to let such a resource-rich area fall into the hands of the mightier, there must be law and conventions defining the rules of the game there,” Coutansais said, citing the 1958 Geneva Convention and the…