China publishes report assessing UNCLOS implementation, challenges

China published an assessment report on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on Tuesday, highlighting the convention's significance for multilateral diplomacy while cautioning against the abuse of its dispute settlement mechanisms.

Titled Assessment Report on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Achievements, Positioning, and Challenges, the report was released by the China Institute for Marine Affairs under the Ministry of Natural Resources to mark the 30th anniversary of China becoming a State Party to UNCLOS.

The report examines the convention's historical achievements, legal nature, role and positioning, as well as the challenges facing its implementation.

According to the report, UNCLOS is a significant achievement in the postwar development of the international legal order governing the seas and oceans. It plays an important role in upholding multilateralism, opposing hegemony, promoting marine and maritime cooperation, and advancing the sustainable development of the world's oceans.

The report also identified both internal constraints and external challenges to the convention's implementation. It said emerging issues such as climate change and artificial intelligence have presented new challenges, while abusive practices — including distorting the meaning of UNCLOS provisions, abusing its dispute settlement procedures, and arbitrarily expanding judicial or arbitral jurisdiction — have undermined the convention's implementation. It also cited inherent limitations, including textual ambiguities, undefined concepts and governance gaps.

According to the report, inherent limitations can be addressed through subsequent State practice and coordinated multilateral action based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. However, it warned that external challenges pose a genuine threat to the legal order established by UNCLOS.

The report also underscored the importance of practicing true multilateralism. It called for joint efforts to advance China's four global initiatives, saying the initiatives could help address persistent difficulties and challenges in implementing UNCLOS and improve global ocean governance.