TERRITORIAL DISPUTES IN THE EAST CHINA SEA

The issue of territorial delineation in the East China Sea has a geo-economics significance due to the presence of rich energy sources as well as to the intertwined interests of the coastal states and the interests of the United States, that, for strategic reasons, tends to maintain its political and military presence and control. In the last decade, China, Taiwan and Japan have intensified their territorial demands in the East China Sea over the islands that the Chinese call Diaoyu, Taiwanese Diaoyutai, and the Japanese Senkaku (hereinafter: Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands). Due to the increasingly visible escalation in mutual relations arising from different points of view regarding the sovereignty of these islands and different approaches in terms of determining the boundaries of exclusive economic zones and continental shelves, where no party wants to make concessions to the other party, the application of international law seems an inevitable mechanism for overcoming territorial disputes. In this regard, the study deals with the possibilities to resolve territorial disputes in the East China Sea in order to achieve sustainable legal solutions that would be in accordance with the international law of the sea, and whose application would ensure peace and stability in this part of the world.