Maritime Security and Piracy: Worsening Dispute or Growing Clarity in Claims?

The article discusses the dispute of China with Vietnam and Malaysia over the latter's request for the extension of the continental shelves of the South China Sea. It states that in May 2009, Vietnam and Malaysia made submissions for the extension of their continental shelves into the sea, which China objected. It says that under the 1982 United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states have the right to ask for continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (nm).