Clive Schofield - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Clive Schofield

$Research paper thumbnail of Australia\u27s deal with Timor-Leste in peril again over oil and gas$

Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography

Contemporary Southeast Asia, 2009

Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs, 2009

The article discusses Indonesia's revised system of archipelagic baselines with a particular ... more The article discusses Indonesia's revised system of archipelagic baselines with a particular focus on three changes. The three changes are in the Sulawesi (Celebes) Sea to the east of Borneo around Timor Island and in the Indian Ocean off the south coast of Java.

Ocean Yearbook Online, 2021

The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 2021

The Pacific Island countries are in the front line of adverse impacts from sea level rise. For th... more The Pacific Island countries are in the front line of adverse impacts from sea level rise. For the last decade the South Pacific Forum Members have been seeking ways to preserve their entitlements to their maritime zones and resources in the event of inundation of coasts and coastal features as a result of sea level rise. The issue was explored by the International Law Association in its 2018 Report and is being considered by a Study Group of the International Law Commission. This 2021 Declaration by the 18 Members of the South Pacific Forum purporting to fix permanently their maritime entitlements represents a major development in State practice for the region.

Australian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs, 2015

Early 2009 saw a flurry of submissions of information on proposed outer continental shelf limits ... more Early 2009 saw a flurry of submissions of information on proposed outer continental shelf limits to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). It is evident that many of these submissions overlap with one another where neighbouring States are located on shared continental margins, thereby giving rise to multiple „new‟ outer continental shelf boundaries and, it would appear, potential outer continental shelf boundary disputes. The paper provides a global overview of the impact of extended continental shelf submissions. These substantial „additional‟ areas of continental shelf may contain valuable seabed resources, including hydrocarbons. However, development of the resources of the outer continental shelf is likely to be constrained by overlapping submissions to the same areas of outer continental shelf. Such overlaps and potential conflicts are highlighted.

The inundation of a disputed island in the Bay of Bengal in March 2010 was reported as an unlooke... more The inundation of a disputed island in the Bay of Bengal in March 2010 was reported as an unlooked for benefit of climate change, eliminating the object of a contentious bilateral dispute. In fact this has not proved to be the case and the incident instead highlights the vulnerability of certain low-lying coastlines and insular features to significant and rapid changes in location, whether caused by sea level rise or not. While acknowledging ongoing debates on climate change and sea level rise, the paper examines key challenges in this context, notably concerning the ambulatory nature of normal baselines and the consequent potential impacts on the location of maritime jurisdictional limits derived from them. The paper goes on to suggest that the impacts of sea level rise on coasts and maritime claims will be unevenly felt before briefly outlining potential options with respect to retaining or securing maritime jurisdictional entitlements.

Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs, 2012

This article casts aside traditional obsessions and examines the development and present state of... more This article casts aside traditional obsessions and examines the development and present state of coastal State claims to maritime jurisdiction, the overlapping claims to maritime space that have inevitably resulted from the significant extension of maritime claims in recent decades, and thus the delimitation of maritime boundaries.

Berkeley Journal of International Law, 2013

Half of the world's coastal states are in the process of delineating continental shelf limits... more Half of the world's coastal states are in the process of delineating continental shelf limits seawards of their 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zones. The paper briefly outlines this process and progress towards the finalisation of such limits. Key potential resource opportunities that may arise within the "extended continental shelf ' areas are then highlighted and challenges in securing rights over these resources explored.

In April, Australia and Timor-Leste reached agreement on their maritime boundaries in the Timor S... more In April, Australia and Timor-Leste reached agreement on their maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea. This resolved a longstanding source of contention between them. The potential benefits of this historic breakthrough are now in peril, because the critical issue of how the shared oil and gas of the Timor Sea are to be developed remains in dispute. Disciplines Arts and Humanities | Law Publication Details Strating, R. & Schofield, C. H. (2018). Australia's deal with Timor-Leste in peril again over oil and gas. The Conversation, 25 May 1-4. This journal article is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/lhapapers/3517

The seizure of the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Sirius Star (see previous article) unfortunate... more The seizure of the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Sirius Star (see previous article) unfortunately represents only the latest, though certainly the most high-profile, incidence of "piracy" in the Horn of Africa region. Indeed, as this article was going to press, numerous fresh incidents were being reported daily notably the 30 November attack on the luxury cruise liner the M/S Nautica, carrying 656 passengers and 399 crew members. While the Nautica got away, largely by piling on speed and in effect outrunning the pirates (who reportedly got within 300m of the vessel and fired eight shots at it), the brazen nature of the attack emphasizes that virtual no civilian vessel is immune from attack. While there has been a surge in piratical attacks in this region in recent months, the issue of armed attacks against shipping in these waters is of long-standing. Indeed, there were more than 700 piracystyle attacks recorded in the region in the 1993-2005 period. The seizure of such ...

The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dealing with the delimitati... more The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea dealing with the delimitation of maritime boundaries are limited and open to varied interpretation. Nevertheless, the advent of the Convention had a significant impact on ocean boundary making. Subsequent developments have also arguably led to a clearer approach to maritime boundary delimitation. These evolutions are traced and contemporary challenges highlighted

It is now widely accepted that significant sea level rise is taking place and that this phenomeno... more It is now widely accepted that significant sea level rise is taking place and that this phenomenon is likely to accelerate in the future. This poses potentially disastrous implications for many coastal States, especially those with large and heavily populated low-lying coastal areas, as well as small low-lying island States. In addition to the essentially terrestrial, inward-looking threat posed to low-lying coastal areas and their associated populations from inundation by rising seas, threats also exist looking outward from the land to the ocean spaces adjacent to such threatened territories. In particular, sea level rise has the potential to significantly affect national claims to maritime jurisdiction all the way to the outward extent of maritime zones.

How has our approach to saving lives at sea changed since the tragedy of the RMS Titanic in which... more How has our approach to saving lives at sea changed since the tragedy of the RMS Titanic in which 1,523 of the 2,228 people she was carrying died a century ago? Surprisingly, not much. Only this April the South Korean ferry Sewol capsized claiming 288 lives so far, many high school students.

The paper explores the purpose and value of setting maritime limits and boundaries and, in partic... more The paper explores the purpose and value of setting maritime limits and boundaries and, in particular, argues that to do so is crucial in order to provide a clear jurisdictional framework so as to better realise the benefits to be derived from the value marine resources contained within the maritime spaces claimed by coastal States. The problems associated with maritime jurisdictional uncertainty are also noted. The spatial limits of maritime claims under international law are outlined together with the key ways in which the limits of such claims can be established. Challenges and uncertainties in defining maritime limits and boundaries are then highlighted with particular reference to the Pacific island States regional context.

On 14 March 2012, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delimited a maritime b... more On 14 March 2012, the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delimited a maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Judgment represents a landmark decision as the Tribunal’s first maritime boundary delimitation case, the first adjudication of a maritime boundary in Asia and the first judicial delimitation of a maritime boundary for areas of “extended continental shelf ” seaward of the 200 nautical miles (nm) limit. Rather than review the Judgment in detail, this contribution will highlight three notable, and to an extent potentially problematic, aspects of the decision: the approach to delimitation adopted and treatment of islands; relevant circumstances applicable within and beyond the 200nm limit; and, the creation of a so-called ‘grey area’. Keywords implications, ahead, skies, clearer, clouds, grey, case, bay, bengal Disciplines Arts and Humanities | Law Publication Details C. H. Schofield and A. Telesetsky, 'Grey clouds or clearer skies ahead? Impli...