The Republic of China adhered to a very conservative posture with regard to the law of the sea until long after it could have justifiably adopted a more assertive stance in view of customary state practice. Thus as late as 1979, the Republic of China still adhered to a three-mile limit for its territorial sea, with a broader defense identification zone and no exclusive fishery or economic zones.
In April, 1979, the two authors of this text were asked to prepare a position study for the Ministry of Research and Development of the National Executive Yuan of the Republic. This study, which was published in the United States in 1980, recommended adopting a twelve-mile territorial sea, with a 200-mile exclusive economic zone and full implementation of the Republic’s authority over its continental shelf.
Joseph W. Dellapenna
Ar-Young Wang