Recent communications by the governments of Malaysia and China to the United Nations Secretary-General with respect to Malaysia's submission regarding an "extended continental shelf" in the South China Sea have once again focused attention on the legal and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

On Dec 12 last year, the Malaysian government advised the UN Secretary-General that it was depositing a partial submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in order to claim an extended continental shelf in the northern part of the South China Sea beyond the outer limit of the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) it claims from the baselines along its coast.