Five countries have made submissions for an extended continental shelf in the South China Sea (SCS) to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), fuelling tensions and disputes with China. As the CLCS’ decision to consider and qualify these submissions may have a far-reaching impact on the settlement of territorial and maritime disputes in the region, comprehensive understanding and analysis of the CLCS’ strategies in managing “submissions involving land or maritime disputes” in practice is needed. China’s notes verbales contesting the submissions may not stop the CLCS from considering these submissions. Therefore, to ensure that its interests are respected, China should amend its notes verbales by: (1) identifying the ‘dispute’; (2) clarifying its status as party to the ‘dispute’; (3) expressing “not consent” and requesting the CLCS “not to consider or qualify” any of the submissions; and (4) clarifying the legal scope of waters in the SCS.

I. Introduction
II. Theoretical Dilemmas in the CLCS’s Dealing ofDisputed Submissions
    A. Who Determines the Existence of a Dispute?
    B. Who Can Raise a “Dispute”?
    C. How Is a “Dispute” Qualified?
    D. How Can Prior Consent Be Properly Given?
III. The Practice Followed by the CLCS in HandlingDisputed Submissions
    A. Deciding Not to Consider the Submission
    B. Deferring Consideration of the Submission or Taking NoAction
    C. Establishing a Subcommission to Consider FutureSubmissions
IV. China’s Response to the Submissions for anExtended Continental Shelf in the SCS
    A. Submissions in the SCS Involving “Disputes”
    B. China as a Party to the “Dispute”
    C. Pathways to Strengthen China’s NV
V. Legal and Policy Implications
    A. Challenges in Maritime Dispute Resolution: The CLCS andSovereignty Conflicts
    B. Strategic Approaches: Strengthening China’s Position inthe CLCS
VI. Conclusion

• Ran Guo(Professor at the School of Law of Shanghai Maritime University)
• Yanlin Zhou(Ph.D. candidate at the School of International Law of East China University of Political Science and Law)