International Law Challenges for Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection in the South China Sea

The South China Sea is rich in underwater cultural heritage (UCH), which is suffering serious damage owing to illegal salvage by treasure hunters and unregulated excavation by commercial companies. Differences in the domestic laws of the littoral countries in the South China sea, in development policies, as well as the destruction of World War II shipwrecks are challenges to the protection of the UCH in the South China Sea. In order to ensure the proper protection of the UCH in the South China Sea, this study assesses the feasibility of three mainstream options, namely, accession to the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (CPUCH) by the littoral states of the South China Sea, the establishment of a regional bilateral or multilateral agreement, and the establishment of a Marine Protected Area (MPA).