Similarly, James Shoal is also not part of the extended continental shelf of Vietnam, the Philippines or Republic of China (Taiwan).

[14][2] James Shoal is 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) from Thitu Island (Pagasa) in the Spratlys that the Philippines has occupied since 1971, and more than 400 nautical miles (740 km; 460 mi) from Itu Aba, an island that Republic of China (Taiwan) has occupied since 1956.

In 1969, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a Treaty on the continental shelf, off Tanjung Datu, Sarawak, which has placed James Shoal on the Malaysian side.

[2] Under international law, such display of peaceful and continuous activities over a long period is tantamount to establishing a titre de souverain (acts of the sovereign).

[20] The Royal Malaysian Navy chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar denied the report, saying that the Chinese exercise took place hundreds of miles to the north in international waters.

[22] In July 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo wrote concerning the claim: The PRC has no lawful territorial or maritime claim to (or derived from) James Shoal, an entirely submerged feature only 50 nautical miles from Malaysia and some 1,000 nautical miles from China’s coast.

James Shoal (roughly 20 meters below the surface) is not and never was PRC territory, nor can Beijing assert any lawful maritime rights from it.

[27] Active exploration and development of oil and gas fields by Malaysia has been taking place around the James Shoal since 2014, with several production facilities erected in the surrounding area.