If a coastal State claims a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) that intrudes into the 200-nm limit of another State, the problem arises as to whether there is a hierarchical relationship between natural prolongation and distance, the two criteria of entitlement to the continental shelf provided by Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. A positive answer would mean that the continental shelf beyond 200 nm cannot encroach upon the 200-nm limit, otherwise there would be an area of overlapping entitlements which calls for maritime delimitation. This article attempts to analyse this problem from the perspectives of Article 76, relevant judicial cases, State practice, and the relationship between the regimes of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone. It is submitted that the law is not conclusive, though a majority of coastal States tend to adopt a self-constraint approach. In addition, this problem brings further challenges to the law of maritime delimitation.

中文翻译：

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大陆架划界中自然延长与距离之间是否存在等级关系？

如果一个沿海国声称超过 200 海里（nm）的大陆架侵犯了另一国 200 海里的界限，则问题在于自然延伸和距离之间是否存在等级关系，这两项权利的标准联合国海洋法公约第 76 条规定的大陆架。一个肯定的答案将意味着 200 海里以外的大陆架不能侵犯 200 海里的界限，否则就会出现一个权利重叠的区域，需要进行海洋划界。本文试图从第七十六条、相关司法案例、国家实践、大陆架制度与专属经济区的关系等角度分析这一问题。据认为，该法律尚无定论，尽管大多数沿海国家倾向于采取自我约束的方法。此外，这一问题给海洋划界法带来了进一步的挑战。