evidence: The Sansha II, a 400-seat transport vessel, parked briefly at James Shoal around July 16 and then returned to a base closer to the Chinese mainland, according to ship activity maps, a U.S. think tank and a U.S. Naval War College researcher. The submerged feature sits at the southern boundary of Beijing’s claim to the South China Sea and within Malaysia’s 370-kilometer maritime exclusive economic zone. [...] "James Shoal is often cited in PRC propaganda as the ‘southernmost territory of China,’" Pompeo said July 13. "International law is clear. An underwater feature like James Shoal cannot be claimed by any state and is incapable of generating maritime zones." [...] James Shoal, being 20 meters underwater, cannot be used by any single country to claim a separate, surrounding maritime economic zone under international law, analysts believe.