The 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) enjoys the status as a "Constitution for the Oceans". However, being a multinational convention which regulates national ocean rights and duties as well as human ocean activities on a global plane, it is insufficient in terms of its protection on the underwater cultural heritage. This flaw was somewhat amended by the adoption of the "Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage" (UCH Convention) on 2 November 2001 in the 31st Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This paper firstly review the conventional rules respecting "archaeological and historical objects" found at sea in the UNCLOS as well as the legal controversies that they created, and then presents the rules provided for by the UCH Convention in supplementing and/or amending the previous rules contained in the UNCLOS, followed by an exploration of the insufficiency and problems of the relevant domestic legislation of Taiwan relating to the preservation, protection and management of UCH.