It is conceivable that the South China Sea Arbitral Award will continue to be a helpful guide leading the concerned parties to develop a viable rules-based order in the South China Sea, rather than allowing the region to become a 'might makes right’ arena for interstate rivalry.

The geopolitical landscape of the Indo-Asia-Pacific is changing considerably, marked by growing strategic competition between major powers, particularly the U.S. and China, at the time of the mysterious Covid-19 pandemic spreading worldwide.

China announced its new Coast Guard Law containing worrisome provisions that need further clarification. Japan, a prominent claimant in the East China Sea, feels threatened by this law.  

Major power competition, particularly the growing Sino-US multi-faceted rivalry characterized global politics in 2020. The South China Sea featured prominently in this rivalry in 2020.

Germany's plan to deploy naval ship in the Indo-Pacific does not change its neutral position in the South China Sea dispute, is a careful practice of international law, and therefore will not erode regional stability nor any littoral country's sovereignty as China might have suggested.