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Middle Powers and the South China Sea: Time to Step Up, or Step Out?

By Andrew O’Neil

December 31, 2016

The decision in July 2016 by a special tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration to dismiss the legitimacy of China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea has raised significant questions about how this issue should be managed in the future. Some have argued that the ruling presents an opportunity for regional states to reset interactions with Beijing by ...

De-combatising the Spratly Disputes

By You Ji

December 31, 2016

The possibility of standoffs among the Spratly disputants and especially between China and the US may have increased with the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016. The award has invalidated Beijing’s basis for Spratly patrols based on the ...

The Potential Utility of International Law in Conflict Mitigation and Resolution in the South China Sea

By Bing Ling

December 29, 2016

The conflicts in the South China Sea have a substantial legal dimension. The disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime rights are classical subjects of international law. UNCLOS provides a comprehensive framework of international rules on the maritime claims of the riparian ...

Implications of the July 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Ruling

By Nguyen Dang Thang

December 22, 2016

For a considerable time now efforts to manage disputes and promote cooperation in the South China Sea have been inhibited by the lack of an equitably defined geography of disputed and non-disputed maritime zones in the South China Sea. The Award ...

The South China Sea Arbitration: No, It’s Not a PCA Ruling

By Tetsuo Kotani

November 17, 2016

On July 12, 2016, an award in the arbitration case between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea was announced, which denied China’s “historic rights” in the South China Sea. As the award was released by the Permanent Court ...

The South China Sea Case and the Potential Utility of International Law for Conflict Mitigation and/or Resolution

By Douglas Guilfoyle

November 14, 2016

Even absent obvious paths towards joint development mechanisms in light of the South China Sea award the case has furthered the legalisation of the dispute, which helps contains the likelihood of military confrontation.