The Battle of The Hague: Philippines v. China in the South China Sea

The Philippines’ lawfare (legal warfare) against China has reached a critical juncture. More than two years after initiating compulsory arbitration against China, the Southeast Asian country faces the crucial task of proving that the Arbitral Tribunal, formed under the aegis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), has the mandate to exercise jurisdiction on the South China Sea disputes. Unless the Philippines manages to overcome the jurisdictional hurdle, which many legal experts consider  a formidable obstacle, it will not be able to meaningfully leverage international legal regimes to alter China’s calculus in the South China Sea. What is at stake, however, is not only the peaceful resolution of an increasingly intense maritime jostling in one of the world’s most important sea lines of communications (SLOCs), but also the very credibility of international legal instruments as the ultimate arbiter of interstate relations. [Read more from Richard Javad Heydarian]

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