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]
The Post-Hearing Reality in the South China Sea Arbitration Case
The Hague hearing on jurisdiction and admissibility of the South China Sea arbitration case has come to an end on July 13 after a weeklong process without China’s participation. The hearing has become a heated headline for medias, governments, and scholars for the past week. Questions include whether the Arbitral Tribunal will issue a decision on the jurisdiction and admissibility on July 13, who the decision might favor, to what extend the Tribunal may render its jurisdiction, if there is any, the reaction of China and the Philippines might be, and what might be the take-away for countries who sent observers to the hearing, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. [Read more from Nong Hong]
What Makes an Island? Land Reclamation and the South China Sea Arbitration
We have all heard about land reclamation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea, particularly the southeastern region known as the Spratly Group. But much less is being said about what the Permanent Court of Arbitration just finished considering for the past week: are artificial islands really islands? According to the Philippines, the answer is straightforward: No. In its initial statement of claim, the Philippines asked the Court to invalidate China’s Nine-Dash Line and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands. Of these eight features, seven are home to ongoing PRC land reclamation. [Read more from Christopher Mirasola]
Taiwan’s Response to the Philippines-PRC South China Sea Arbitration
On December 8, 2014, the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands deposited with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Registry for the South China Sea arbitral proceedings, a Note Verbale. The PCA was asked to forward the Position Paper of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Matters of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines and its English translation to the five members of the Arbitral Tribunal that was constituted under Annex VII to UNCLOS. On December 11, 2014, the PCA conveyed to the Parties that it had received and forwarded to the members of the Tribunal copies of the Note Verbale from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and accompanying Position Paper. On December 16, 2014, the Parties to the case were invited to comment on a possible bifurcation of the proceedings, with a view to addressing some or all issues of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction as a preliminary matter. [Read more from Yann-huei Song]
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]
The Post-Hearing Reality in the South China Sea Arbitration Case
The Hague hearing on jurisdiction and admissibility of the South China Sea arbitration case has come to an end on July 13 after a weeklong process without China’s participation. The hearing has become a heated headline for medias, governments, and scholars for the past week. Questions include whether the Arbitral Tribunal will issue a decision on the jurisdiction and admissibility on July 13, who the decision might favor, to what extend the Tribunal may render its jurisdiction, if there is any, the reaction of China and the Philippines might be, and what might be the take-away for countries who sent observers to the hearing, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan. [Read more from Nong Hong]
What Makes an Island? Land Reclamation and the South China Sea Arbitration
We have all heard about land reclamation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the South China Sea, particularly the southeastern region known as the Spratly Group. But much less is being said about what the Permanent Court of Arbitration just finished considering for the past week: are artificial islands really islands? According to the Philippines, the answer is straightforward: No. In its initial statement of claim, the Philippines asked the Court to invalidate China’s Nine-Dash Line and determine that eight PRC-controlled maritime features are not islands. Of these eight features, seven are home to ongoing PRC land reclamation. [Read more from Christopher Mirasola]
Taiwan’s Response to the Philippines-PRC South China Sea Arbitration
On December 8, 2014, the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands deposited with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Registry for the South China Sea arbitral proceedings, a Note Verbale. The PCA was asked to forward the Position Paper of the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Matters of Jurisdiction in the South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by the Republic of the Philippines and its English translation to the five members of the Arbitral Tribunal that was constituted under Annex VII to UNCLOS. On December 11, 2014, the PCA conveyed to the Parties that it had received and forwarded to the members of the Tribunal copies of the Note Verbale from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and accompanying Position Paper. On December 16, 2014, the Parties to the case were invited to comment on a possible bifurcation of the proceedings, with a view to addressing some or all issues of the Tribunal’s jurisdiction as a preliminary matter. [Read more from Yann-huei Song]
CVD 