Chathamhouse – China has been on a diplomatic charm offensive last week to improve its relations with  neighbours who have a stake in the stability of the South China Sea (SCS), reaching out to Vietnam and Japan and  culminating in the historic meeting with Taiwan’s leader Ma Ying-jeou on 7 November. This followed on from recent setbacks for its ambitions in the SCS . First, the United States sent its warship USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the Chinese controlled Subi Reef to challenge China’s claim to the feature. Then, on 29 October an arbitral tribunal established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and hosted by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at the Hague found that it has jurisdiction to hear the claims put forward by the Philippines in a case against China concerning maritime rights in a part of the SCS claimed by both. Tiếp tục đọc “A Return to the Rule of Law in the South China Sea?” →