Lawfare
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Is China Reclaiming the Law of the Sea?
Artificial Islands, ASEAN, China, Code of Conduct, Cuarteron Reef, Fiery Cross Reef, Gaven Reef, Hughes Reef, Johnson South Reef, Lawfare, Mischief Reef, Reclamation, South China Sea Dispute, Unsinkable Aircraft CarrierThe Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has released a special issue on land reclamation and development activities in the South China Sea. As part of its ongoing effort to promote transparency in maritime Asia, AMTI obtained exclusive, never-before-published, imagery of China’s recent building efforts in the Spratly Islands. The collection of exclusive photographs includes coverage of […]
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How China Exploits a Loophole in International Law in Pursuit of Hegemony in East Asia
How is China pursuing its territorial claims in the South and East China Seas while also avoiding overt confrontations with the US and other regional powers? According to James Kraska, Beijing’s coercive actions fall short – quite intentionally – of what constitutes an ‘armed attack’ in international law. By James Kraska for Foreign Policy Research […]
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China’s Lawful Position on the South China Sea
Researchers at a key government-funded institute in China appear to have contradicted their director to lay out a moderate, or at least undecided, position for China on the so-called nine-dash line in a recent edition of Eurasia Review. This line, which was first drawn by the Nationalist government of China before 1949, appears to demarcate […]
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The Philippines vs. China in the South China Sea: A Legal Showdown
Arbitration, China, China Fishing Laws, Itu Aba, Lawfare, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, SpratlysThe next stage in the Philippines’ closely-watched arbitration case against China’s maritime claims will come in March when Manila’s lawyers submit their answers to questions posed last month by the five judge panel overseeing the case. The Philippines has put together a clever case, one that seeks to skirt China’s exemptions to compulsory arbitration as […]
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UNCLOS on Trial in the South China Sea
The latest installation of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative covers several recent developments in the region, including China and Japan’s progress towards an East China Sea crisis mechanism, Japan’s new record defense budget, and Taiwan’s decision to delay development work on Itu Aba island, following the revelation that a Chinese vessel was involved in the […]
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UNCLOS on Trial in the South China Sea
The latest installation of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative covers several recent developments in the region, including China and Japan’s progress towards an East China Sea crisis mechanism, Japan’s new record defense budget, and Taiwan’s decision to delay development work on Itu Aba island, following the revelation that a Chinese vessel was involved in the […]
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Int’l law the great equalizer in dispute resolution: PH envoy
MANILA – International law will be the “great equalizer” in the Philippines’ ongoing territorial row with China, a Philippine envoy said during a reception. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia said the country’s move to seek arbitration before an international tribunal underscores its desire to define its maritime entitlements in the South […]
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Putting limits on the Law of the Sea
The U.S. State Department’s legal study addresses this Chinese argument. “Had the drafters of the LOS (law of the sea) Convention intended to permit historic claims of one State to override the expressly stated rights of other States, the Convention would have reflected this intention in its text,” the study, called “Limits in the Seas,” […]
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The Fog of Law: China’s Great South China Sea Dilemma
Arbitration, China, Lawfare, Military Conflict, Philippines, Position Paper, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSRecent months have witnessed an impressive Chinese diplomatic blitzkrieg, with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang feverishly courting friends and foes alike, proposing ambitious trading agreements and acquiescing to various confidence building measures (CBMS) aimed at de-escalating geopolitical tensions in the region. But China’s intensifying legal battle with the Philippines has injected new uncertainties […]
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World View: Philippines and Vietnam Launch Military and Legal Buildup to Confront China
China, Lawfare, Militariy Conflict, Philippines, Position Paper, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOS, VietnamPhilippine troop and Chinese maritime police boat confrontation at Second Thomas Reef With China taking aggressive military actions to annex Philippine and Vietnamese territories in the South China Sea, both of these countries are building up the military capabilities, though nothing that their plan would have more than a small token resistance when facing the […]