UNCLOS
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AFP: Up to 5 Chinese ships circling Panatag, Ayungin
MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces chief Gen Emmanuel Bautista said 2 to 5 Chinese ships are circling the Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal) and Panatag (Scarborough) shoals at any given time and some have gone as close as 2 nautical miles or about 4 kilometers to Ayungin. These are combinations of Chinese Maritime Surveillance (CMS) ships, […]
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Permanent Court of Arbitration Issuance on the Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China: Arbitral Tribunal Establishes Rules of Procedure and Initial Timetable
The Arbitral Tribunal in the case brought by the Republic of the Philippines against the People’s Republic of China under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“the Convention”), has issued its first Procedural Order, establishing the initial timetable for the arbitration and adopting Rules of Procedure. This follows […]
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MANILA, BEIJING, AND UNCLOS: A TEST CASE?
Introduction: International law and the South China Sea After a long summer replete with tensions and incidents in both the South China2 and East China Seas, the new year failed to bring renewed hopes for a peaceful resolution to the myriad territorial conflicts casting a shadow on the Asia-Pacific Region. Rather the contrary, renewed incidents, […]
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China’s maritime policy
I have written repeatedly about the need to resolve the West Philippines Sea dispute with China through litigation. At the time when the Department of Foreign Affairs was still debating internally on whether to submit the issue to arbitration or resolve it through diplomacy, I was already arguing that arbitration was the only option given […]
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China’s reservations
China has made three reservations to the compulsory and binding dispute settlement procedure of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Of these, only two appear to be relevant to the Philippine arbitral submission against China involving the West Philippine Sea. The first, a reservation on maritime delimitation, does not appear to be […]
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Negotiation—Not War—Can Resolve China’s Conflict With Japan
ASEAN, China, Diaoyu, East China Sea, Fishing Rights, Japan, Philippines, Senkaku Island, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSSino-Japanese relations do not look promising at the moment. Obviously, the Diaoyu-Senkaku dispute is not the only factor in play, but it does focus nationalist passions on both sides. Yet both countries are capable of wiser conduct if their leaders can manage to rise above the dangerous temptations to beat military drums. As China and […]
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Beijing tells Asean to be realistic in hopes for South China Sea code of conduct
All parties with territorial disputes over the South China Sea should have “realistic expectations” and take “a gradual approach” to a proposed code of conduct aimed at defusing maritime tensions in the region, China’s foreign minister said in Hanoi yesterday. Wang Yi , who wraps up a six-day visit to four South East Asian countries […]
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US assisting Phl in sea patrol – DFA
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday that unmanned US Navy surveillance planes conduct patrols to help monitor activities in Philippine waters, particularly in the South China Sea. DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said US drones fly over Philippine waters during joint military exercises with the United States. Hernandez said the joint […]
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China’s new ’10-dash line map’ eats into Philippine territory
Brunei, China, GMA News Network, Malaysia, Nine Dash Line, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, Taiwan, Ten Dash Line, UNCLOS, VietnamThe Philippines has protested China’s recent publication of a new “10-dash line” map that places sprawling offshore territories it claims within Beijing’s “national boundaries,” officials said Friday. In a confidential June 7, 2013 note verbale handed to the Chinese Embassy in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it “protests the reference to those […]
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Will there be war between the Philippines and China?
Cabbage Strategy, China, IMLOS, Invasion, itlos, Panatag Shoal, Philippines, South China Sea Dispute, UNCLOSBy Raïssa Robles With the continuous incursions of Chinese ships into Philippine waters, a friend recently told me she is seriously thinking of migrating to another country. China might invade the Philippines, she said. When, she doesn’t know, but she said she’d rather go while still young and able to. While I see an actual […]