A New Legal Arrangement for the South China Sea?

At the heart of the security tensions in the East China Sea and the South China Sea lies several territorial disputes over many different maritime features that spread across the region. The highly political nature of the territorial dispute – often involving strong national sentiment attached to those islands and other maritime features in dispute, as well as the political and economic interests associated with them – means that it is not easily amenable to political or diplomatic settlement. The key to the management and ultimate resolution of these disputes, therefore, is: (1) to create de-politicised space where specific aspects of the dispute can be managed or resolved; and (2) to reduce political incentives to engage in destabilising conduct; and (3) to generate political incentives among the parties involved to move towards third-party adjudication of the dispute.

Horizon Insights , 2021

A crucible of regional cooperation or conflict-making sovereignty claims?, 2000

The Philippines has recently proposed that a zone of peace, freedom, friendship and cooperation be established in the South China Sea. As noted by the Philippines, the establishment of such a zone would require a determination of which areas are in dispute and which areas are not in dispute. The Philippines' proposal recognizes that the claimant States must reach an agreement on the areas in dispute before they can undertake serious cooperative measures. This article will examine the above issues and the major obstacles which are preventing agreement on the areas in dispute. It will also examine the international law obligations of claimant States with regard to areas in dispute, including the limits under international law on what unilateral actions can be undertaken by States in areas in dispute.

Since 2000, the actions as well as articulations by the stakeholders in the South China Sea (SCS), by those directly involved (claimants) and some with strategic stakes (indirectly), have become particularly assertive. This has led to rising tensions and the serial/frequent occurrences of incidents of confrontationist nature are symbolic of deteriorating regional security environment. The SCS disputes are long-standing with two interesting mixes. Firstly, the combination of history, cartography, and, varying interpretations of doctrines and norms for inter-state delimitation by each claimant. The second mix is the complex web of overlapping, intersecting and intermeshed nature of these claims with varying degrees of sovereignty, territoriality and maritime entitlement implications. This main issues examined are some salient aspects of extant legal framework for deconstructing the sovereignty, territoriality and sovereign rights through the perspective of codified/treaty law and the case law. This paper (pre-publication draft with a few minor typos) forms a chapter of recent;y published edited volume titled "Maritime Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific".

2013

The purpose of this article is to analyze and propose potential alterna鄄 tives to the stalemate of sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea. The background and status quo in the region suggest that sovereignty disputes are not likely to be set鄄 tled in the foreseeable future. Although recommended by many diplomats and schol鄄 ars, traditional dispute settlement mechanisms under international law, including dip鄄 lomatic negotiation and third鄄party arbitration, will not likely work in the South China Sea, at least in the near future. Due to the probable difficulties in implementing ei鄄 ther of the mechanisms, " joint development冶 of oil and gas reserves and " regional cooperation冶 on the marine environment and shared resources have been recommen鄄 ded as alternatives to circumvent these sovereignty disputes. Nevertheless, this article finds that joint development of oil and gas reserves is similarly unlikely to work in the near future because it suffers the same weakness as traditional mechanisms, in that any resolution may have sovereignty implications. On the other hand, cooperation has been recognized as a necessary and fundamental principle in international law and in鄄 ternational relations. In addition, there are many legal commitments by bordering States / regions to cooperate on the commons under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and many other international environmental conventions. Some coop鄄 erative activities related to the commons are regularly carried out on bilateral or multi鄄 lateral bases in the region. Notwithstanding the lack of progress toward final settle鄄 ment of sovereignty disputes, regional cooperation in the South China Sea may be a workable alternative for all States concerned in the near future. As always, the politi鄄 2 6 2 cal will of all parties is paramount to the success of such an endeavor.

Using Professor Charles A. Kupchan's concept of stable peace, this article explores the possibility of defusing the tension in the South China Sea through conflict resolution. At the present, the precarious situation in the contested territory is stabilized by a balance of power system. This system springs from the littoral states' (the Philippines and Vietnam) policies of drawing other maritime powers such as the United States (US) and Japan into the issue to constrain an assertive China. Apprehensive of China's growing power in East Asia, the US and Japan have increased their strategic presence in the South China Sea. These developments have transformed the dispute into a case of conflict irresolution. This article concludes that the imperative variable to jumpstart the process of resolving the South China Sea imbroglio is China's willingness to accommodate unilaterally the territorial entitlements of the small claimant states.

Journal of Student Research, 2021

The South China Sea region has been a site of conflict for decades, with numerous states holding competing territorial claims due to its abundance of resources and strategic importance. Recently, China’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea has escalated tensions in the region and has strained efforts to bring peace. This paper observes the role of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in resolving the conflict in the South China Sea. First, this paper studies the ASEAN-China code of conduct, the dispute management approach currently being negotiated between ASEAN and China. This code of conduct will govern the conduct of the countries involved in the South China Sea disputes. Furthermore, this paper proposes key provisions that should be incorporated into this code of conduct to make it more effective. Second, this paper reviews the conflicting views of ASEAN member states that im...

Nowa Polityka Wschodnia, 2020

The aim of this article is to examine two treaties which are often presented by scholars as potential models for a maritime regime in the South China Sea, namely the Svalbard Treaty and the Antarctic Treaty System. The work concludes that even though both of the treaties have resolved equally complex territorial disputes, their importance as a role model for the SCS is limited due to the unique political condition in the Asia-Pacific. However, the solutions within the sphere of environmental protection and the structure of decision-making institutions developed by the abovementioned treaties present a valuable lesson and a potential example for the countries involved in the South China Sea dispute to emulate. The article argues that cooperation within environmental protection and fisheries management, as a low-profile endeavour, is easier to be put into practice than the joint development of highly contested hydrocarbon resources of the SCS. Furthermore, it can potentially lay foundation for the future high profile collaboration. The paper also presents a model of a maritime regime for the South China Sea.

2013

The basic solution to the maritime rights and maritime delimitation disputes of States bordering the South China Sea ( SCS) is to resolve related disputes through negotiations and consultations and to achieve equitable maritime delimitation in disputed sea areas based on international law. There have been many precedents in addressing the maritime delimitation issue in SCS disputed areas by agreements a鄄 mong SCS bordering States including China. Such practices primarily include the fol鄄 lowing contents: resolving maritime delimitation disputes peacefully in a spirit of goodwill and equal consultation; regarding the adjusted median line as the single maritime boundary of relevant waters; prevalence of articles on single geological structure or transboundary resources in the delimitation agreements; entering into pro鄄 visional arrangements on joint development of resources in relevant areas when no a鄄 greement could be reached to delimit maritime boundaries, etc. This article attempts to summarize and analyze related practices, as well as their implications for China in resolving maritime delimitation issues with other States bordering the SCS.

Journal of Conflict Studies, 1994