Monthly Archives: July 2016

Stormy waters in South China Sea ruling

Next week’s landmark ruling on the South China Sea will test the bounds of “international order” in the region, as experts warn an “altogether peaceful” resolution is becoming increasingly difficult to see. With just days to go until the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague hands down its decision on the long-running […]

Choice insults Beijing has hurled at the international tribunal about to rule on the South China Sea

It’s safe to say China’s leadership doesn’t think highly of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. The international tribunal will issue a ruling on July 12 that could invalidate China’s sweeping territorial claims to most of the South China Sea, a strategically important waterway rich in natural resources. Ahead of that ruling, […]

Duterte’s South China Sea dilemma

Fresh into office, the Philippines’ newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte is set to face arguably his toughest foreign policy challenge. Though much of his political capital is currently directed at addressing domestic predicaments, particularly the proliferation of drugs and criminality, he will have no choice but to play high-stakes diplomacy in coming days. Phillippine President Rodrigo […]

South China Sea: Tribunal and the road ahead China’s unilateral territorial claims in SCS, creation of artificial islands and subsequent militarisation of the region has terrorised certain SE Asian nations. China’s unilateral territorial claims in SCS, creation of artificial islands and subsequent militarisation of the region has terrorised certain SE Asian nations. South China Sea […]

A showdown looming in the South China Sea?

LONDON – On July 12, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will issue its ruling on China’s claim to practically all of the South China Sea. And already the main military contenders are moving more forces into the region. China’s Maritime Safety Administration announced that naval and air forces will carry out […]

The Philippines Should Dare China to Challenge the Arbitral Award in the ICJ

As the release of the South China Sea arbitration tribunal’s award on July 12 nears, China has apparently gone into “propaganda overdrive” to defend its position that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction. By now, most anyone who accesses the internet or reads a daily newspaper has run across China’s insistence that the Philippines dispute involves maritime […]