Perhaps the most significant portion of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s July 12 500-page unanimous ruling on the South China Sea is the decision on Mischief Reef. According to the ruling, the reef and everything on it legally belongs to the Philippines. This is in spite of China’s reclamation of approximately 5,580,000 square meters of […]

The remark by Ms Fu Ying, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, National People’s Congress of China, that all the reefs and shoals put together amount to only a small percentage of the South China Sea illustrates why there is growing unease with China’s intentions across much of the Indo-Pacific region (“Disorder or the reconstruction […]

Hackers have used targeted malware to steal data from some of the governments and private sector organisations involved in the dispute over territory and sovereignty in the South China Sea. Cybersecurity company F-Secure Labs uncovered the malware, dubbed NanHaiShu by researchers, which it said targeted the Philippines Department of Justice, a major international law firm […]

A threat issued this week by China to jail foreign fishermen who enter disputed areas of the South China Sea prompted the head of an influential Vietnamese fishing organization on Thursday to dismiss the move and assert that fishermen will continue to work in those waters, with his country taking measures against China if necessary. […]

After an international tribunal rebuked China’s claim to the South China Sea, the Chinese government launched a website Wednesday, complete with historical maps, defending its position. The tribunal, appointed by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration, rendered its verdict on July 12, negating China’s nine-dash-line claims over the South China Sea. The decision upheld claims […]

Territorial issues over the West Philippine Sea – part of the larger South China Sea – dominated the topic of our national concerns last week. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the South China Sea. In 2013, the Philippines filed a case against China concerning territorial encroachments and other issues, including […]

South China Sea dispute, South China Sea, China military, People’s Liberation Army, China Army, Chang Wanquan, news, international news, latest news, world news, China news, PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, US China, China US File photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in […]

In a recent essay, eminent political scientist Graham Allison downplays international criticism of China’s blatant rejection of an unfavorable legal verdict at The Hague. By pointing out the unlawful behavior of status quo powers, his article gives the misleading impression that China’s noncompliance to the international court’s decision is essentially normal. “[N]one of the five […]

China has claimed to have unmasked Japanese malfeasance and “manipulation” amid a campaign to discredit an international tribunal ruling two weeks ago that largely invalidated Beijing’s claims to most of the South China Sea. In the days since the July 12 ruling on a case brought by the Philippines before the Hague-based Permanent Court of […]

Last month’s ruling by an international court redrew the map of the South China Sea…though China refuses to accept the decision. But while attention is focused on that regions reefs, shoals and artificial islands, law of the sea scholars now say the court decision could also affect another disputed feature, with a strange history…more on […]