As tensions in portions of the South China Sea, referred to by Manila as West Philippine Sea, once again fall into focus after Beijing’s declaration of an air zone, Philippine Ambassador Erlinda Basilio to China said the Philippines’ move to seek arbitration on its territorial dispute with China was not an “unfriendly act.” In an […]
Peter A. Dutton Professor and Director China Maritime Studies Institute U.S. Naval War College This testimony reflects the personal views of the author and not the official views of the U.S. Navy or any other entity of the U.S. Government. Questions presented: What are the origins of China’s territorial claims in the East and South […]
NEW DELHI – On the face of it, China’s recent declaration of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) extending to territories that it does not control has nothing in common with America’s arrest and strip-search of a New York-based Indian diplomat for allegedly underpaying a housekeeper she had brought with her from India. In fact, […]
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ lawyer in its historic case against China said on Tuesday, December 3, that Manila needs an “impeccable” judgment against Beijing to pressure it to take a “more flexible position” on maritime disputes. Paul Reichler, the Philippines’ lead counsel before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), hinted […]
Zhongye (Pag-asa) Island, the second largest in the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands, has an area of 0.33 square km, and is of great strategic significance for China if it wants to control a vast part of the South China Sea that it claims to be its territorial waters. As the Island is located roughly […]
(Publication Version) Speech delivered before the Philippine Bar Association 29 August 2013 Justice Antonio T. Carpio In the 17th century, England, Spain and Portugal, the naval superpowers of the day, claimed ownership of the oceans and seas they discovered, and enforced their claims through the barrel of the naval cannon. In 1609, Hugo Grotius, the […]
In the wake of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, international aid is flowing to the Philippines. The United Nations released $25 million from an emergency fund and the United States pledged $20 million in immediate relief. But, for the moment at least, precious little assistance is coming from the region’s behemoth. The Chinese authorities announced a […]
Participants to the recently concluded 4th biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law in New Delhi, India last November 15, 2017 heard for the first time the Chinese position on the Philippine arbitral claim on the West Philippines Sea dispute. In the said conference, I delivered a paper entitled “What next after the […]
China has painted itself into a diplomatic and legal corner regarding its claims in the South China Sea. Its infamous and ambiguous “historic” nine-dash line has been variously interpreted by rival claimants as a national boundary; a sovereignty claim to all water and land within it; and, more optimistically, as an indicator of a sovereignty […]