For those of you wondering how seriously the Chinese media is taking the Philippines' arbitration claim against China over the South China Sea (there must be at least two of you out there), here is an illustrative cartoon from a Chinese newspaper, "JingChu Times", in Central China (although originally from another publication). Although one doesn't need to read Chinese to get...
[I know that what this blog needs is yet another post on the China-Philippines UNCLOS Arbitration! We aim to please!] Steve Groves of Heritage asks in the comments to my prior post: What happens if China simply refuses to show up at the arbitration? Can an arbitral tribunal even be formed to rule on jurisdiction? This is something that I've wondered too, and...
This article from the Global Times, a hawkish state-controlled newspaper in China, probably reflects a little bit of the official Chinese view on the Philippines UNCLOS claim. It also contains this troubling bit of analysis, from a Chinese scholar: The international court would not take the case without agreements from all parties involved, Dong Manyuan, a researcher at the China Institute...
China's initial reaction to the Philippines' decision yesterday to file an arbitration claim has been to stick to its guns. From the BBC: On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told journalists that China has "indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and adjacent waters, which has abundant historical and legal grounds". "The key and root of the dispute over...
The Senkaku / Diaoyu islands, a series of rocky, uninhabited outcrops, are being claimed by Japan, China, and Taiwan, amongst others, both for historical reasons, and because of their potential value in anchoring sovereignty over natural resources like oil. Some have predicted the dispute may be a military “flash point” in 2013. As Duncan noted last month, China made a partial submission...
I'm gearing up for a Spring Semester teaching at Temple's Tokyo campus. As part of my preparations, I've begun to read-into some of the maritime boundary disputes between China and Japan that have caused so much friction between the two nations of late. Recent news reports have emphasized (i) China's moves by air and sea to challenge Japanese control over waters...
[Craig H. Allen is the Judson Falknor Professor of Law at the University of Washington in Seattle.] On December 15, 2012, one phase of the dispute between the Argentine Republic and the Republic of Ghana over the “seizure” of the Argentine frigate ARA Libertad while in a Ghanaian port came to an end, when the International Tribunal for the Law of...
A recent meeting of the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) has been heralded by environmental groups as a win for science in the management and conversation of scarce resources on the high seas. One of the species within ICCAT’s jurisdiction is the Bluefin Tuna, a species that has famously declined, and some would claim, collapsed in...
Today is Argentina Day here at Opinio Juris! (OK, it is Bash-Argentina Day). In any event, it is worth highlighting that while Argentina has escaped for now a NY federal court ruling that would have forced it to pay holdout creditors next month, it is also battling Ghana at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The request...
Under India’s presidency, the UN Security Council debated the global phenomenon of maritime piracy on November 19. The outcome was a presidential statement, not a resolution. Although not binding, it highlights future trends in the Security Council's approach to piracy. Unlike prior Security Council actions that have been region specific, Monday’s debate reflects the global dimensions of the issue...
This analysis from Professor Matthew Happold offers very good reasons to doubt that Argentina can validly invoke the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in its dispute with Ghana. Putting aside Argentina's argument that it did not (or could not) waive its warship's immunity, Professor Happold points out that it is far from clear that...
Argentina has opened a new front in its battle with Ghana over a local court order detaining its naval training ship ARA Libertad until Argentina posts a bond for payment on its defaulted sovereign debt. It is now threatening to sue Ghana in the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea. Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13th, all the deadlines expire for...
