Earlier today, President Obama took time out during his commencement address at the Air Force Academy to make a pointed plea for the value of treaty-making. Here's the relevant excerpt from his remarks: By the way, one of the most effective ways to lead and work with others is through treaties that advance our interests. Lately, there's been a mindset in...
Underwater archaeologist Peter B. Campbell has a very interesting opinion piece in the New York Times about how archaeological claims are being used as political weapons in sovereignty disputes. He explains: For decades, global powers have been engaged in a race to exploit lucrative marine resources, from oil to fisheries to control of strategic waterways. But they have faced a challenge:...
I have been curious to see how China would respond to yesterday's UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal's ruling finding it has jurisdiction to hear the Philippines South China Sea related claims. Well, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs was ready with this blistering response: Q: The Arbitral Tribunal established at the request of the Republic of the Philippines rendered the award...
It's been a rough week for China's South China Seas policy. In addition to facing a US Freedom of Navigation operation near one of its artificial islands, the arbitration tribunal formed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea has decided that it has jurisdiction to proceed to the merits on the Philippines' legal challenge to certain...
The US Navy executed a much anticipated "freedom of navigation operation" (FONOP) today within 12 nautical miles of Subi reef, the site of one of China's artificial islands in the South China Sea. Predictably, China has reacted sharply to this operation by sending two Chinese destroyers to shadow the U.S. ship and planes, summoning the U.S. ambassador, and issuing angry...
As Chris notes below, it seems like there will be a showdown soon between the U.S. and China in the South China Sea over the right of freedom of navigation set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and customary international law. It is tempting to see this as a problem of one side ignoring international law, and the...
The BBC charts the latest back-and-forth between China, the U.S. over the Spratly Islands and, especially, navigation in the South China Sea. Much of the discussion of this issue has focused on the increased pace of China construction and land reclamation on series of islands and reefs, changing the “facts on the ground” to bolster its territorial and maritime claims....
While I was on (my completely undeserved) vacation in California recently, I noticed more evidence that China's government is becoming hyper-sensitive about criticism of its non-participation in the Philippines-China arbitration at the Hague. First, a top U.S. government official stated at a conference on July 21 that, among other things, "...
In late 2014, the Office of the Prosecutor rejected a request by Comoros to open a formal investigation into Israel's attack on the Mavi Marmara. To my great surprise, the Pre-Trial Chamber (Judge Kovacs dissenting) has now ordered the OTP to reconsider its decision. The order does not require the OTP to open a formal investigation, because the declination was based...
I have been following closely the U.S. Navy's plans to use military ships and aircraft to challenge China's aggressive land reclamation activities in the South China Sea, and China's not very positive reaction to these plans. But although there is a real dispute brewing here that could escalate into a sovereignty fight, I think media reports are making this dispute...
Sea Shepherd, the activist group that has been aggressively protesting Japanese whaling practices, has filed a very interesting petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. Readers may recall that Sea Shepherd was sued by a group representing Japanese whalers under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that Sea Shepherd's actions of...
[Sondre Torp Helmersen is a PhD Candidate at the University of Oslo and Niccolò Ridi is a PhD Candidate at King’s College London and SNSF Research Assistant, The Graduate Institute, Geneva.] 1. Introduction The recent disasters off the coasts of Italy have been the deadliest documented incidents in the troubled history of migration in the Mediterranean sea. The unprecedented number of lives lost at sea...
