Weekly News 2/12-8/12

-(Philippine Daily Inquirer 6/12) Int’l law experts laud PH stand on sea row : Amid rising tensions between claimants to territory in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, the Philippines’ stand of invoking international law in asserting its own claim against an increasingly aggressive China is gaining support from international law experts. –(Journal Online 6/12) Int’l experts tackle territorial disputes

-(Vietnamplus 5/12) Vietnam follows developments in East China Sea : Vietnam follows with deep concern the developments in the East China Sea as well as the worries of all engaged parties, the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson, Le Hai Binh, has stated.

Reassurance needed, unlikely over the Nine-Dash Line

What would reassure neighbouring nations is for China to bring their claims into the realm of international law and reasonableness. China should be prepared to negotiate in good faith the limits of the disputed area.

The (countinued) need for American "Pivot to Asia"

Yet strategic posturing in Europe and the Middle East needs not entail strategic ambiguity towards Asia, for it would undermine what American efforts in Asia have achieved.

Alegal analysis of China’s historic rights claim In the South China Sea

The recent turmoil created by the competing sovereignty claims of several countries over islands and waters in the South China Sea has caused the resurgence of the concept of “historic rights.”

Can a limited purpose maritime and air defence identification zone be established over the South China Sea?, by Mary George

To stimulate South China Sea regional security cooperation in the control of piratical attacks against ships, this paper proposes the establishment of a limited purpose maritime and air defence identification zone over the South China Sea.

Recent Developments in the Philippine Baselines Law, by Raul C. Pangalangan

The Philippines recently passed a 2009 Baselines Law that, it was hoped, would finally confront its long-standing dilemma on whether to abandon its 1898 “treaty lines” altogether and adopt the modern rules on the Law of the Sea. That hope did not come to pass.

CLCS submissions and claims in the South China Sea, by Robert C. Beckman & Tara Davenport

We will first briefly outline the claims to islands in the South China Sea prior to 2009. We will then examine the official documents submitted to the CLCS relating to the South China Sea claims and the significance of these developments, especially how they have resulted in several of the claimants bringing their claims into conformity with their rights and obligations under UNCLOS

When the elephants dance….China, the United States and the South China Sea, by Geoffrey Till

This paper will focus on the symbolic aspect of this island dispute for China and for the United States, a country that is not a claimant but which appears nevertheless to be getting ever more involved in the conduct of the dispute and in discussions about its final possible resolution

Towards an international legal duty of ocean cooperation? by Ian Townsend-Gault

This paper explores the rules of international law, as well as relevant state practice, pertaining to maritime cooperation.  Its scope therefore includes formal and informal arrangements whereby states have decided to blur, or establish some alternative to, the usual rules pertaining to exclusive jurisdiction at sea.

Can the Disputes Over Maritime Delimination and Sovereignty to Islands in the South China Sea Be Solved? by Prof. Stein Tønnesson

This paper argues that a better choice is to make active use of the Law of the Sea as a basis for delimiting territorial waters, Exclusive Economic Zones and continental shelves, and that this could be possible even without resolving the question of sovereignty to the Spratly Islands.

New actors and thoughts in Chinese foreign policy and its implications to Vietnam in South China Sea, by Nguyen Minh Ngoc

The purpose of this paper by Nguyen Minh Ngoc is to analyze the actors and new thoughts in Chinese foreign policy and implications of China’s policies for South China Sea. The author would like to offer readers with the policy-making process of new foreign policy of China, which helps Vietnamese more aware of the situation and find appropriate solutions.

Legal bases and reality approaches of legal documents on South China Sea disputes by Nguyen Duc Hung

In the process of seeking measures to the disputes in the South China Sea, UNCLOS 1982 and the related international legal documents are the creditable legal basis despite their drawbacks. Therefore, the reality approaches are crucial. First, the following article analyzes the pros and cons of taking UNCLOS as the legal basis.