I am writing this article as a follow on to Allen's post “Who Is Really Overstepping the Bounds of International Law in the South China Sea?” International law is defined by consensus but ultimately decided by “reality on the ground”. Each claimant nation of South China Sea island should have absolute faith and belief in their position before submitting any claim. That is … [Read more...] about Involvement of Any Third Party in The South China Sea is Counter Productive
territorial dispute
Who Is Really Overstepping the Bounds of International Law in the South China Sea?
[Editor's Note: This is a cross-post of an article I submitted to the Diplomat a few weeks ago. I am wrapping up a more detailed legal analysis of the issues and aim to make it a law review article. I will cross-post here too that once that has been submitted and accepted.] When the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague recently announced that it would take … [Read more...] about Who Is Really Overstepping the Bounds of International Law in the South China Sea?
Google alters name of disputed South China Sea reef
So it's official folks. Google has altered the name of of a disputed South China Sea reef on its map from Huangyan Island to Scarborough Shoal. Since Google says so, it must be so. Has to be so. … [Read more...] about Google alters name of disputed South China Sea reef
China’s Take on Vietnam’s Dispute with China in the S. China Sea
Recently, the Western media has been ablaze with Vietnam's confrontation with China in the S. China Sea over an oil rig. I thought it's a good time for me to reference two documents that presents China's side of the story. First is an article by Ling Dequan in People's Daily titled "Truth about South China Sea dispute." Here is a copy. Updated: 2014-06-14 … [Read more...] about China’s Take on Vietnam’s Dispute with China in the S. China Sea
Why Asia Should Say No to Mr. Abe’s Vision of International Law for Asia
[Editor's note: the English version of post was first posted on Huffington Post and can be found here; and the Chinese version can be found on Guancha.cn here] SHANGHAI -- A few weeks ago at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Shinzo Abe made a bold pitch to Asia to buy in on a new type of Japanese leadership. According to Mr. Abe, the peace that is at the foundation of … [Read more...] about Why Asia Should Say No to Mr. Abe’s Vision of International Law for Asia