China has an overall strategic environment and strategic tasks that are much bigger than the South China Sea issue. China should proceed from the perspective of the strategic situation, make peace with neighboring countries, and finally persuade the US to accept China’s role in Asia. Governments of China’s neighbors may support one element in the Chinese government’s basic position on the South China Sea issue, but not necessarily all elements, and Beijing must balance its strategic priorities.

The geopoliticalization of the South China Sea by the US has further complicated the security situation in the region and placed more hurdles in the peaceful settlement of disputes. The new president of the Philippines has made remarks concerning possible resumption of dialogue and negotiation on the Nansha Islands issue, a very welcome development.

In the past 20 years, the Philippines reached and signed at least six statements and agreements with China on peaceful settlement of the South China Sea disputes through negotiations. The current unilateral arbitration – deemed illegal by China and at least 60 other countries – is a ploy to legalize its illegitimate seizure of Chinese territory and deny China’s sovereign claims and maritime rights.

The new Philippine government is serious in its intention to talk to China in order to peacefully manage the South China Sea Disputes even after the arbitration ruling. However, if China overreacts at the expense of Philippine security, the Duterte administration will face no choice but to succumb to the pressures of other major powers.

Relying on certain clauses of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, to which both the Philippines and China are parties, the Phi

In an article entitled The South China Sea Arbitration (The Philippines v. China): Assessment of the Award on Jurisdiction and Admissibility recently published

Taking advantage of the gap between the common-sense understanding shared by a small group of legal experts and the general public’s misunderstanding of international law, the U.S. is labeling China’s non-recognition of any award as non-compliance with international law. China must make the public — and scholars — appreciate the difference between general rules and exceptional rules.

On 10 June 2016, the Chinese Society of International Law (CSIL) released a paper entitled The Tribunal’s Award in the “South China Sea Arbitration” Initiated by the Philippines Is Null and Void.

The Philippines has brought arbitration proceedings against China under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) relating to the South China Sea, and the Tribunal has recently given its decision on whether it has jurisdiction over the claims made by the Philippines.

China’s six-month old investment bank, the AIIB, has been at pains to portray itself as a new multilateral economic institution governed by written rules and not merely a foreign economic policy puppet of China. However, problems may arise as the South China Sea tribunal ruling nears the official AIIB coming-out party.