By Xiao Jianguo

May 11, 2016

"In January 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated the South China Sea arbitration against China under Part XV and Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and has been obstinately pushing it forward ever since.

The essence of the subject-matter of the arbitration concerns territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation. The former is beyond the scope of the UNCLOS and does not concern the interpretation or application of the UNCLOS, but should be settled on the basis of history and general international law. The latter falls within the scope of the declaration filed by China in 2006 pursuant to Article 298 of the UNCLOS, which excludes, among others, disputes concerning maritime delimitation from compulsory arbitration and other compulsory dispute settlement procedures."

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