International Arbitration of Maritime Delimitation: An Alternative for East Asia?

• Author: Chao Wang
• Pages: 427-428

Maritime Arbitration

427

VII JEAIL 2 (2014)

Chao Wang

∗

International arbitration, as a neutral, flexible, efficient and binding legal

means of dispute resolution, has been effective in settling maritime delimitation

disputes, especially in recent years since the UNCLOS came into force.

There are a number of reasons (i.e. advantages) for its increased popularity.

Reasonable expectations thus arise as to its applicability onto similar maritime

delimitation disputes of the East Asian countries whose diplomatic efforts have

mostly failed to address these matters. This article examines this practical issue

primarily from the legal perspective by reviewing relevant international rules

including the UNCLOS provisions on compulsory dispute resolution and cases

such as the ongoing Philippines-China arbitration over the South China Sea.

Observations are also made from the political and cultural perspectives as well.

It concludes that, though multiple dispute settlement means are still encouraged,

international arbitration could be an important alternative for East Asian

countries seeking a peaceful solution to their maritime delimitation disputes.

Keywords

Maritime Delimitation, Dispute Resolution, International Arbitration,

UNCLOS, Compulsory Procedures, East Asia

International Arbitration

of Maritime Delimitation:

An Alternative for

East Asia?

∗ Assistant professor at Zhejiang University Guanghua Law School, China. B.A. (Tsinghua), Ph.D. (CU Hong Kong).

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5490-9218. This paper has been supported by China’s National Social Sciences

Research Funding Program (13CFX121) and the 985 Ocean Law Project of Zhejiang University. The author is grateful

to his former colleagues Aloysius Llamzon, Yanying Li and Annie Lespérance at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in

The Hague. The views expressed here are solely those of the author and are not to be attributed in any form to the PCA

or the Chinese government. The usual disclaimer applies. The author may be contacted at: superwang@zju.edu.cn/

Address: Guanghua Law School, Zhejiang University, 51 Zhijiang Road, 310008, Hangzhou, China.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2014.7.2.06