The South China Sea Arbitration: The Clinical Isolation and/or One-sided Tendencies in the Philippines' Oral Arguments

Abstract

This brief paper comments on the clinical isolation and one-sided tendencies in the Philippines' oral arguments in the South China Sea arbitration, with illustrations from its arguments on (1) negotiation as the agreed exclusive choice for dispute settlement, (2) sovereignty matters, (3) the optional exception of delimitation-related disputes; (4) the optional exception of military activities disputes; and (5) environmental claims.