ASEAN, the “South China Sea” Arbitral Award, and the Code of Conduct: New Challenges, New Approaches

Abstract

The article examines the South China Sea disputes and primarily focuses on developments since 2013 when the Philippines filed for international arbitration. The article argues that the South China Sea situation involves two fundamental and interdependent considerations: (1) the right of sovereign states to access their legal entitlements unimpeded and (2) the extent to which Asia and the international community value a rules-based regional order. Before there is any possibility of redress on the issue, the article contends that other key stakeholder states (such as Japan, the United States, Australia, and India) will also need to be more strongly engaged with the issue and support claimant countries through a diverse array of activities ranging from investments in capacity building to the use of the claimant country's respective coastguards (if invited) to police and protect resources within their respective Exclusive Economic Zones, as clarified by the July 2016 Arbitral Ruling.