Arbitration Proceedings in the Refusal of One of the Parties to the Dispute to Participate in the Process: International Legal Aspects

Abstract

China’s relationships with the countries of Southeast Asia have historically been complicated. One of the fundamental threats to the security for this region is the conflict around the South China Sea, or more specifically over the numerous archipelagoes in this Sea, rich in reserves of oil and natural gas. This very Sea is the object of strategic interest both for China and for the ASEAN Member Countries and it is important in terms of presence within this region. Due to historical, geographical, geopolitical, and other reasons, a sufficient number of interstate disputes over land or sea ownership are still remaining unresolved. Disputes regarding the South China Sea are one of these. Its area is 3.5 million square kilometers; it is surrounded by the shores of such sovereign coastal States such as Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, the People’s Republic of China, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The differences are related to the attempts to expand the size of the territorial sea and the boundaries of the continental shelf at the expense of small islands and coral reefs, located just above the sea level or completely under water. As part of this study on the use of information, it is obvious that such interstate disputes fall within the principle of the peaceful settlement of international disputes, based on a developed system of peaceful means for the settlement of disputes.