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United States Continues to Challenge Chinese Claims in South China Sea; Law of the Sea Tribunal Issues Award Against China in Philippines-China Arbitration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2017

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Type
Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 110 , Issue 4 , October 2016 , pp. 795 - 802
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2016

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References

1 See Kristina Daugirdas & Julian Davis Mortenson, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 110 AJIL 120 (2016) [hereinafter Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL]; 109 AJIL 667 (2015) [hereinafter Daugirdas & Mortenson, 109 AJIL]; 108 AJIL 331 (2014) [hereinafter Daugirdas & Mortenson, 108 AJIL].

2 See Office of Ocean & Polar Affairs, U.S. Dep't of State, Limits in the Seas: No. 143, China: Maritime Claims in the South China Sea (2014) [hereinafter Limits in the Seas]; Daugirdas & Mortenson, 108 AJIL, supra note 1, at 332–33.

3 Daugirdas & Mortenson, 109 AJIL, supra note 1, at 667–68.

4 Id. at 668.

5 Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL, supra note 1, at 121.

6 Simon Denyer & Thomas Gibbons-Neff, China Scrambles Fighter Jets as U.S. Destroyer Steams Past Disputed Island, Wash. Post (May 10, 2016), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/10/china-scrambles-fighters-jets-as-u-s-destroyer-steams-past-disputed-island. According to a Pentagon spokesperson, the vessel exercised its “right of innocent passage.” Id.

7 See Missy Ryan, U.S. Missile Destroyer Sailed Close to Island Claimed by China, Wash. Post (Jan. 30, 2016), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/30/u-s-missile-destroyer-sailed-close-to-island-claimed-by-china.

8 See Daugirdas & Mortenson, 110 AJIL, supra note 1, at 124.

9 Denyer & Gibbons-Neff, supra note 6.

10 Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China Press Release, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference (May 10, 2016), at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/t1362106.shtml. The Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson, Senior Col. Yang Yujun, made a similar statement about the Curtis Wilbur's January 29 operation, saying that it “severely violated the law” and harmed “regional peace and stability.” China Drives OffUS Destroyer Intruding into Xisha Islands Waters, Ministry O Fnat’l Defense of China (Jan. 31, 2016), at http://eng.mod.gov.cn/DefenseNews/2016-01/31/content_4638409.htm.

11 White House Press Release, Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest (May 12, 2016), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/12/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-5122016.

12 White House Press Release, Press Briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest (May 19, 2016), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/19/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-5192016 [hereinafter May 19 Press Briefing]; see also Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Chinese Jets Intercept U.S. Recon Plane, Almost Colliding over South China Sea, Wash. Post (May 18, 2016), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/05/18/chinese-jets-intercept-u-s-recon-plane-almost-colliding-over-south-china-sea/.

13 Gibbons-Neff, supra note 12.

14 U.S. Dep't of Defense Press Release, Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room (May 19, 2016), at http://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/777180/department-of-defense-press-briefing-by-pentagon-press-secretary-peter-cook-in.

15 Idrees Ali, Pentagon Says China Aircraft Intercept Violated 2015 Agreement, Reuters (May 26, 2016), at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-southchinasea-idUSKCN0YH2NZ; see also Supplement to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Rules of Behavior for Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters between the Department of Defense of the United States of America and the Ministry of National Defense Of The People’s Republic of China Annex III (Sept. 10, 2015), available at http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/US-CHINA_AIR_ENCOUNTERS_ANNEX_SEP_2015.pdf [hereinafter supplement]. The parties’ supplement to the Memorandum states that “[m]ilitary aircraft that encounter each other in flight should operate consistent with the Convention on International Civil Aviation and its Annexes and guidance to the extent practicable.” Id., §I. To this end, aircraft “should ensure safe separation to avoid creating a safety hazard. To determine safe separation, military aircraft should comprehensively consider their own national rules, relevant international guidance, and factors including the mission, meteorological considerations, and flight situation.” Id., §IV(i) (footnote omitted).

16 Ministry of Nat’l Defense of China Press Release, Defense Ministry's Regular Press Conference (May 26, 2016), at http://eng.mod.gov.cn/Press/2016-05/26/content_4665371.htm.

17 Id.

18 U.S. Pac. Command, facebook (June 8, 2016), at https://www.facebook.com/pacific.command/posts/10155279313912588. China announced an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea in November 2013, but the United States and other countries have continued military patrols there. See generally Kristina Daugirdas & Julian Davis Mortenson, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 108 AJIL 106 (2014).

19 U.S. Pac. Command, supra note 18.

20 Id.

21 Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China Press Release, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei's Regular Press Conference (June 8, 2016), at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1370729.shtml [hereinafter Hong Press Conference].

22 See Minnie Chan, Beijing Ready to Impose Air Defence Identification Zone in South China Sea Pending US Moves, South China Morning Post (June 1, 2016), at http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1960954/beijing-ready-impose-air-defence-identification-zone-south-china-sea; see also Daugirdas & Mortenson, supra note 18, at 106 (describing China's imposition of air defense identification zone over East China Sea in November 2013).

23 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Joint Press Availability with Mongolian Foreign Minister Lundeg (June 5, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/06/258078.htm.

24 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, U.S.-China Press Statements (June 7, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/06/258163.htm.

25 Id.

26 The Tribunal was appointed pursuant to Annex VII of the UNCLOS. The Permanent Court of Arbitration is providing administrative services as Registrar in the proceeding. See In re Arbitration Between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China, PCA Case No. 2013-19, Award, paras. 30–31 (July 12, 2016) [hereinafter In re South China Sea]; see also Case Administration, PERM. CT. ARB. (2016), at https://pca-cpa.org/en/services/arbitration-services/case-administration/ (detailing nature of services provided).

27 See Perm. Ct. Arb. Press Release, The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People's Republic of China) (July 12, 2016), at https://pca-cpa.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/175/2016/07/PHCN-20160712-Press-Release-No-11-English.pdf. For a more detailed discussion of the decision, see Lucy Reed & Kenneth Wong, Marine Entitlements in the South China Sea: The Arbitration Between the Philippines and China, 110 AJIL 746–60 (2016).

28 See In re South China Sea, supra note 26, para. 28.

29 Id., paras. 4, 11, 116.

30 See, e.g., Hong Press Conference, supra note 21.

31 See In re South China Sea, supra note 26, paras. 149, 153–56, 158–60.

32 See id., paras. 117, 144.

33 Id., para. 143.

34 A senior State Department official highlighted these four parts of the award as the “key elements from [the United States’] point of view.” U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Background Briefing on South China Sea Arbitration (July 12, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/07/259976.htm [hereinafter Background Briefing].

35 In re South China Sea, supra note 26, para. 261.

36 Press Release, supra note 27, at 2; see also In re South China Sea, supra note 26, paras. 263–70; Background Briefing, supra note 34 (noting “the invalidation of the nine-dash line claim”).

37 See Limits in the Seas, supra note 2 and accompanying text.

38 See In re South China Sea, supra note 26, paras. 643–46; Background Briefing, supra note 34 (highlighting “the determination that the features in the Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Reef are entitled to no more than [twelve] nautical miles by way of maritime space”).

39 See In re South China Sea, supra note 26, paras. 757, 1043; Background Briefing, supra note 34 (pointing out tribunal's conclusion “that the construction of artificial islands by China and the conduct of Chinese fishing fleets violated the rights of the Philippines”).

40 See id., paras. 992–93; Background Briefing, supra note 34 (noting the award's finding “that the large-scale reclamation and constructing these military outposts in the Spratlys damage the environment”).

41 Full Text of Statement of China's Foreign Ministry on Award of South China Sea Arbitration Initiated by Philippines, Xinhua News (July 12, 2016), at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-07/12/c_135507744.htm [hereinafter Statement on Award]. Taiwan and several other countries expressed support for this position. See ROC Position on the South China Sea Arbitration, Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China (Taiwan) (July 12, 2016), at http://www.mofa.gov.tw/en/News_Content.aspx?n=0E7B91A8FBEC4A94&sms=220E98D761D34A9A&s=5B5A9134709EB875.

42 Statement on Award, supra note 42.

43 Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China Press Release, Remarks by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the Award of the So-called Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration (July 12, 2016), at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1380003.shtml.

44 See Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China Press Release, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin at the Press Conference on the White Paper Titled China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea (July 13, 2016), at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/t1381980.shtml [hereinafter Liu Press Conference]. Specifically, Liu asserted that: (1) the Tribunal “is not an international court,” as it is not a part of the International Court of Justice, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or Permanent Court of Arbitration; (2) the composition of the Tribunal was “the result of political manipulation”; (3) the Tribunal was unable to properly understand the issues because it did not contain any members from Asia; (4) the award contained conclusions that were inconsistent with some of the Tribunal members’ previous statements; and (5) the Tribunal may have been paid by a country with interests adverse to China’s, such as the Philippines. Id.

45 Ministry of Foreign Aff. of China Press Release, China's Sovereignty and Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea Shall Not Be Affected by Arbitration Award (July 16, 2016), at http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/t1382766.shtml.

46 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Decision in the Philippines-China Arbitration (July 12, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/07/259587.htm; see also White House Press Release, Press Gaggle by Press Secretary Josh Earnest en Route Dallas, TX (July 12, 2016), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/12/press-gaggle-press-secretary-josh-earnest-en-route-dallas-tx-7122016 [hereinafter Press Gaggle] (“[B]ased on the well-established process that's codified in [UNCLOS], this tribunal ruling is final and binding on both parties.”).

47 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Daily Press Briefing (July 12, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/07/259605.htm.

48 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Press Availability in Vientiane, Laos (July 26, 2016), at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/07/260475.htm.

49 Press Gaggle, supra note 46.

50 Background Briefing, supra note 34.

51 See Floyd Whaley, After the Philippines Celebrates South China Sea Ruling, Reality Sets In, N.Y. Times, July 14, 2016, at A3.

52 [Editors’ Note: The United States refers to these Islands as the Spratly Islands.]

53 PLA Navy Chief Urges China-U.S. Cooperation in Handling South China Sea, Xinhua News (July 18, 2016), at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-07/18/c_135522556.htm.

54 China's Air Force Conducts Combat Air Patrol in South China Sea, Xinhua News (July 18, 2016), at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-07/18/c_135522387.htm.

55 Liu Press Conference, supra note 44.

56 China, Russia Navies to Hold Drill in South China Sea, Xinhua News (July 28, 2016), at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-07/28/c_135547357.htm.

57 White House Press Release, Press Briefing by the Press Secretary Josh Earnest (July 28, 2016), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/28/press-briefing-press-secretary-josh-earnest-72816.

58 Interview with U.S. President Barack Obama with Fareed Zakaria, Public Square, CNN, (Sept. 16, 2016), at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1609/04/fzgps.01.html.

59 White House Press Release, Readout of the President's Meeting with President Xi Jinping of China (Sept. 3, 2016), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/09/03/readout-presidents-meeting-president-xi-jinping-china.