An aerial view onto clouds over the South China Sea

South China Sea: salient aspects of the arbitration between the Philippines and China

Wednesday 12th October 2016, 6.00 - 7.30pm; Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Tjaco van den Hout; Chair: Dr Jürgen Haacke

The publication of the ruling on the Philippines v. China in relation to claims in the South China Sea by the Arbitral Tribunal convened at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (PCA) was one of the most anticipated legal events of 2016.

In this lecture, Tjaco van den Hout will discuss what has been at stake from the perspective of international law, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the legality of territorial claims, and the default mechanism of arbitration to settle disputes under UNCLOS. He will also examine the implications of the arbitral award for Beijing and Manila as well as for other Southeast Asian states that have competing claims in the South China Sea.

Download and listen to the podcast here

Speaker

van-den-hout-tjaco

Tjaco van den Hout is a former secretary-general of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague and subsequently served as Dutch ambassador to Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and Laos. He currently teaches international law and diplomacy as a visiting professor at the Riga Graduate School of Law.


Chair

haacke-jurgen

Jürgen Haacke is Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre and Associate Professor of International Relations at LSE.