Confusion over maritime disputes in East Asia

Maritime law experts are concerned about an escalation of tension in the South and East Asia Seas. They say legal means of resolution are currently restricted.

It appears likely that the disputes over a number of tiny islands, reefs and rocks in the Far East could further escalate. Worrying undertones of nationalism have accompanied the clash over the uninhabited East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese.

A standoff last year between Chinese fishing vessels and Philippine patrol ships lasted for weeks.

Attempts to solve the conflict through diplomatic channels, however, have shown how limited existing legal instruments are to deal with disputes in maritime regions.

In January, Manila initiated an arbitration process under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) over recent Chinese actions. Beijing formally rejected the arbitration in February.

In response to the question of whether Beijing was being arrogant, maritime law expert Reinhard Drifte told DW that it is not as simple as that. "It was simply a tactical maneuver," he said. "It was very clear that China would reject it."

Chinasystematically rejects international arbitration except on questions of trade, for instance, within the framework of the WTO.

The islands are mostly tiny and uninhabited but still disputed

Moreover, when China signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1996, it opted out of the system of compulsory binding dispute settlement for disputes relating to maritime boundary delimitation and historic waters, notes Stefan Talmon, a Bonn-based legal expert, who believes the Philippines' move will have no impact on international law.

Calculation and propaganda

Drifte argues that Manila is playing a game of calculation and propaganda, telling the international community that it is acting according to international law just as China is refusing to do so. As long as Manila consistently disputes Beijing's claim to the Scarborough Shoal, the area's international status remains unclear regardless of how many vessels China sends to the region or lighthouses it builds there. Talmon says this rule also works in principle for other disputed parts of the South and East China Seas.