Potential Impacts of International Law on the South China Sea Dispute: Conference Proceedings 'What Lies Ahead of the South China Sea Disputes after the Hague Tribunal Ruling?', 7 June 2019, Geneva, Switzerland

The present contribution intends to focus on some noteworthy legal developments since the 2016 Final Award. It is one thing for the PRC to keep on insisting that it will never accept the arbitration. At the same time. however, certain legal developments that have taken place since the rendering of the 20 16 Final Award are nevertheless noteworthy as they depict the background against which this principled position of the PRC has to be understood. Five such developments will be highlighted in this contribution. They are listed in a roughly chronological order: First, the evolving relationship between China and Russia, another country that took a similar position of not participating in an Annex VII arbitration introduced against it (Part I). Second, the Chinese legal response with respect to the 2016 Final Award, namely the publication of a critical study during the month of May 2018 (Part 2). Third, the Single Draft South China Sea Code of Conduct. as circulated at the beginning of the month of August 2018 (Part 3). Fourth, the adoption of the final report of the Baselines Committee of the International Law Association at the end of the month of August 2018 (Part 4). And fifth. the position China has taken with respect to the signing during the month of October 2018 of an international agreement for the protection of the high seas fisheries in the Central Arctic as a non-coastal state (Part 5). Some final remarks will serve to draw a few conclusions.