Abstract
China has consistently asserted its jurisdiction throughout the South China Sea for approximately 40 years, but recent events illustrate a critical juncture in the area's longstanding conflicts. On August 5, 2023, a Chinese coast guard vessel deployed a water cannon against a Philippine boat in Philippine territory in the South China Sea. Following the incident, multiple countries in close proximity to the South China Sea have questioned their threshold for tolerance for China's aggressive actions. If these countries do not halt China's assertion of jurisdiction, China will keep advancing and claiming territory as their own.
The nine-dash line ruling, the legal authority that shapes the South China Sea dispute, can be used to prevent China from continuing to erroneously assert its jurisdiction. In 2016, the Philippines presented a map before an international tribunal to obtain a ruling on disputed Chinese territory in the South China Sea. The tribunal ruled that the map China created to support its assertion of jurisdiction was inconsequential. Since the 2016 nine-dash line ruling, China has continued its attempts to expand its jurisdiction further into the South China Sea. The fact that the territory in dispute is over water-not land-makes the determination of ownership much more challenging. The Philippines is the main victim of the Chinese government's aggression and have been the subject of most of the dispute's consequences. Since the Philippines is a smaller country with a weaker military, assistance from its allies, specifically the United States ("US"), is vital. China's erroneous assertion of jurisdiction in the South China Sea is a tension-filled dispute that requires a strategic course of action-one that requires considering the agreements and unity amongst nearby countries and their allies. This article will analyze the question of how the Philippines can stop China from asserting its jurisdiction into Philippine territory without causing major pushback.
First Page
39
Recommended Citation
Graham
Colombo
Standing Up to China: How the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines and a Looming Alliance Will Challenge Relations with China in the South China Sea,
21
Loy. U. Chi. Int'l L. Rev.
39
().
Available at:
https://lawecommons.luc.edu/lucilr/vol21/iss1/4