Business as usual?

The much-awaited final award in the South China Sea case (The Republic of The Philippines and The People’s Republic of China, PCA Case No 2013-19), the arbitration case brought by Philippines against China under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), delivered on 12 July, poses broad and interesting questions on dispute resolution; in particular, on the unconventional role of arbitration, as a mere strategic positioning in the chessboard of a wider spectrum of contentious issues concerning territorial and maritime delimitation in a strategic zone: the South China Sea. The implications of the decision, however, go beyond the confines of public international law or inter-state arbitration. It is of importance for the shipping, insurance and energy sector. This article explores in what way it is so.