Latest in nine-dash line
China may abandon the "Nine-Dash Line" claim in the South China Sea, but it's not abandoning its bad legal arguments.
Diplomacy can accomplish great things. But if the United States wants to use the UNCLOS PCA award to apply pressure or impose costs on China, it has a lot more work to do.
As I explained in this legal primer, the South China Sea dispute has primarily revolved around two distinct legal quarrels: a dispute over territory and a dispute over the substance and application of maritime law.
Over at The National Interest, I’ve written an article parsing this distinction and what it means for the American approach to the South China Sea. I argue that