The Philippine claim to Bajo de Masinloc, otherwise referred to as Scarborough Shoal, finds solid basis in international law. The territorial claim of the Philippines over Bajo de Masinloc is strong relative to the claim of China as well as with respect to the principles on the acquisition of territory in international law, in particular, on the basis of effective occupation. The sovereign rights and jurisdiction asserted by the Philippines over the maritime entitlements of the features in Bajo de Masinloc are founded on principles of international law and consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which both the Philippines and China have signed and ratified. This paper aims to examine the Philippine claim over Bajo de Masinloc particularly focusing on the 2012 standoff between the Philippines and China and the arbitration case filed by the Philippines against China over the West Philippine Sea.

No abstract

The birth and death of States present parallel inquiries in international law: each event requires an analysis of the characteristics of statehood, and each raises important questions of rights and obligations.1 A State is never static, and one can examine at different times its birth, its death and/ or its rebirth, the nature of the State and the consequences that flow from such transformative events.2 Such an inquiry gives rise to practical questions: Is a State that is extinguished but reborn the same State that existed at the time of its extinction, even if it emerges years or decades later? And if it is not the same State, what is it, and what are its rights and obligations? The global impacts of climate change and rising sea levels pose serious threats to low-lying island States which may become uninhabitable due to the displacement of entire populations and potential complete disappearance of habitable territory under 1 The Montevideo Convention provides the most frequently cited definition of a State. Article 1 lists four basic elements required for statehood: (1) a permanent population; (2) a defined territory; (3) government; and (4) capacity to enter into relations with other States. Montevideo Convention on Rights and Duties of States, adopted

No abstract

No abstract