Publication Year: 2020
The Future of the United States-Australia Alliance-Evolving Security Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
Abstract: The United States-Australia alliance has been an important component of the US-led system of alliances that has underpinned regional security in the Indo-Pacific since 1945. However, recent geostrategic developments, in particular the rise of the People’s Republic of China, have posed significant challenges to this US-led regional order. In turn, the growing strategic competition between these two great powers has generated challenges to the longstanding US-Australia alliance. Both the US and Australia are confronting a changing strategic environment, and, as a result, the alliance needs to respond to the challenges that they face. The US needs to understand the challenges and risks to this vital relationship, which is growing in importance, and take steps to manage it. On its part, Australia must clearly identify its core common interests with the US and start exploring what more it needs to do to attain its stated policy preferences. This book consists of chapters exploring US and Australian perspectives of the Indo-Pacific, the evolution of Australia-US strategic and defence cooperation, and the future of the relationship. Written by a joint US-Australia team, the volume is aimed at academics, analysts, students, and the security and business communities.
Abstract: The complicated question of Taiwan’s sovereignty has led to its exclusion from virtually all international security organizations. This marginalization has left a critical hole not only in the security of Taiwan’s twenty-three million citizens, but also the world at large. Despite possessing both the means and intent to play a role as a responsible stakeholder, Taiwan can neither benefit from most international security bodies nor share its considerable reservoir of knowledge and expertise for the common good. This report highlights challenges to Taiwan’s ability to play a more active role in eight areas of international security: counterterrorism, law enforcement, maritime security, nuclear security, transportation security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, human security, and cybersecurity. The report also offers recommendations for expanding Taiwan’s participation in key international security organizations.
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Abstract: This book presents an interdisciplinary examination of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and the complex dynamics at play in the region.
Since the election of Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan’s president in 2008, the relationship across the Taiwan Strait—long viewed as one of Asia’s most volatile potential flashpoints—has experienced a remarkable détente. Whether the relationship has been truly transformed, however, remains an open question and the Taiwan Strait remains a central regional and global security issue. A return to turbulence in the Taiwan Strait could also add a new dimension of instability in the already tense maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas.
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Publication Year: 2018
Offshore Archipelagos Enclosed by Straight Baselines: An Excessive Claim?
Abstract: This article examines the conclusion in the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal in the South China Sea Case that straight baselines may not be used to enclose off-shore archipelagos unless they meet the criteria set out in Articles 46 and 47 of the Law of the Sea Convention.
[Article 7 of UNCLOS relates to the use of straight baselines in delineating maritime territory. Article 46 of UNCLOS defines “archipelago” and “archipelagic State.” Article 47 of UNCLOS relates to the use of archipelagic baselines in delineating maritime territory. – RPI]
Abstract: This article argues that a resolution of the maritime disputes in the South China Sea must be based upon a universalist framework where the maritime interests of the world are upheld. The article discusses the universalist framework of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the universalist approach taken by the Tribunal on 12 July 2016 in the South China Sea Arbitration regarding the extinguishment of a state’s “exceptionalist” maritime claims and the adoption of strict criteria for the characterization of features at sea. Full text available here.
Abstract: In contemporary international discourse about maritime freedom (e.g., “freedom of navigation”), nations often speak in generalities, but rarely clarify what they mean. To reduce the risk of misunderstanding, nations should navigate their use of language between two purposes simultaneously. First, any discussion should be concise, communicable, and comprehendible. Additionally, nations should also be prepared to dialogue on these matters in greater depth and detail, and any substantive discussion should be faithful to the applicable international law that binds nations. A way to ensure such discourse is meaningful is by following a three-step process of labeling, framing, and applying. This article details this approach. Full text available here.
Publication Year: 2018
The Expansion of and Changes to the National Coast Guards in East Asia
Abstract: East Asian countries have vigorously engaged in a buildup of the capabilities of their coast guards. This has been driven in part by the need to protect their maritime jurisdiction in the face of numerous maritime disputes. The coast guards in East Asia serve as the front-line defender of sovereignty and maritime claims.
Publication Year: 2019
Due Diligence and Overlooked Evidence in the South China Sea Arbitration: A Note
Abstract: In the South China Sea Arbitration, the Tribunal decided that China had not breached the due diligence obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment under Articles 192 and 194(5) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concerning Chinese fishers fishing with explosives, but that China had breached the same obligation regarding Chinese fishers harvesting endangered species. This article looks at how the Tribunal interpreted and applied the due diligence obligation and argues, from a Chinese perspective, that there were facts overlooked by the Tribunal that China could have presented to counter the evidence of the Philippines, which might have been enough to affect the decision on destructive fishing had China participated in the Arbitration.
[Article 192 of UNCLOS reads: “States have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment.” Article 194(5) of UNCLOS reads: “The measures taken in accordance with this Part shall include those necessary to protect and preserve rare or fragile ecosystems as well as the habitat of depleted, threatened or endangered species and other forms of marine life.” -RPI]
Publication Year: 2019
Jurisdiction Over Underwater Cultural Heritage in the EEZ and on the Continental Shelf: A Perspective From the Practice of States Bordering the South China Sea
Abstract: The Chinese initiative of constructing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road could be identified as a new chance to promote the protection of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) in the South China Sea. However, uncertainties concerning the jurisdictional issue over the UCH in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or on the continental shelf constitute an obstacle. The Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage has, to some extent, enlarged the coastal state’s jurisdiction. State practice differs on this issue. This article focuses on the domestic legislations of states bordering the South China Sea related to the jurisdiction over UCH found in their EEZ or on their continental shelf.
Publication Year: 2019
The Interpretation of Article 121(3) of UNCLOS by the Tribunal for the South China Sea Arbitration: A Critique
Abstract: The interpretation of Article 121(3) of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was a key part of the Sino-Philippine Arbitration on the South China Sea Award issued in July 2016. This article uses the principles of treaty interpretation codified in Article 31 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to evaluate the interpretation process. The Tribunal paid little attention to the text such as “rocks” in the plural form and overlooked the context of Article 121(3). The travaux préparatoires identified by the Tribunal was based on materials of doubtful weight.
[Article 121(3) of UNCLOS reads: “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” – RPI]
Abstract: Measures to ease tensions and prevent military conflicts adjacent to the Korean Peninsula Northern Limit Line (NLL) are an integral part of the ongoing reconciliatory efforts between the South and the North. Despite controversies over the validity of the NLL, it has served as a de facto maritime demarcation line in the absence of an agreed-upon maritime demarcation line under the Armistice Agreement. North Korea has persistently attempted to invalidate the NLL, while South Korea has supported the status quo of the NLL as a military demarcation line. The South and North have recently created a buffer zone across the NLL in the West Sea amid talks for North Korea’s denuclearization. Full text available here.
Abstract: The United States must choose whether it will oppose or support South Korea’s emerging SSN [nuclear-powered submarine] program. While the strategic risks the program represents are readily apparent, the United States should support and assist its ally if South Korea pursues acquisition of SSNs. Full text available here.
Abstract: The security of Japan’s maritime borders is a top priority for the country’s government. The roles of the Japan Coast Guard and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force are paramount in these security operations as Japan navigates an international landscape in the East China Sea complicated by an emboldened China. Full text available here.
Publication Year: 2019
Origins of a “Ragged Edge”—U.S. Ambiguity on the Senkakus’ Sovereignty
Abstract: In 1972, Japan regained administrative control of the Senkaku Islands following years of negotiations with the United States after World War II. However, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China already had made claims to these islands. The United States chose not to weigh in on the Senkakus’ sovereignty, leading to the tensions that have resurfaced today as the PRC asserts its dominance in the East China Sea and beyond.
Publication Year: 2019
Surging Second Sea Force: China’s Maritime Law-Enforcement Forces, Capabilities, and Future in the Gray Zone and Beyond
Abstract: As China’s sea services continue to expand, the consolidating China Coast Guard (CCG) has taken the lead as one of the premier sea forces in the region—giving China, in essence, a second navy. With 1,275 hulls and counting, the CCG carries out the maritime law-enforcement activities that dominate the South China Sea as the People’s Republic exerts its claims and postures for dominance.
