Matthew Waxman, Author at Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Legal Posturing and Power Relations in the South China Sea

By Matthew Waxman | January 21, 2015 | Categories: China, International Law, Philippines, Vietnam

One of the weakest military and economic powers in the region – the Philippines – took the strongest – China – to international court in 2013. The Philippines challenges China’s assertion of vast maritime claims over the South China Sea, pursuant to detailed rules and binding dispute resolution processes of the UN Convention of the […]

Intense Maneuvers at the Hague

By Matthew Waxman | December 23, 2014 | Categories: China, International Law, Philippines, South China Sea, Year in Review

In 2013, the Philippines instituted arbitration proceedings in the Hague against China over disputed South China Sea maritime claims – and in doing so it challenged legally of China’s nine-dash line claims over much of that area. Both states are parties to the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which allows for […]

China’s ADIZ at One Year: International Legal Issues

By Matthew Waxman | November 25, 2014 | Categories: ADIZ, China, East China Sea

This week marks a year since China abruptly declared an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering a large area of the East China Sea, including islands the legal possession of which China disputes with Japan. Especially because China has sent signals that it might enact another such zone in the South China Sea, this anniversary […]