China’s Approach to Ocean Governance with reference to the South China Sea Arbitration Award

Abstract

The South China Sea is a strategically important region for the global trade, projection of the Chinese power, and its territorial ambition. Tensions in the South China Sea are multilateral with multiple countries claiming territory having a geostrategic interest. China is the most powerful player in the region, and has a vital economic interest and need for sustained diplomacy. Thus, keeping in view, the complex rivalry in the region, United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) is seen as a way forward to amicably solve the dispute. In this regard, UNCLOS issued an Arbitration Award in 2016 which was largely in the interests of smaller claimants of the region. However, China has rejected the arbitration award and put forward its claim based on historiography. Therefore, this paper seeks to analyse factors involved in the arbitration award of UNCLOS and its impact on ocean governance in the region, and the role and interest of China’s approach to the South China Sea.