In this webinar recorded on May 27, 2020, Trang Phạm Ngọc Minh, a lecturer at Vietnam National University and recent Fulbright scholar in residence at USALI, explained why Vietnam – long suspicious of international law and United Nations institutions – recently filed a note verbale with the United Nations formally protesting China’s claims to historic title to much of the South China Sea and setting out its own claims within the bounds set by the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Event Recording: M. Butterfly 2.0: The Evolution of EU-China Relations
In this webinar recorded on May 13, 2020, Theresa Fallon, director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies, and Peter Dutton, professor at the U.S. Naval War College and USALI senior fellow, discussed how China’s growing economic leverage in Europe and recent “wolf warrior” diplomacy are pushing the European Union and its member states to take geopolitics more seriously and choose a side in the U.S.-China rivalry.
Gelatt Dialogue 2017: Watch & Read
On November 6, 2017 the U.S.-Asia Law Institute held its 23rd Annual Timothy A. Gelatt Memorial Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. This year’s theme - “China and International Law: Human Rights, Sovereignty, and Maritime Disputes” - focused on China's approach to international law during the Xi Jinping era as seen through the Communist Party's human rights record, Taiwan-Mainland cross-strait legal problems, China's maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas and the erosion of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. This all-day event will feature speakers from China, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as well as the United States.
Experts explore implications of Philippine arbitration award at 2016 Gelatt Memorial Dialogue
On November 10, Jerome Cohen, professor of law and co-director of the US-Asia Law Institute (USALI), convened a panel of international experts for the annual Timothy A. Gelatt Memorial Dialogue on the Rule of Law in East Asia. The topic was “Implications of the Philippine Arbitration Award,” focusing on the outcome of a recent dispute between the Phillipines and China over sovereignty in the South China Sea.
The area has emerged as a major flashpoint in international relations, not only for countries in the region, but also for its potential to spark a showdown between the US and China. Cohen has written on the outcome of the Philippine arbitration and spoken on the situation in the South China sea more generally. Please click this link to access Professor Cohen's Wall Street Journal article "The Wisdom of the Hague's South China Sea decision" or click this link to listen to Professor Cohen's talk "Working Towards Peace in the South China Sea."
The first panel, “The Path to a Just and Lasting Peace in the South China Sea,” was introduced by Paul Reichler, counsel for the Philippines at the law firm Foley Hoag. He spoke about details of the arbitration and its implications. The second panel focused on exclusive economic zones, which confer the right to marine resources around a landmass. The discussion was introduced by Professor Bernard Oxman, director of the Graduate Program in Maritime Law at the University of Miami.
The Gelatt Dialogue was established in 1994 by the US-Asia Law Institute in memory of the former NYU law professor and avid Asian law scholar.
Please click this link to view Professor Cohen's biography or click this link to visit the U.S.-Asia Law Institute's website.
Watch Video of the Panels
The Path to a Just and Lasting Peace in the South China Sea (2h, 26min)
When is an island entitled to an EEZ? (1h, 59min)
Published on December 6, 2016