Suggestions on the Implementation of the South China Sea Arbitration

(Philippines v. China)
Philippines v. China (PCA case number 2013–19), also known as the South China Sea Arbitration,
was an arbitration case brought by the Republic of the Philippines against the People’s Republic
of China under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS)
concerning certain issues in the South China Sea including the legality of China's "nine-dotted
line" claim.1
On 19 February 2013, China declared that it would not participate in the arbitration. On 12 July
2016, the tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines however China has rejected the ruling. With
this, there has been an impasse on the appropriate path to take regarding the South China Sea
dispute.
Hereunder are some of the suggestions on how to implement the Arbitral Ruling in favor
of the Philippines:
1. Economic Sanctions:
a. The Philippines may impose Embargo or trading ban. This means that the
Philippines may limit, or totally ban export or import, create quotas for quantity,
impose special tolls, impose taxes or the likes. This may sound like something
that the Philippines cannot do, but with the large Chinese community in the
Philippines, relying on the imports from China to do business in the Philippines, it
would definitely put pressure on China.

2. Enter into an international agreement with China:

a. With China, rejecting the arbitral ruling, it may be best for the Philippines to enter
into an international agreement or a treaty with China that is beneficial for both
countries.

3. Philippine could seek the assistance of the United Nations in implementing the arbitral
award:
a. The Philippines could seek the aid or assistance of larger country to put pressure
on China to abide by the arbitral ruling.

4. Philippines and china could find a middle ground on the exploration and exploitation of
the South China Sea.

5. Philippines could sue China for the specific performance of the arbitral tribunal. This
time, the enforcement of the arbitral award would be with the assistance of international
agencies.

1
"Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China". Permanent Court of Arbitration. 15
October 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2017.