CCTV9英语新闻：Canada Free Press article lambasts arbitration

The online newspaper Canada Free Press has called the South China Sea arbitration filed by the Philippines over territorial disputes with China, a 'case study of an out-of-control transnational adjudicative body'.

 

The article says that "whatever the substantive outcome of the case turns out to be, most disturbing is that the Arbitral Tribunal determined it had legal authority to impose its will on a non-consenting party to a territorial dispute in the first place." The article said even though both countries had referenced a compulsory arbitration opt-out provision when they joined the UN convention on the Law of the Seas, the Philippines still unilaterally initiated proceedings against China in 2013.

 

It also said China had the right to reject the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal, yet the tribunal had sought to expand authority over sovereign states and assume jurisdiction over a territorial dispute.