The International Maritime Dispute Settlement Organs' Jurisdiction Power on China: A Case Study of the Philippines' Applying for International Arbitration on South China Sea Disputes

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea establishes an international maritime disputes settlement mechanism centered on the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea and supplemented by international arbitral tribunals,which is the foundation of the Philippines' applying for international arbitration on South China Sea disputes. However,the forming of the arbitral tribunal does not equal to the determination of jurisdiction,so the tribunal must find out it really has jurisdiction over the case before entering into any formal hearings. According to Article 298 of the Convention and the written announcement that China made in advance,the arbitral tribunal does not have jurisdiction over the case. According to jurisprudence,the Philippines' claim that China should accept the jurisdiction she has never admitted is against the logic of international law. Therefore,the Philippines' practice is an unjustified abuse of the right to sue. China should point out the Philippines' abuse of this disputes settlement mechanism has violated the good faith obligation posed by Article 300,raise an objection to the jurisdiction and make clear that China,if with no choice,has the right to withdraw from the Convention in order to protect its sovereignty.