The South China Sea arbitration: Environmental obligations under the Law of the Sea Convention

This case note analyses the marine environmental protection issues that arose in the 2016 South China Sea arbitration. Given that the South China Sea includes highly productive fisheries and extensive coral reef ecosystems, the alleged breach of environmental obligations under the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea was important in this arbitration. The Arbitral Tribunal examined three obligations concerning marine environmental protection under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: the obligation of due diligence; the obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment; and the obligation to cooperate. The Tribunal's arbitral award contributes to the clarification of the interpretation of relevant provisions concerning marine environmental protection under the Convention. Furthermore, a remarkable feature of the arbitration was that the Tribunal appointed experts to have an independent opinion with regard to environmental damages arising from China's activities in the South China Sea. The use of experts in the South China Sea arbitration is worth noting, since scientific evidence is of particular importance in the settlement of international environmental disputes.