International Law, Force and Coercion in the South China Sea

L Buszynski and D T Hai (eds) THE SOUTH CHINA SEA: FROM A REGIONAL MARITIME DISPUTE TO GEO-STRATEGIC COMPETITION (Routledge Security in Asia Pacific Series 2019) pp.169-182).

This chapter combines an examination of international jurisprudence and state practice in addressing three separate legal issues that have arisen in the context of disputes over territory with a special focus on the South China Sea: (1) the applicability of the rules on the use of force to territorial disputes; (2) the legality, or illegality, of establishing a military presence on a disputed territory as a means of coercion; and (3) the implications, as a matter of law, of characterizing such coercive conduct as a prohibited use of force.