‘Chinese prestige on the line at sea arbitration hearing’

WASHINGTON – Even if it boycotts the hearing, Beijing will be under pressure to comply with the results of an international court arbitration which will determine if its claim to most of the South China Sea is valid, international law expert Paul Reichler said.

“It’s a very high cost to prestige to be branded as an international wrongdoer and then not comply,” said Reichler in an interview with The Washington Post’s Foreign Policy magazine posted online by Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer.

“I believe this is the first time our American lawyer went public on this issue,” a Philippine embassy official said on Friday.

Last month, the Philippines challenged China’s claim to most of the South China Sea before an arbitral tribunal of the United Nations. It hired Reichler last year to argue its case.

Foreign Policy described the Philippine move as “surprising but savvy” - a first step toward establishing some sort of law and order in East Asia’s waters, which up until now have been a sort of aquatic Wild West, with nations planting flags on rocks, roping off shoals and building up tiny reefs to stake their claims.

The headline of the article was: “Why the DC lawyer suing China for the Philippines still thinks he can win.”

The hearing is to determine the validity to China’s claims to a wide swath of ocean that encompasses waters near the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei among other countries.

The Foreign Policy article described Reichler as a “giant-slayer” in the world of international law for his often-successful track record of suing the US, Russia and Britain on behalf of countries like Nicaragua, Georgia and Mauritius.

Reichler said China’s decision not to take part in the arbitration was unfortunate.  

“They had an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the international legal order, to show respect for its procedures, and to agree to be bound by its rules. Had they seized this chance, they would have proven that they are not only a great power, but a responsible one.”

But the pressure on Beijing to comply with an unfavorable ruling - even if it doesn’t participate - will still be there, Reichler said.

“To me, China has always denounced imperialism, denounced unilateralism, has denounced violations of the UN Charter,” he said. “This is an opportunity for China to really show its true colors.”

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal in a report said ties between China and the US, strained by military rivalries and maritime disputes, may face an even greater test from the newest front in global conflict: cyberspace.

“There is no doubt that cyber tensions are growing, and they are keeping pace with growing tensions in the near seas of China,” said Patrick Cronin, a senior adviser at the Washington-based think tank, Center for a New American Security.

Mandiant, an Internet security firm, in a report on Tuesday cited evidence that a unit of China’s People’s Liberation Army was responsible for computer espionage around the world, including cyber attacks on US corporations and government agencies.

In response, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the US has raised its objections “at the highest levels” with China.

In other developments, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, after talks with President Barack Obama in the White House, said on Friday the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region was becoming more and more difficult.

“We need to create an order in this region based on cooperation between our two countries to secure the freedom of the seas and to secure a region which is governed based on laws, not on force,” he said.

He said Tokyo would act calmly in its dispute with Beijing over a group of islands in the East China Sea known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

“Concerning the South China Sea and the Senkaku Islands, we agree that the very existence of the Japan-US alliance is a stabilizing factor, which contributes to peace and stability of the region,” he added.

Washington says the islands fall under the US-Japan security pact.