Two years ago, the United Nations delivered a historic verdict in the South China Sea territorial dispute between the Philippines and China, rendering China’s extensive claims over most of the sea baseless. Dr. Ha Anh Tuan, Director of the Center for Policy Analysis under the Institute for South China Sea Studies, writes to Vietnam News Agency on the legal implications of this ruling and its role in the path toward a final resolution.

Islands may generate maritime zones in the same foot as land territory. This possibility led to the fact that islands have been made use of to generate excessive maritime claims in state practices. To some extent, these practices are diluting the coherence and the main purpose of the regime of islands in international law.