Description
The paper argues that within an anarchic international system, states would benefit from advocating a common cause. This paper fits well with the conference’s broader theme of IR’s contribution to the future of world affairs because of its theoretical framework and case study.
The first part of the paper theorises how the global community promotes peace and prevents conflict by adhering to international law. To support this argument, the paper utilises Tang’s (2009) comprehensive exposition of the security dilemma to analyse and manage international conflict. Furthermore, defensive realists like Jervis (1978) claim that the security dilemma calls for enduring cooperation among states in response to a shared security issue.
The paper then applies this security dilemma theory to the persistent Philippines-China maritime row even after the Permanent Court of Arbitration rendered its landmark decision on the South China Sea (SCS) Arbitration in 2016. The legal proceeding was based on the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the comprehensive framework for international maritime governance. However, 40 years after its signing, enforcement has been one limitation of UNCLOS. Nonetheless, the paper proposes ways by which states can apply the Tribunal Award as their collective response to the SCS disputes.
