Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the Spratly (Truong Sa) Islands in the East Sea. (Photo: Reuters)
Hanoi (VNA) – The ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the Netherlands related to disputes in the East Sea on July 12 created a legal foundation for involved parties in the region to maintain cooperation in the future, an US law expert has said.
During talks concerning international law recently held by the Law Commission under the World Trade Organisation’s Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, Sean D Murphy, a professor at George Washington University, delivered a speech on international law and sea and island disputes, citing the Philippines’s lawsuit against China on disputes in the East Sea.
The judgment contributed to solving not only disputes in the East Sea but also sea and island disputes in other regions worldwide, Murphy, who is also a member of the United Nations’ International Law Commission told Vietnam News Agency reporters.
It will serve as a foundation for interpreting regulations and principles of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), making it easy for all countries to understand the Convention he said.
Meanwhile, Takashi Hosoda, lecturer of international law at Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, described the ruling as a historic step for efforts to settle disputes in the East Sea.
It reflects the voice of the international community, he said, adding that parties involved should respect and implement the verdict.-VNA
