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2 Asia Pac. J. Ocean L. & Pol'y 1 (2017)

handle is hein.journals/apjolp2 and id is 1 raw text is: ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF OCEAN LAW AND POLICY BRILL 2 (2017) 1-2 AM C NIJHOFF brillcom/apoc Introduction to the Special Issue On 12 July 2016, the Arbitral Tribunal formed under Annex vii of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea issued its decision on the proceeding brought by the Philippines against China relating to certain activi- ties in the South China Sea. The Tribunal's decision was much anticipated as it deals with various important issues relating to law of the sea and the in- terpretation of the 1982 Convention. In particular, the Tribunal's Award dealt with issues including the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, legal status of maritime features, historic rights, the duty to preserve the marine environment and is- sues relating to the conduct of the parties. Even though the Tribunal's decision is only binding to the parties of the dispute, it represents an authoritative and unanimous ruling by an international judicial body which undoubtedly sent a shockwave to other State parties of the 1982 Convention. It remains to be seen whether State practice will follow the Tribunal's ruling. For example, it is unclear whether coastal States beyond the South China Sea will apply the Tribunal's interpretation of the Regime of Islands under the 1982 Convention to unresolved issues involving islands and other maritime features. To address the wide range of issues arising from the post-South China Sea arbitration, the editors Of APJOLP have worked with guest editors, Nengye Liu and Saiful Karim, for this special issue of the Journal. Within the main theme of 'The South China Sea after the Philippines v. China Arbitration: Conflict and Cooperation in the Troubled Waters', this issue accommodates six articles that cover various issues. Please refer to the editorial notes from the guest editors for the details on these articles. The State Practice section of the Journal regarding the Law of the Sea practice of Asia-Pacific States in this issue provides a description of the State practice of Canada, the Philippines and Indonesia. Jeffrey J. Smith of McGill University, Canada provides a reflection on the Canada-United States Joint Statement on the Arctic. Lowell Bautista of University of Wollongong, Austra- lia offers a perspective on the Philippine National Legal Framework on Climate Change. Zaki Mubarok of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong then provides an anal- ysis of Indonesia's robust recent efforts to combat illegal fishing, which have included the burning and/or sinking of apprehended foreign fishing vessels engaged in such activities. © KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2017 DOI 10.1163/24519391-00201001