Evaluation of the South China Sea arbitration in terms of compulsory dispute settlement

The South China Sea is a sea where interests often conflict, as it is a semi-enclosed sea and subject to sovereignty claims by more than one state. However, the scope of the disputes in the region became clearer in 2016 when the Philippines referred its maritime dispute with China to international dispute settlement for the first time. In terms of this dispute, which was only brought to arbitration by the Philippines, some elements put forward by China, such as historical rights, need to be discussed in order to see the perspective of international law on the delimitation of maritime areas. In addition to the legitimacy of China's claims regarding the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is essential to evaluate the place of the general acceptance of the consent of states in compulsory dispute settlement in this arbitration process. In the South China Sea arbitration, similar to many international judicial decisions, it is observed that the assessment of jurisdiction is made by the arbitral tribunal instinctively. Considering that the nature of each dispute will be diverse, various factors need to be taken into consideration in making this assessment. In the South China Sea arbitration, the evaluation of these factors is particularly relevant in terms of China's absence from the proceedings and the consent of the parties to compulsory dispute settlement. Keywords South China Sea, South China Sea Arbitration, Compulsory Dispute Resolution, Permanent Court of Arbitration.