Opinion | After South China Sea setback, Beijing seeks to arm itself with international law – like the West

China is learning from Western powers that it can ignore decisions it doesn’t like and manipulate international law – as long as it cultivates an army of patriotic lawyers

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Published: 1:30am, 20 Mar 2023

A recent Chinese government decision to raise the status of international law studies has potentially significant implications for China and its foreign relations.

Its acceptance of the need to upgrade its capacity in international law is not likely to be driven by a new-found desire to abide by it. Rather, it is likely to stem from more practical political motives, such as defending against its use by Western powers, particularly when it comes to the law of the sea, and an intention to emulate them by using international law to protect China’s interests and achieve its goals.

International law is a set of rules, norms and standards governing the conduct of states and their relations with each other. It is guided by treaties and conventions, customs (state practices), general principles of law, and judicial decisions and teachings.

But there is often disagreement over it. When powerful countries cannot manipulate international law in their favour, they often refuse to recognise it or abide by its decisions – as the United States, Russia, Britain, France and now China have all done.

Moreover, there is no universal supranational enforcement mechanism. Indeed, some cynics describe international law as “the arms of politics”: where nations use self-serving interpretations and practices to achieve their political goals.

China has been unmercifully bashed by the West for its transgressions while other states seem to have all but buried theirs. The US has been particularly adept at manipulating international law, especially the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), to which it is not even a party.