Manila's arbitration has evidence problem

On Oct 29, 2015, the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the arbitration instituted by the Philippines against China rendered its award on jurisdiction and admissibility. The tribunal concluded that it does have jurisdiction over the matters raised in seven of the Philippines' claims.

On Oct 30, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the award is null and void, and that it has no binding effect on China. Subsequently, the Chinese government reiterated that it will neither participate in nor accept the arbitration initiated by the Philippines.

It is important to note how the tribunal reached the conclusion. Let us analyze the award from the evidence perspective, which clearly shows what the arbitrators were concerned with and what their contemplation and reasoning yielded.