South China Sea Judgement of Importance to Trade & Commerce

The landmark judgement passed by the Permanent court of Arbitration on the South China Sea dispute comes at the right time as global trade increases its importance in the country. Besides the judgement is crucial for peace and stability says Mr. Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries.

This judgement also opens new vistas for the growth of trade and commerce besides removing barriers and ensuring freedom of maritime movement, benefiting shipping and cargo in India as well as across the globe added Mr. Kalantri.

The Indian reference in the South China Sea judgment by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is to the Kishenganga judgment of 2013. In that case, the PCA gave India a partial green light to build a hydro-electric project on the Kishenganga river in Jammu & Kashmir, after Pakistan had approached the court citing the project’s environmental impact on water in its territory.

Upholding Phillipines’ argument that China had caused “severe harm to the coral reef environment” by building an artificial island, the PCA ruled that the general obligation in Article 192 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) requires that States “ensure that activities within their jurisdiction and control respect the environment of other States or of areas beyond national control.”