Since 2013 the South China Sea disputes have become a hot
spot in the Asia-Pacific area. On the one hand, China has sped up
the construction of its artificial island in the Spratly Islands and militarized
its man-made islands. On the other hand, the U.S. has acted
on its principle of Freedom of Navigation Operations and deployed
warships and aircraft in the 12 nautical mile zone around the manmade
islands leading to military confrontation between the U.S. and
China in the South China Sea. Furthermore, the Philippines has submitted
the sovereignty dispute regarding the Spratly Islands to the
UN Permanent Court of Justice and after hearings in October 2015
and according to the de jure procedure of this case the verdict will
be released in May 2016. But China has already stated that the Court
of Justice has no right to handle Chinese sovereignty issues and China
will refuse to accept the outcome according to the UN Law of the
Sea. Although China did not want to join the arbitration and was
absent during the hearings, the outcome of this arbitration will set a