China nominates candidate for int’l sea tribunal judge.

The US urged countries to block the election of China’s candidate for a judge’s position in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) as Washington warned that electing a Chinese official to this body is like hiring an “arsonist” and will hinder international maritime law.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is running an “uncontested” candidate for a judge’s position on this tribunal at an election currently slated for late August or early September.

“Like the arbitral tribunal that ruled against Beijing in 2016, the International Tribunal is established under the UN Convention on the

Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Electing a PRC official to this body is like hiring an arsonist to help run the fire department,” Stilwell said during the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) virtual forum.

“We urge all countries involved in the upcoming International Tribunal election to carefully assess the credentials of the PRC candidate and consider whether a PRC judge on the tribunal will help or hinder international maritime law. Given Beijing’s record, the answer should be clear,” he said.

The US has strengthened its own approach to the South China Sea.

Washington would no longer tolerate China’s actions to build a “maritime empire” in the South China Sea as it condemned as unlawful Beijing’s bullying and intimidation to control resources in the disputed waters.

US State Secretary Michael Pompeo announced the important step to strengthen US policy and to stand firmly with their Southeast Asian partners in defense of sovereign rights.

In recent months, while the world has focused on the fight against COVID-19, Stilwell said China has doubled down on its campaign to impose an order of “might makes right” in the South China Sea.

China is working to undermine the sovereign rights of other coastal states and deny them access to offshore resources – resources that belong to those states, not to China. Beijing wants dominion for itself and it wants to replace international law with rule by threats and coercion.