Empires of th Sea

This book focuses on the decision of the Tribunal in the South China Sea Arbitration that China had operated its law enforcement vessels in ways that created risks of collision with Philippine official vessels at Scarborough Shoal in April and May 2012. The book explains the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and the incidents in layperson’s terms. It analyzes China’s violations of the COLREGS on the basis of confidential Philippine documents declassified for the Arbitration, technical works by professional mariners, and the reports submitted by the navigational safety experts to the Tribunal.