SASS ROGANDO SASOT
IMMEDIATELY after the arbitral decision on Philippines v. China was released on July 12, 2016, former US Senator and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, was interviewed. He said that by signing the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), China gave up its historical rights, and the arbitral decision “gives all those countries in that part of the world the high ground here and has isolated China” (CNBC, July 12, 2016). What was said and who said it aroused my interest.