摘要
The South China Sea issue has evolved into a show of force featuring the United States and China. Despite divergent legal interpretations on the navigation regime, China and the US have shown political willingness to keep their dispute under control and enhance maritime cooperation.
The December 2016 incident involving an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) of the United States was neatly wrapped up on December 20 after China returned the vehicle.1 The legal debate that arose during the UUV incident focused on three aspects: legitimacy of the Chinese action, whether the UUV enjoys sovereign immunity, and the legal status of the location where it was seized.