Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Commons^™

The Geoeconomics Of Belt And Road Disputes: A Case Study On The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mark Mclaughlin

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article argues that the dovetailing economic, geopolitical, and security interests that underpin the Belt and Road Initiative demands a dispute resolution mechanism that focuses on broader interests and legal rights. Using the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a case study, it identifies the conditions in which Chinese investors could have initiated an investment arbitration but did not. This can be explained by the rights-based orientation of investment treaties failing to reflect the interests of multi-project initiatives. Instead, alternative methods of home state intervention, such as state-funded political risk insurance, are used to protect investors. In other words, the political …