International Law of the Sea regulates issues related to the seas, not lands (including islands). Countries signed the treaty on the understanding that the trea

International Law of the Sea regulates issues related to the seas, not lands (including islands). Countries signed the treaty on the understanding that the treaty does not cover sovereign claims of islands. What creative about this new arbitration ruling is that it redefines the concept of island, so many islands are now classified as rocks, in order for them to fall into the jurisdiction of the Law of the Sea. However, I don't think this works, as a law about seas cannot unilaterally defines what constitutes lands.