This is an act of “lawfare,” a term that Charles Dunlap famously defined in 2008 as “the strategy of using – or misusing – law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective.” Over time, the meaning of lawfare has broadened to go beyond simple equivalence to kinetic war. Zakhar Tropin argued in 2021 that the term should also apply to “the use of law aimed at delegitimizing the actions of an opponent (or legitimizing one’s own) and to tie up the time and resources of the opponent and achieve advances in military activity or in any sphere of social relations.”
mandag 24. november 2025
China is stepping up its legal narratives targeting the Philippines
In recent months, China has been doubling down on the narrative that the Philippines is the regional “troublemaker” that repeatedly engages in unlawful behavior and provokes conflict and confrontation. This labelling is part of China’s systematic efforts to promote legal counterfactuals that undermine established international law in order to complement and support its South China Sea agenda.
This is an act of “lawfare,” a term that Charles Dunlap famously defined in 2008 as “the strategy of using – or misusing – law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective.” Over time, the meaning of lawfare has broadened to go beyond simple equivalence to kinetic war. Zakhar Tropin argued in 2021 that the term should also apply to “the use of law aimed at delegitimizing the actions of an opponent (or legitimizing one’s own) and to tie up the time and resources of the opponent and achieve advances in military activity or in any sphere of social relations.”
This is an act of “lawfare,” a term that Charles Dunlap famously defined in 2008 as “the strategy of using – or misusing – law as a substitute for traditional military means to achieve an operational objective.” Over time, the meaning of lawfare has broadened to go beyond simple equivalence to kinetic war. Zakhar Tropin argued in 2021 that the term should also apply to “the use of law aimed at delegitimizing the actions of an opponent (or legitimizing one’s own) and to tie up the time and resources of the opponent and achieve advances in military activity or in any sphere of social relations.”
