International arbitration developments and practice in Asia have not received the attention they deserve given the growth and increasing complexity of the field in that region during recent years. At the turn of the twenty-first century, international arbitration has flourished and prospered across Asia, and within its major constituent jurisdictions. The increasing importance of arbitration coincides with the growing cross-border investment in Asia. Investment continues to flow in from both Asian and Western economies. The capital inflow is accelerated by China's initiatives such as the Belt and Road Policy (“One Belt One Road”) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Our panel session surveyed and sought to shed light on the practice of international commercial as well as investment treaty arbitration, both of which are crucial dispute resolution vehicles to settle cross-border investment disputes. To try and cover this vast ground and keep the session engaging, a series of questions was quickly and successively posed to each panelist, who has expertise in international arbitration in one or more Asian jurisdictions, to highlight the little-known arbitration practice in her region and provide a cross-region comparative perspective.

The geographical disadvantages faced by land-locked states place them in a particularly vulnerable position: unable to compete on equal trading terms with coastal neighbours, they are highly susceptible to all forms of economic and political ‘aggression’. Such measures produce more than the usual degree of ‘inconvenience’, but can so destabilise the state as to compromise its existence. Equity and the sanctity of ‘statehood’ require the protection of such states by furnishing them transit rights.Not only must international law recognise such rights as existing in one form or another, but must also provide adequate means of securing them. A society unwilling to redress natural imbalances and prepared to perpetuate an inherently unfair system is a society committed to conflict, rather than the maintenance of peace and security.