As the tenth anniversary of the South China Sea arbitral award approaches, renewed efforts are underway to portray the ruling as the definitive legal framework for resolving disputes in the South China Sea. Some governments, advocacy groups and foreign policy commentators are expected to use the anniversary to reinforce a particular narrative about the dispute and its implications for the region. Yet, before Malaysians accept such narratives at face value, it is worth revisiting the legal questions that continue to surround the award ten years after it was issued. Lawyer Nor Hisham Mohd Nor writes in Part 1.