| Add | Addendum |
| adm | Admiralty |
| afp | Armed Forces of the Philippines |
| ajil | American Journal of International Law |
| asean | Association of Southeast Asian Nations |
| asil | American Society of International Law |
| bbc | British Broadcasting Corporation |
| bfsp | British Foreign and State Papers |
| bit | Bilateral Investment Treaty |
| cab | Cabinet Papers |
| cerd | Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination |
| Cf | Confer |
| ch | Chapter |
| Chinese jil | Chinese Journal of International Law |
| Cmd | Command Paper |
| co | Colonial Office |
| col | Column |
| cr | Compte Rendu |
| cs | Continental Shelf |
| csis | Center for Strategic and International Studies |
| decl | Declaration |
| dfa | Department of Foreign Affairs |
| diss op | dissenting opinion |
| Dist | District |
| Doc | Document |
| doc | Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea |
| E | East |
| echr | European Convention on Human Rights |
| ECtHR | European Court of Human Rights |
| ed(s) | editor(s) |
| edn | edition |
| eez | Exclusive Economic Zone |
| e.g. | exempli gratia |
| ejil | European Journal of International Law |
| et al | et alii |
| et seq | et sequens |
| EU | European Union |
Federal Supplement | |
| F2d | Federal Reporter, 2nd Series |
| fao | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
| fbis-chi | Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Daily Reports: China |
| fco | Foreign and Commonwealth Office |
| fe | Far East |
| fo | Foreign Office |
| fry | Federal Republic of Yugoslavia |
| ftc | Free Trade Commission |
| gc | Grand Chamber |
| gr | General Register |
| ibid | ibidem |
| icao | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| icj | International Court of Justice |
| icj Statute | Statute of the International Court of Justice |
| iclq | International and Comparative Law Quarterly |
| icnt | Informal Composite Negotiating Text |
| icsid | International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes |
| icty | International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia |
| i.e. | id est |
| iil | Institute of International Law |
| ila | International Law Association |
| ilc | International Law Commission |
| ildc | Oxford Reports on International Law in Domestic Courts |
| ilm | International Legal Materials |
| ilr | International Law Reports |
| ind op | individual opinion |
| isnt | Informal Single Negotiating Text |
| itlos | International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea |
| iusct | Iran-United States Claims Tribunal |
| iusctr | Iran-United States Claims Tribunal Reports |
| kig | Kalayaan Island Group |
| km² / sqkm | Square kilometres |
| Lat. | Latitude |
| lky spp | Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy |
| Long. | Longitude |
| los | Law of the Sea |
| los Bulletin | Law of the Sea Bulletin, United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea |
| losc | Law of the Sea Convention |
Ministry of Foreign Affairs | |
| mfn | Most-Favoured Nation |
| mn | Margin Note |
| moao | Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office |
| mpa | Marine Protected Area |
| N | North |
| n(n) / fn | Footnote(s) |
| nafta | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| namria | National Mapping and Resource Information Authority |
| nm / M | Nautical mile |
| No(s) | Number(s) |
| nz | New Zealand |
| oaa | Office of American Affairs |
| oas | Organization of American States |
| odil | Ocean Development and International Law |
| p(p) | Page(s) |
| para(s) | Paragraph(s) |
| pca | Permanent Court of Arbitration |
| pcij | Permanent Court of International Justice |
| ph / phl | Philippines |
| pla | People’s Liberation Army |
| prc | People’s Republic of China |
| ra 9522 | Republic Act No 9522 |
| riaa | Reports of International Arbitral Awards |
| roc | Republic of China (Taiwan) |
| rp | Republic of the Philippines |
| rsis | S Rajaratnam School of International Studies |
| rsnt | Revised Single Negotiating Text |
| scs | South China Sea |
| sead | South East Asian Department |
| sec. | Section |
| sep op | separate opinion |
| sfa | Secretary of Foreign Affairs |
| swb | Summary of World Broadcasts |
| swncc | State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee |
| Treaty of Tiensin | Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between China and Belgium |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| ukts | United Kingdom Treaty Series |
| UN | United Nations |
Charter of the United Nations | |
| uncitral | United Nations Commission on International Trade Law |
| unclos | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea |
| unclos iii | Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea |
| unlosc | United Nations Law of the Sea Conference |
| unts | United Nations Treaty Series |
| up | University of the Philippines |
| US | United States |
| USA | United States of America |
| ussr | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics |
| v | Versus |
| vclt | Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties |
| vn | Vereinte Nationen |
| vol | Volume |
| wps | West Philippine Sea |