It is my pleasure to present Volume 41 of the Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs, which includes scholarly writings on diverse topics, as well as selected documents reflecting the state practice of the Republic of China (ROC) in 2023. Readers may have noted that starting from the last volume, the cover of the Yearbook now includes the official Chinese title (中華民國國際法與國際事務年報), reflecting our 40-year tradition as the premier international law publication dedicated to insights from Taiwan, cross-strait relations, and the Asia-Pacific region with a global viewpoint.

On December 3–4, 2023, the Chinese (Taiwan) Society of International Law held the International Law Association (ILA)-American Society of International Law (ASIL) Asia Pacific Forum in Taipei. The theme was Indo-Pacific Strategies and International Law. To honor the legacy of eminent ROC jurists and diplomats, we established three prizes: the Wellington Koo (顧維鈞 1888–1985) Prize for young scholars, the Hsu Mo (徐謨1893–1956) Prize for the best paper in international law and diplomacy, and the Feng-Shan Ho (何鳳山1901–1997) Prize for the best paper in international human rights and humanitarian law. Judges Koo and Hsu served on the bench of the International Court of Justice. Ambassador Ho served as the ROC Consul-General in Austria during World War II and saved nearly 3,000 Jews by issuing them visas to China at the time.

During the dinner of the Research Forum at the Chiang Ching-kuo Presidential Library (蔣經國總統圖書館), I had the honor to explain their profound contributions to international law and diplomacy. The winners of these prizes include Yi Tang of the University of Hong Kong, Jason Rudall of Leiden University, and Carole J. Petersen of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, respectively. We thank them for their contributions and appreciate the support of the ILA and ASIL for the Research Forum.

This volume includes the following articles: Professor Natalie Klein of the University of New South Wales sheds light on nuclear submarines under the AUKUS agreement, based on her Hungdah Chiu Lecture. Professor Hitoshi Nasu of the United States Military Academy (West Point) analyzes potential international law claims involving the crisis in the Taiwan Strait, based on his keynote speech at the Research Forum. Furthermore, three award-winning papers are included in this volume: Professor Carole J. Petersen explores the rights of women under international law, Professor Jason Rudall examines investor-state dispute settlement in cases related to energy transition, and Yi Tang deciphers arbitration reform within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Other articles assess contemporary and interdisciplinary topics, ranging from the law of the sea and artificial intelligence to constitutional issues and the trade-climate linkage. Authors featured include Professor Kentaro Nishimoto of Tohoku University, Japan; Professor Miriam Cohen of Université de Montréal; Professor Kuang-hao Hou (侯廣豪) of National Quemoy University, Taiwan; Professor Thanapat Chatinakrob of Thammasat University, Thailand; Dr. Ángeles Jiménez Garcia-Carriazo of the University of Cádiz, Spain; Mr. Suriya Narayanan Sundararajan of the World Maritime University, Sweden; and Professor Chung-Han Yang (楊宗翰) of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan.

In addition, Dr. Hsiu-Feng Lin (林秀鳳) of Doshisha University, Japan authored the Special Report, which analyzes ten cases where Japanese courts interpreted the status of the ROC/Taiwan in domestic law matters. The volume also includes three book reviews: Dr. Marta Soprana reviewed the book on digital empires authored by Professor Anu Bradford of Columbia Law School; Professor Kenny Chang reviewed the book edited by Professor Jimmy Chia-Shin Hsu (許家馨) of Academia Sinica on human dignity in Asia; and Professor Ying-Jun Lin (林映均) reviewed the book on capital controls under international economic law written by Professor Bryan Mercurio of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Contemporary Practice section compiles materials related to the 2023 practice of the ROC in various areas of international law. This Volume concludes with the Treaty section, featuring a chronological list of treaties and agreements concluded by the ROC with other countries or organizations in 2023, and a reproduction of three key agreements: Taiwan’s investment arrangement with Canada, Enhanced Trade Partnership with the United Kingdom, and the inaugural agreement of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade.

I would like to acknowledge the dedicated efforts of our colleagues, including Chun-i Chen (陳純一), Pasha Hsieh (謝笠天), Han-Wei Liu (劉漢威), Pei-Lun Tsai (蔡沛倫), Kai-Chih Chang (張愷致), Chieh Lo (羅傑), I-Ju Chen (陳逸如), Helen Hai-Ning Huang (黃海寧), I-Hon Hsiao (蕭一弘), Tran Hoang Tu Linh, and Howard Jyun-Syun Li (李濬勳).

Moreover, I am grateful for the constructive reviews and contributions of our esteemed referees, including Richard Chen, Norman Ho (侯孟沅), Margaret Lewis, Meredith Kolsky Lewis, Chien-Chih Lin (林建志), Ying-Jun Lin (林映均), Han-Wei Liu (劉漢威), Winnie Jo-Mei Ma (馬若梅), Trang (Mae) Nguyen, Stefanie Schacherer, Markus Wagner, Timothy Webster, and Yueming Yan. Finally, the continuing support from Lee & Li Attorneys-at-Law (理律法律事務所) and the Research Center for International Legal Studies of National Chengchi University (政大國際法學研究中心) is greatly appreciated.