A high-stakes international legal conflict is unfolding over the strategic Port of Darwin, after Chinese-owned infrastructure firm Landbridge Group launched formal arbitration proceedings against the Australian federal government over its push to transfer the port’s operating lease to an Australian owner. The case, filed at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in late April by Landbridge founder Ye Cheng, marks one of a growing number of investment disputes between Chinese firms and national governments that are reshaping how countries weigh national security policy against international trade obligations.