The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague announced its ruling on Tuesday that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within much of the South China Sea, which has been subject to territorial disputes by several countries.
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“Chinese authorities were aware that Chinese fishermen have harvested endangered sea turtles, coral and giant clams on a substantial scale in the South China Sea (using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment) and had not fulfilled their obligations to stop such activities”, it said in an 11-page summary of the ruling.
Daniel Kritenbrink, the White House policy director for Asia, said Monday’s ruling in the case brought by the Philippines was “an important contribution to the shared goal of a peaceful resolution to disputes in the South China Sea”.
In a landmark judgment, the tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines, which had brought an arbitration case after a stand-off with China at the Scarborough Shoal in 2012.
The court said Beijing’s claim of virtual sovereignty over almost all the South China Sea under a so-called “nine-dash line” runs contrary to UNCLOS, which sets a country’s maritime boundaries 22 kilometers from its coast, and control over economic activities up to 370 kilometers from its coast.
In terms of China’s relations with the United States, Mr Cui said the territory issues in the South China Sea “should not become an issue between our two countries”.
Ernest Bower with the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said, “China now faces reality that if it continues to assert, through actions and words” its claims in the region, “it is breaking the law”.
Another user said, “China should show no fear for any future economic sanction” should it decide not to comply with the order.
Both he and Cui spoke at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, and their comments reflected how the South China Sea is increasingly the spoiler in relations between the US and China.
“China’s been engaged in an aggressive and at times bullying performance and has now been called out by the global court”, Mr Conroy told the ABC. The reef is one of China’s reclaimed islands, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) off the Philippine coast.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington has seen signs in recent weeks of continued militarisation by China in the South China Sea.
“No matter what kind of ruling is to be made, Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges”, China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement shortly before the ruling was made public.
China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
The tribunal said that any historical resource rights China may have had were wiped out if they are incompatible with exclusive economic zones established under the United Nations treaty, which both countries have signed.
The aftermath of the ruling could be greatly influenced by new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office late last month and inherited a case filed by his predecessor.
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The Hague court also ruled Tuesday that none of the Spratly Islands granted China an exclusive economic zone, and that its construction activities on Mischief Reef caused “irreparable harm” to the reef’s ecosystem.
