The Philippines and China have always been at odds over Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over large swaths of the South China Sea, and Manila took its fight to the court in 2013. Six governments have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea – China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
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China says ancient maps show Chinese control in parts of the sea, but the court found that there was no historic evidence that China had “exclusive control” over the claimed water ways.
The tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said China couldn’t claim historic rights to resources in the waters within a “nine-dash” line used by Beijing to delineate its South China Sea claims.
The decision of the UN-backed tribunal in The Hague on the South China Sea row did not sit well with China, which said that it was null, void, and has no binding force.
“The Chinese people, together with relevant countries, stand resolutely to safeguard the dignity of the rule of global law, as well as regional peace and stability”, it said, underlining that Manila’s unilateral action can not “negate China’s legitimate rights and interests”.
The rule of law Carpio was referring to is enshrined in the United Nation’s charter.
U.S. officials have previously said they feared China might respond to the ruling by declaring an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013, or by stepping up its building and fortification of artificial islands.
“Maybe it’s a good opportunity for them to test the waters and see what the reaction of the Chinese coastguard will be”, he said. Beijing has also repeatedly insisted it will not recognize what it predicts will be a biased ruling.
“And for Beijing, this whole South China Sea issue has become one of their biggest diplomatic headaches, both in its relations with its neighbors and with the US”, he says.
The US sent an aircraft carrier and fighter jets to the region ahead of the decision, while the Chinese navy has been carrying out exercises near the disputed Paracel islands. Here’s a summary of the key rulings by the court.
China has stressed that it has historical rights to the South China Sea within a “nine-dash line” that covers nearly 90% of the area that is rich in mineral and marine resources. Beijing said the tribunal had failed to clarify or identify the disputes between China and the Philippines in its ruling on jurisdiction.
The case, brought by the Philippines in 2013, hinged on the legal status of reefs, rocks and artificial islands in the Scarborough Shoal and Spratly Island group.
The fishermen were rescued by another fishing trawler around seven hours later.
“If it didn’t matter, China wouldn’t have spent so much time and energy on bullying the Philippines in an effort to make them drop the case”, says Greg Poling, who directs the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said in Manila the “milestone decision” was an important contribution to efforts in addressing disputes in the sea.
The tribunal’s July 12 decision noted that “certain sea areas are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, because those areas are not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China”.
The country’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte, said last week his government stood ready to talk to China if it receives a favourable ruling.
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The resource-rich, strategically vital waters of the South China Sea are disputed between the Asian giant – which claims nearly all of them on the basis of a “nine-dash line” that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s – and several other countries including the Philippines. “China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in South China Sea, in any circumstances, will not be affected by the award”. For example, the ruling could put “unbearable pressure on ASEAN solidarity”, because China would most likely try hard to influence friendly states such as Cambodia and Laos into obstructing the bloc’s from opposition to China’s maritime claims.
