The statement was issued in response to the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in the Netherlands on a case brought by the Philippines against China, arguing that the land formations claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea are not islands and therefore are not entitled to 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zones. The long-awaited decision comes after the Philippines took the cause to the tribunal, challenging’s Beijing’s right to exploit resources in the disputed waters.
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Perfecto Yasay, the Philippine foreign secretary, said in Manila that the “milestone decision” was an important contribution to efforts in addressing disputes in the sea.
The declaration followed a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that China has no historic rights to its claimed “nine-dash line”.
Previously on July 5, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had offered to hold conciliatory talks with China and vowed he would not “taunt or flaunt” any ruling.
While the ruling can not reverse China’s actions, it still constitutes a rebuke, carrying with it the force of the worldwide community’s opinion. The United States too got involved as it backed the nations opposing China’s claims. Claimants to the South China Sea include China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Beijing has repeatedly denied the tribunal’s authority to rule on the dispute over the strategically vital region, and it refused the opportunity to defend its position in The Hague. However, reactions by the U.S. State Department were subdued and there was little sense of triumphalism among diplomats. The nine-dash line, a version of which first appeared on its maps in 1947, loops through the vast majority of the South China Sea, and Beijing uses it to claim sovereignty over nearly all the islands, reefs and rocks in the South China Sea.
The ruling, based on a United Nations convention on maritime law, comes after several years of escalating tension in the region as China has alarmed the USA and its allies by using its rapidly expanding naval and air power to assert territorial claims and challenge US military supremacy in Asia.
“The Republic of China [in Taiwan] enjoys every right in line with the global law and the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea regarding the islands in the South China Sea”.
“The ruling, especially the part involving Taiping Island, has seriously hurt our rights over the islands in the South China Sea, and we can never accept it”, the Presidential Office said. It had also “violated its obligation to preserve and protect fragile ecosystems”.
The tribunal found that China had “permanently destroyed” evidence of the natural conditions of the rocks and reefs where it built.
Tensions have ratcheted up as China has reclaimed land in massive dredging operations, turning sandbars into islands equipped with airfields, ports and lighthouses.
Feelings were running high on both sides of the dispute in the run-up to the ruling Tuesday.
China has historic rights in the South China Sea, it said. According to Chinese officials, at least 60 countries support their claims to the South China Sea, however, few have declared their support publicly.
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“The Chinese government reiterates that, regarding territorial issues and maritime delimitation disputes, China does not accept any means of third party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China”, the Foreign Ministry statement said. People’s Daily called the case a “political farce”, and said China would not give up its “territorial rights” to a tribunal “without any legitimacy”.
