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China vows to protect South China Sea sovereignty

“There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the “nine-dash line”, the Permanent Court of Arbitration said, referring to a demarcation line on a 1947 map of the sea.

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BEIJING warned against challenges to its South China Sea territorial claims yesterday after a Hague tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines.

China’s next objectives could include creating a man-made island on Scarborough Shoal or establishing an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea.

America then responded by sending two B52 bombers through the ADIZ, without identifying themselves to China.

The tribunal agreed that China had no legal authority to claim the waters and was infringing on the sovereign rights of the Philippines.

Washington is quickly moving to ease tensions after an worldwide court threw out China’s claims to disputed waters in the South China Sea. China has refused to honour the ruling. They said it was financed by the former government of the Philippines.

Du noted that ties between Beijing and most Asean nations, including non-claimant countries like Singapore and Indonesia, had already been strained in the lead-up to the ruling, by China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed territories.

At the same time, she struck a conciliatory tone, reiterating that Taiwan advocates that South China Sea disputes be resolved peacefully through multilateral negotiations, and Taiwan is willing to pursue stability in the region through dialogue based on equality.

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 next US president [Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump] will be a China hard-liner”.

4 of 5 tribunal panelists picked by Japan: China In Beijing’s view, rejecting the ruling amounts to upholding the global law because it believes the tribunal went out of his scope and powers in judging the case.

China reacted furiously to Tuesday’s decision, insisting on its historical rights over the sea while launching a volley of thinly veiled warnings to the United States and other critical nations.

Moreover, Kirby remarked that the Tribunal’s decision is “final and legally binding” for both the Philippines and China.

Chinese official media and think-tanks are anxious over this possible “domino effect” with surge in claims by other countries to press for their share of the South China Sea.

President Tsai Ing-wen rallied troops on the deck of the frigate, saying Taiwanese were determined to “defend their country’s rights”, before the warship headed for Taiwan-controlled Taiping island in the Spratly island chain from the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Further, it was a “rebuke” of China’s “behaviour” over SCS, he added.

On Friday, the United States and South Korea announced they would deploy an advanced missile defense system in South Korea.

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China also in recent years built giant artificial islands capable of hosting military installations and airstrips in the Spratlys archipelago, one of the biggest groups of islands in the sea. It also asked the tribunal to rule on largescale constructions that China had undertaken in the region.

Guam’s Bordallo issues statement on South China Sea International Tribunal decision