“There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the “nine-dash line”, the court said, referring to a demarcation line on a 1947 map of the sea, which is rich in energy, mineral and fishing resources.
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China’s claims over the South China Sea were fiercely contested by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Protesting outside a KFC branch.
A woman holds an umbrella shield from the rain as she walks past a KFC restaurant outlet in Beijing, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
“Whether it is a spontaneous demonstration or one manipulated by other forces is still unknown”, it added, without elaborating.
He has ordered government lawyers to study the ruling and has not disclosed his plan to secure Chinese compliance.
On Thursday, the official China Daily carried a Chinese foreign ministry response to Yasay’s rejection, urging the Philippines to chart a new course.
State newspapers said the authorities were “calling for rational patriotism”.
“The Chinese public, as optimistic and positive as they are, are deeply patriotic and nationalistic, especially people who are younger”, said James Roy of the research firm China Market Research Group.
Protests have also occurred in Changsha in Hunan province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Linyi in Shandong province with demonstrators waving the national flag and shouting slogans.
But not all Chinese social media users are in favor of this type of behavior.
Since the South China Sea ruling was handed down, a musical video compiling Chinese citizens rapping “South Sea arbitration, who cares?” has gained almost 4.9 million views on social media platform Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.
The government also appears to have no intention of allowing protests, as it has done in the past against Japan.
But Chongqing-based scholar Zhang Qi said there is far less unity to be found in online comment than there was just a few years ago in China. He said it also told protesters to boycott Japanese and Korean goods.
“This definitely helps the forces pushing back against the Chinese government’s attempts to manipulate nationalist fervor”, he said.
It’s a bit of a complicated story, but here’s what you need to know: China recently lost a global tribunal ruling over the South China Sea, specifically whether territory belonged to China or the Philippines. The tribunal said that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights and had caused “harm to the coral reef environment” by building artificial islands.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said his country “strongly affirms its respect for this milestone decision” on the South China Sea dispute. Green said the U.S. would need to reinforce its commitment to the security of its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, with an emphasis on smaller states.
“The likelihood of a mishap from accidental firing of weapons is still pretty low”, Lam said.
“The US Navy will continue to conduct routine and lawful operations around the world, including in the South China Sea, in order to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of sea and airspace guaranteed to all”, US Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson said on Wednesday, as cited by Reuters. -China rivalry and have stoked concern of an accident or clash.
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Reported by Yang Fan for RFA’s Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service.
