China's resounding defeat in a legal battle with the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea could embolden other states to file lawsuits if Beijing refuses to compromise on access to the resource-rich region. There are several avenues for litigation that countries could pursue rather than risk any action at sea that would worsen military tensions, legal and security experts said. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague concluded that China had violated the Philippines' economic and sovereign rights. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have unresolved, overlapping claims on parts of the South China Sea. A five-judge tribunal dismissed China's "Nine-dash line" - a 69-year-old claim to roughly 85 percent of the South China Sea - saying it was unlawful under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLCLOS). The ruling is binding for Beijing and Manila, but it also set a legal precedent by determining that UNCLOS rules take … [Read more...] about China’s legal setback could spur more South China Sea claims
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Tribunal overwhelmingly rejects Beijing’s South China Sea claims
An arbitration court ruled on Tuesday that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and has breached the Philippines' sovereign rights with its actions, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case as a farce. A defiant China, which boycotted the hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, vowed again to ignore the ruling and said its armed forces would defend its sovereignty and maritime interests. China's state-run Xinhua news agency said shortly before the ruling was announced that a Chinese civilian aircraft had successfully tested two new airports in the disputed Spratly Islands. And China's Defense Ministry said a new guided missile destroyer was formally commissioned at a naval base on the southern island province of Hainan, which has responsibility for the South China Sea. "This award represents a devastating legal blow to China's jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea," Ian Storey, of Singapore's ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, … [Read more...] about Tribunal overwhelmingly rejects Beijing’s South China Sea claims
Hague tribunal rules China’s South China Sea claims unfounded
An arbitration court ruled on Tuesday that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea and that it has breached the sovereign rights of the Philippines with its actions there, a long-awaited ruling sure to infuriate Beijing. China, which has boycotted the hearings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, vowed again to ignore the ruling and said its armed forces would defend its sovereignty and maritime interests. China's state-run Xinhua news agency said shortly before the ruling was announced that a Chinese civilian aircraft successfully carried out calibration tests on two new airports in the disputed Spratly Islands. And China's Defense Ministry announced that a new guided missile destroyer was formally commissioned at a naval base on the southern island province of Hainan, which has responsibility for the South China Sea. "This award represents a devastating legal blow to China's jurisdictional claims in the South China Sea," Ian Storey, of … [Read more...] about Hague tribunal rules China’s South China Sea claims unfounded
Indonesia asks China to clarify South China Sea claims
Indonesia has asked China to clarify its claims over the South China Sea but has yet to receive a response, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday, a day after Indonesia's security chief said Jakarta could take Beijing to court over an island dispute. Beijing's claim to almost the entire resource-rich sea is shown on Chinese maps with a nine-dash line that stretches deep into the maritime heart of Southeast Asia. Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the waterway. Last year, the Indonesian armed forces chief accused China of including parts of the Indonesian-ruled Natuna islands within the nine-dash line. Indonesian President Joko Widodo's administration departed from its usual low-profile role in the dispute on Wednesday when security chief Luhut Panjaitan said Jakarta could take China to an international court if dialogue over the islands failed. "The position of Indonesia is clear at this stage that we do not recognize the nine-dash line because it … [Read more...] about Indonesia asks China to clarify South China Sea claims
China lobbies hard ahead of Manila’s South China Sea arbitration case
China's claims to the disputed South China Sea will come under international legal scrutiny for the first time this week, but while Beijing has officially refused to take part in the case filed by the Philippines at a U.N. tribunal, it has made its presence felt. Indeed, Manila's international legal team was heading to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague to initially argue that the five-judge panel has jurisdiction to hear the case, Philippine Foreign Ministry officials told Reuters. That is because of concerns China raised in a public position paper in December about the tribunal's jurisdiction over the matter, according to court statements. A little-noticed decision by the tribunal's panel in April acknowledged China's objections and announced that a hearing on jurisdiction from July 7-13 would be held first. Manila filed the case in 2013 to seek a ruling on its right to exploit the South China Sea waters in its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) as allowed … [Read more...] about China lobbies hard ahead of Manila’s South China Sea arbitration case