China's territorial assertions to more than 80 per cent of the South China Sea have been rebuffed by an international tribunal that ruled it has no historic rights to the resources within the waters, a verdict that went beyond what many analysts had expected.
"There was no evidence that China has historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources," the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said Tuesday in a statement. "The tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the seas falling within the 'nine-dash line'."
China's assertions are based on a 1947 map showing vague dashes - known as the nine-dash line - looping about 1,120 miles (1,800 kilometres) south of China's Hainan Island. It boycotted the arbitration process and vowed to ignore the result.
Many of the court's findings concerned the rights to territorial seas generated by various features. China has reclaimed some 3,200 acres (1,290 hectares) of land and built ports, lighthouses and runways. Under UNCLOS, man-made islands don't generate maritime entitlements.
China said it neither accepted nor acknowledged the ruling and reaffirmed its view the proceedings went against international law. "The award is null and void and has no binding force," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
"Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," the defense ministry said on its website before the ruling was announced.
The court found that:
- Mischief Reef, Second Thomas Shoal and Subi Reef were submerged at high tide in their natural condition and don't generate a 12 nautical mile territorial sea or EEZ
- Johnson Reef, Cuarteron Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, on which China has completed a 3 kilometer airstrip, are high-tide features that generate a territorial sea, but not an EEZ
- Taiwan-held Itu Aba is also a high-tide feature and doesn't generate an
The court found that China caused "severe harm" to the environment with its island-building and that it had breached UNCLOS regulations on preventing collisions as sea when its law enforcement vessels harassed Philippine vessels around Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines brought the case to the court after China's coast guard seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012. Beijing declined to submit formal documentation in defense of its claims, though it filed a position paper in December 2014 arguing the Philippine submission was a sovereignty dispute and outside the court's jurisdiction. The PCA rejected that argument.
While the U.S. doesn't take a position on the claims, it worked diplomatic channels to garner support for the court's jurisdiction ahead of the ruling.
"It is our expectation that both parties will comply with their obligations and exercise restraint," the U.S. government said in statement. While the U.S. said it wouldn't comment on the merits of the case, the government considered the ruling legally binding on both China and the Philippines.
The U.S. insists it has the right to protect freedom of navigation in the waters and has carried out voyages and flights near features claimed by China. In May, China sent fighters and warships to warn the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer, when it sailed close to one of its outposts in the Spratly Islands.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida urged all parties to comply with the ruling. Japan has "consistently advocated the importance of the rule of law and the use of peaceful means, not the use of force or coercion" in settling maritime disputes, he said in a statement. Japan has its own territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea.
(c) 2016, Bloomberg
"There was no evidence that China has historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources," the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said Tuesday in a statement. "The tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the seas falling within the 'nine-dash line'."
China's assertions are based on a 1947 map showing vague dashes - known as the nine-dash line - looping about 1,120 miles (1,800 kilometres) south of China's Hainan Island. It boycotted the arbitration process and vowed to ignore the result.
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Many of the court's findings concerned the rights to territorial seas generated by various features. China has reclaimed some 3,200 acres (1,290 hectares) of land and built ports, lighthouses and runways. Under UNCLOS, man-made islands don't generate maritime entitlements.
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China said it neither accepted nor acknowledged the ruling and reaffirmed its view the proceedings went against international law. "The award is null and void and has no binding force," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement published by the official Xinhua News Agency.
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"Chinese armed forces will firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and maritime interests and rights, firmly uphold regional peace and stability, and deal with all kinds of threats and challenges," the defense ministry said on its website before the ruling was announced.
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The court found that:
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- Mischief Reef, Second Thomas Shoal and Subi Reef were submerged at high tide in their natural condition and don't generate a 12 nautical mile territorial sea or EEZ
- Johnson Reef, Cuarteron Reef and Fiery Cross Reef, on which China has completed a 3 kilometer airstrip, are high-tide features that generate a territorial sea, but not an EEZ
- Taiwan-held Itu Aba is also a high-tide feature and doesn't generate an
The court found that China caused "severe harm" to the environment with its island-building and that it had breached UNCLOS regulations on preventing collisions as sea when its law enforcement vessels harassed Philippine vessels around Scarborough Shoal.
The Philippines brought the case to the court after China's coast guard seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012. Beijing declined to submit formal documentation in defense of its claims, though it filed a position paper in December 2014 arguing the Philippine submission was a sovereignty dispute and outside the court's jurisdiction. The PCA rejected that argument.
While the U.S. doesn't take a position on the claims, it worked diplomatic channels to garner support for the court's jurisdiction ahead of the ruling.
"It is our expectation that both parties will comply with their obligations and exercise restraint," the U.S. government said in statement. While the U.S. said it wouldn't comment on the merits of the case, the government considered the ruling legally binding on both China and the Philippines.
The U.S. insists it has the right to protect freedom of navigation in the waters and has carried out voyages and flights near features claimed by China. In May, China sent fighters and warships to warn the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided missile destroyer, when it sailed close to one of its outposts in the Spratly Islands.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida urged all parties to comply with the ruling. Japan has "consistently advocated the importance of the rule of law and the use of peaceful means, not the use of force or coercion" in settling maritime disputes, he said in a statement. Japan has its own territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea.
(c) 2016, Bloomberg
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