Why China Lost Its Claim To South China Sea

Hong Kong: A five judge tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague today issued their award in a suit brought by the Philippines disputing Chinese actions in the South China Sea.

Here are some key elements from today's ruling:

• That China has no "historic title" over the waters of the South China Sea.
• Specifically, that the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea supercedes China's "Nine-dash line"- its 69-year-old claim to roughly 85 percent of the South China Sea.
• That none of the features of the Spratly Islands off the Philippines' west coast give China any right to an exclusive economic zone. 
• That China has interfered with traditional Philippines fishing rights, notably at Scarborough Shoal.
• That Chinese oil exploration near Reed Bank violated the Philippines' sovereign rights.
• That China damaged parts of the ecosystem of the Spratly Islands with activities such as overfishing and creating artificial islands.
• That China's actions have aggravated its conflict with the Philippines at a time it was meant to be resolving them.