In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that most of China's claims in the disputed sea were illegal. The judgment was legally

Beijing defiant five years since the South China Sea ruling

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2021-07-12 19:30:06

In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that most of China's claims in the disputed sea were illegal. The judgment was legally binding, so what happened?

For the first time, an international tribunal had been asked to rule on some of China's claims in the South China Sea. And in a remarkable ruling, five judges sitting in The Hague decided that most of them had no basis in international law.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration judgment said nothing about territorial claims — which country is the rightful owner of each rock and reef — but almost everything about who owns the resources in between those rocks and reefs. The tribunal decided that a line drawn on Chinese maps since 1947 (often called the "nine-dash line") did not amount to a legal claim on the oil, gas, fish and other resources of the sea.

Just as importantly, it ruled that none of the disputed reefs and rocks in the southern part of the sea was large enough to justify a claim on those resources either. On 14 out of 15 points, it supported the claims of the country that had brought the case: the Philippines. It was a stunning victory.

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