South China Sea ruling goes against Chinese expansion

Chinese territorial claims over the South China Sea are unfounded in international law, according to a ruling delivered today by a tribunal set up by the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In a case brought by the Philippines, which objected to the building of artificial islands by China in pursuance of its claim to nearly all the sea area, the tribunal said there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources.

The ruling is binding, as both countries have signed the UN Convention, but China has refused to recognise the tribunal, based in The Hague. The tribunal has no powers of enforcement.

In its ruling the tribunal said that China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights by interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, constructing artificial islands, and failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone.

None of the features claimed by China was capable of generating an exclusive economic zone, and without delimiting a boundary, the tribunal declared that certain sea areas were within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, because they were not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China.

It also found that China had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment" by building the artificial islands.

Past transient use of features above water did not constitute inhabitation, a key condition for claiming land rights of 200 nautical miles, rather than the 12 miles granted for reefs.

Philippe Sands, a barrister who represented the Philippines in the case, described the ruling as a "clear and unanimous judgment that upholds the rule of law and the rights claimed by the Philippines".

Chinese state news agency Xinhua said that "as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void".