Hague tribunal rules China’s South China Sea claims unfounded

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Hague tribunal rules China’s South China Sea claims unfounded

5:30 CAT | 12 Jul 2016

Reuters / Soldiers of the Chinese navy patrol at Woody Island in the South China Sea’s Paracel Archipelago, which is known in China as the Xisha Islands. The words on the rock read “Xisha Old Dragon”, referring to a pile of rocks near Woody Island.

Judges at an arbitration tribunal in The Hague on Tuesday rejected China’s claims to economic rights across large swathes of the South China Sea in a ruling that will be claimed as a victory by the Philippines.

“There was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’,” the court said, referring to a demarcation line on a 1947 map of the sea, which is rich in energy, mineral and fishing resources.

In the 497-page ruling, judges also found that Chinese law enforcement patrols had risked colliding with Philippine fishing vessels in parts of the sea and had caused irreparable damage to coral reefs with construction work.

China, which boycotted the case brought by the Philippines, has said it will not be bound by any ruling.

Source: Reuters