Massive blow: South China Sea ruling takes direct aim at Beijing’s sweeping claims
President Xi Jinping insists China won’t accept Hague tribunal findings and calls for peaceful resolution to disputes through direct talks with affected parties
A Hague tribunal dealt a sweeping blow on Tuesday to China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea, saying in a long-awaited ruling that Beijing’s history-based territorial claims to the area lacked legal basis and were contrary to an international maritime convention.
Beijing reacted angrily to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling, which legal and diplomatic analysts said could further escalate tensions in the region and encourage other claimants to challenge Beijing in the dispute.
President Xi Jinping said China would not accept the ruling and China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in the waters would not, under any circumstances, be affected by the outcome of the arbitration, Xinhua reported.
We firmly insist on maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and on directly negotiating for a peaceful resolution on relevant disputes with states that are directly involved
“We firmly insist on maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and on directly negotiating for a peaceful resolution on relevant disputes with states that are directly involved, based on the respect of history and in accordance with international laws,” Xi said in a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the arbitration process, which was initiated by the Philippines despite Beijing’s fierce opposition, was “a political farce under the pretext of law”that had been manipulated by outside forces, a vague reference to the United States, a key ally of Manila.
Although the ruling had been widely expected to go against China, analysts said it was historic and marked a “humiliating defeat” for China as “it had lost on almost every point”.
In its 500-page ruling, the five-member tribunal, “unanimously” favoured the Philippines on various issues. “There is no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’,” it said, referring to China’s ambiguous claims over roughly 90 per cent of the South China Sea.
The tribunal also ruled that China’s reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands, including Taiping Island, were “legally ‘rocks’ that do not generate an exclusive economic zone [of 200 nautical miles] or continental shelf”.
China had interfered with traditional Philippine fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal, one of the hundreds of reefs and shoals dotting the sea, and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights by exploring for oil and gas near Reed Bank, another feature in the region, it said.
The Philippines welcomes the issuance today ... on the arbitration proceedings initiated by the Philippines with regard to the South China Sea
It also said China’s fishing and military activities and its large-scale island building efforts had caused irreparable ecological damage in the Spratlys, known as the Nanshas in China.
The tribunal insisted it had jurisdiction over the case despite Beijing’s repeated denunciations.
Beijing refused to take part in the proceedings, with Chinese diplomats labelling the case a US-led plot to undermine China’s sovereignty and contain its rise.
Manila applauded the ruling but also urged restraint. “The Philippines welcomes the issuance today ... on the arbitration proceedings initiated by the Philippines with regard to the South China Sea,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said.
The US and the European Union on Thursday called on China to respect the rules-based international system.
Speaking to Premier Li Keqiang at the start of the China-EU summit in Beijing, Tusk warned that the task of protecting the “rule-based international order” “may be the biggest challenge ahead of us”.
Professor Zhu Zhiqun, of Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, called the ruling “the worst-case scenario for China”.
“It’s a huge diplomatic blow to China, perhaps the biggest one since 1989,” he said referring the bloody Tiananmen crackdown.
Dr Bonnie Glaser, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said China was expected to use various means to assert its vast claims as “Xi has lost face”.
“This ruling may well result in an increase in tensions in the South China Sea, depending on the reaction of the US, the Philippines, Asean and others,” she said.
Paul Reichler, the lead lawyer for the Philippines in the case, said that although the tribunal had no enforcement mechanism, the ruling had significant implications for other claimants, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, to assert their rights.
“If the nine-dash line is illegal as it is declared to be today by the tribunal, then it is just as illegal for China to apply it against Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia as it is illegal for China to apply it against the Philippines,” he said.
Analysts noted the tribunal ruling came as Beijing had been put on high alert, rolling out a new round of maritime military exercises near the disputed waters and stepping up security controls in the capital.
The area near the Philippine embassy in Beijing had been cordoned off on Tuesday afternoon, in an apparent bid to prevent any possible anti-Manila demonstrations.
Additional reporting by Teddy Ng
