Rocks, reefs and the ruling: the Hague tribunal’s key findings in the South China Sea case

The Permanent Court of Arbitration covered a range of claims brought by the Philippines against China’s claims in the South China Sea. Here are the key rulings.

The “nine-dash line” rejected
The court said Beijing had no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources within the line. It said such rights must not exceed what’s permitted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ­(Unclos).

There was no evidence China had historically controlled the waters or its resources exclusively. Although the court maintained it had jurisdiction to consider historic rights and maritime entitlements, it said the matters submitted did not concern sovereignty.

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No islands in the Spratlys
All features that remain above water at high tide in the Spratlys were given the legal status of “rocks”, including Taiping, which is administered by Taiwan. In their natural condition, none could sustain either a stable community of people or economic activity and all were dependent on outside resources.

Under Unclos, rocks do not generate extended maritime zones, nor do they generate such zones collectively as a unit.

As result, none of the islands enjoys an exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and the surrounding countries – the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam – could each draw EEZ lines from their own major islands’ baseline or coasts and claim the respective rights. But China did not have an EEZ in this region, the court found.

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Construction of artificial islands violated EEZ
The court found these artificial islands violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its EEZ. Mischief Reef, the largest landmass in the area at more than 5.5 sq km, was deemed a low-tide elevation and part of the Philippines’ EEZ.