"China has no legal basis to claim historical rights over the resources of the South China Sea. Chinese claims run counter to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that, to the extent that China claimed historical rights to resources in the waters of the South China Sea, those rights were extinguished to the extent that they became incompatible with the Convention's Exclusive Economic Zones. The court finds that China has violated the Philippine sovereign right in the country's exclusive economic zone and created serious collision and hazard risks for Philippine ships in the South China Sea. Finally, China has caused severe damage to the Spratly Islands". International arbitration decision on disputes pending in the South China Sea has just been published.
The position of the White House and how far it intends to go further is still unclear when the ruling of the International Court of Justice has been issued: Washington has deployed two Battle Groups in the South China Sea and an unknown number of submarines.
In 2013, the Philippines requested the intervention of the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule on the relevance of the Spratly Islands, disputed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and China.
Shortly after reading the device, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued the following statement: "With regard to the ruling of the International Court of Justice in The Hague established at the unilateral request of the Republic of the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China it solemnly deems it null and void and without any binding value. China neither accepts nor recognizes what has been established ".
China is aware that the ruling could threaten the integrity of the country's maritime and territorial sovereignty.
To learn more, read also: "The return of Vietnam changes Southeast Asia"
(pictured - US Navy - an MH-60R Seahawk flies over the disputed area of the Spratlys)
