Nations Reaffirm 2016 Tribunal Ruling on South China Sea

The United States, the United Kingdom, and several other Western and Asian nations have restated their position that China’s extensive claims over the South China Sea are illegal. They cite a 2016 arbitral ruling supporting this stance. A joint statement from 14 countries condemned what they see as destabilizing actions in the disputed waters, which they believe threaten regional stability. Separately, the European Union, with 27 member countries, released a statement describing the ruling as a historic decision in peacefully resolving disputes.

The statements commemorate the July 12, 2016, arbitration decision by a tribunal established in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This decision explicitly declared the ruling as final and legally binding.

China has dismissed the ruling, labeling it as ‘null and void’ and ‘non-binding,’ insisting that Beijing neither accepts nor acknowledges it. Following a tense standoff over disputed waters in 2013, China refused to participate in the arbitration initiated by the Philippines. China’s rejection of the 2016 decision remains firm as it continues to back its claims over nearly the entire maritime passage, a critical route for global trade.

This area, a focus of international concern, has seen repeated territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.

In a Sunday statement, the United States reiterated the Arbitral Tribunal’s verdict, stating there is ‘no legal basis’ for China’s extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, even those based on ‘historic rights.’ The tribunal predominantly ruled in favor of the Philippines, determining under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that China had no legal grounds for historic rights claims to resources beyond its traditional territorial limits recognized by the convention.

The convention, widely regarded as the treaty governing the world’s oceans and seas, went into effect in 1994 and has been ratified by over 170 countries, including China and the Philippines.

Alongside the US and UK, the countries listed in the statement were the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia.

“We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions, even using force or coercion, that threaten peace and stability in the region,” the statement emphasized. It also denounced the use of coast guard forces, military, and maritime militias to harass or intimidate lawful operations by other nations at sea or in the air.

The nations emphasized maintaining ‘freedom of navigation and overflight, along with other lawful uses of the sea’ under international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, advocating for peaceful resolution of territorial disputes based on the 1982 UN convention.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing declared that the arbitral tribunal and its ruling ‘seriously contravene general arbitration practices’ and ‘severely infringe upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and as a party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, deeming it unjust and unlawful.’

“China opposes and will never accept any claims or actions based on such arbitral awards,” the ministry stated, adding that Beijing ‘rejects any third-party dispute settlement or imposed solutions.’ Territorial confrontations in the disputed waters have increasingly involved Chinese, Filipino, and Vietnamese forces, with China’s coast guard and supportive vessels deploying water cannons, military lasers, and dangerous blocking maneuvers.

The United States has urged China to comply with the arbitral ruling. Both former President Biden and current President Trump have cautioned that Washington must defend its oldest treaty ally in Asia, the Philippines, if Filipino forces, vessels, or aircraft face armed attack in the disputed waters.