Philippines marks 2016 South China Sea ruling as China keeps defying it

The Philippines marked the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling anniversary and reaffirmed its legal victory over China. The move underscored rising regional pushback as Beijing again rejected the award.

In Short

• China still claims most of the sea despite the UN-backed tribunal verdict
• The waters remain a vital trade route and a persistent Asian flashpoint
• Confrontations have risen among coastguards, navies and fishing fleets recently

The Philippines on Friday marked the anniversary of a 2016 arbitration ruling that struck down China's broad claims in the disputed South China Sea, a decision that the United States and other allies have used to push back against Beijing's growing assertiveness in the waters.

China refused to take part in the case brought by the Philippines in 2013 and has rejected the July 12, 2016 ruling by a tribunal set up under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing continues to reject the decision and assert claims over almost the entire sea passage, a vital global trade route that has long been seen as one of Asia's most active flashpoints.

The territorial disputes also involve the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Confrontations in the waters have become more frequent in recent years, especially between Chinese and Philippine and Vietnamese forces and fishing fleets. The United States has repeatedly asked China to comply with the ruling. Both the former Biden and current Trump administrations have said Washington is obliged to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, vessels or aircraft come under an armed attack in the disputed waters.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro said on Thursday that the ruling was legally binding and compared it to a lighthouse. "When the waters grow turbulent, when unilateral claims cloud the horizon and when the shadow of coercion looms, nations need something far more permanent than political convenience," Lazaro said. "They need a lighthouse."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also criticised China, saying Australia would "continue to register our concerns about China's vessels engaging in destabilising and dangerous conduct in the South China Sea". China did not immediately respond, but in a recent statement issued through its embassy in Manila, Beijing said it would never recognise the ruling, which it described as "illegal, null and void." "The award will not alter the historical and factual basis for China's sovereignty over the islands of the South China Sea and their adjacent waters," the Chinese embassy in Manila said. It added that the ruling "will not weaken China's resolve and determination to safeguard its sovereignty and maritime rights and interests."

The arbitration tribunal had largely ruled in favour of the Philippines. It said that under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, "there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources" in the South China Sea beyond its regular territorial areas recognised under the convention. The treaty, widely seen as the framework governing the world's oceans and seas, took effect in 1994 and has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines. As the Philippines marked the anniversary, the ruling remained at the centre of continuing tensions in the South China Sea.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends