Against the odds: Philippines’ evolving response in South China Sea
A decade after a tribunal in The Hagueruledon July 12, 2016, that Beijing’s sweepingSouth China Seaclaims had no legal basis, Philippine officials and analysts say Manila remains heavily outmatched at sea but. . .
A decade after a tribunal in The Hagueruledon July 12, 2016, that Beijing’s sweepingSouth China Seaclaims had no legal basis, Philippine officials and analysts say Manila remains heavily outmatched at sea but has begun turning its landmark legal victory into a more credible form of deterrence. The Philippinesbrought the case in 2013 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), challenging Beijing’s nine-dash line and other claims. The tribunal ruled that China’s nine-dash line had no legal basis and that it had violated Manila’s sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone, though it did not decide which country owned the disputed reefs and features. China rejected the proceedings and the ruling, saying the tribunal had no jurisdiction and insisting it had sovereignty over the disputed features. It has since built and militarised artificial islands on reefs also claimed by the Philippines, a development critics cite as proof that the award did little to restrain Beijing. People pass by an electronic board showing areas of the disputed South China Sea during a conference in Manila on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of a 2016 arbitration ruling which invalidated China’s expansive claims. Photo: APSpeakers at a forum on Friday said the past decade had seen Manila strengthen its ability to raise the cost of what they described as Beijing’s “creeping invasion” into waters the Philippines considers its territory.