China’s claims to offshore resources across most of SCS ‘completely unlawful’: US

Washington [US], July 14 (ANI): The United States on Monday officially dismissed China‘s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea and termed Beijing‘s campaign of bullying to control them as “completely unlawful.”
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Monday issued a statement on the US position on Maritime claims in the South China Sea, saying that the Chinese government has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region.
Washington announced that it is aligning the US position on the Chinese government’s claims in the South China sea with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal’s decision.
In a unanimous decision on July 12, 2016, an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention – to which the People Republic of China (PRC) is a state party – rejected the PRC‘s maritime claims as having no basis in international law. The Tribunal sided squarely with the Philippines, which brought the arbitration case, on almost all claims.
“The United States champions a free and open Indo-Pacific. Today we are strengthening U.S. policy in a vital, contentious part of that region — the South China Sea. We are making clear: Beijing‘s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” the statement by Pompeo read.
The South China Sea is grouped into three archipelagos. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its sovereign territory, and it has aggressively asserted its stake in recent years.
“In the South China Sea, we seek to preserve peace and stability, uphold freedom of the seas in a manner consistent with international law, maintain the unimpeded flow of commerce, and oppose any attempt to use coercion or force to settle disputes. We share these deep and abiding interests with our many allies and partners who have long endorsed a rules-based international order,” the statement read.
“The PRC has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region. Beijing has offered no coherent legal basis for its “Nine-Dashed Line” claim in the South China Sea since formally announcing it in 2009,” it added.
Pompeo said that Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the South China Sea, bully them out of offshore resources, assert unilateral dominion, and replace international law with “might makes right.”
“We stand with the international community in defense of freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty and reject any push to impose “might makes right” in the South China Sea or the wider region,” the United States said.
“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” Pompeo said in his statement.
The move come as battle lines hardened between US and China over a range of issue including Hong Kong security law, atrocities on Uighurs Muslims by Chinese authorities and coronavirus.
The United States has rejected any PRC‘s claims to waters beyond a 12-nautical mile territorial sea derived from islands it claims in the Spratly Islands (without prejudice to other states’ sovereignty claims over such islands). As such, the United States rejects any PRC maritime claim in the waters surrounding Vanguard Bank (off Vietnam), Luconia Shoals (off Malaysia), waters in Brunei’s EEZ, and Natuna Besar (off Indonesia)
“Any PRC action to harass other states’ fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters – or to carry out such activities unilaterally – is unlawful,” the statement read. (ANI)

Philippines calls on China to comply with 2016 arbitral ruling over South China Sea

Manila [Philippines], July 14 (ANI): Even as Beijing with its aggressive actions continues to bully its smaller neighbours, the Philippines has publicly called on China to comply with 2016 arbitral ruling which had ruled that China has no ‘historic rights over the waters of South China Sea’.
“Compliance in good faith with the award would be consistent with the obligations of the Philippines and China under international law, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) to which both parties are signatories,” Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement, according to a report in the GMA News.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands had ruled that China has no ‘historic rights’ over the waters of the South China Sea. In its ruling, it also said that China has interfered with traditional Philippine fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal, even as Beijing claimed historic rights to the waters under the nine-dash line, which the tribunal said is contrary to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that determines which countries can claim economic exploitation rights, based on geographic features.
Locsin termed the award a “milestone in corpus of international law, the cornerstone of a rule-based regional and international order” and added that it represents a victory, not just for the Philippines, but for the community of consistently law-abiding nations.
“The Philippines, as a law-abiding, peace-loving and responsible member of the international community, reaffirms on this occasion its adherence to the award and its enforcement without any possibility of compromise or change. The award is non-negotiable,” said the Foreign Secretary.
China claims virtually entire South China Sea, something which is contested heavily by several countries in the region. As per the report, some parts of the waters that fall within Manila’s exclusive economic zone was renamed West Philippine Sea by the Philippine government.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has sought friendly ties with China has vowed to raise it with China “at a proper time”.
But the friendly overtures from the President has not dented China from maintaining aggressive action in the South China Sea where it has installed military outposts in contested territories, objecting to freedom of navigation even as it encroached on Philippine waters.
“The Tribunal authoritatively ruled that China‘s claim of historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash line’ had no basis in law,” said Locsin while adding that rather, claims to historic rights, or other sovereign rights or jurisdiction that exceed the geographic and substantive limits of maritime entitlements under UNCLOS, are “without legal effect”.
“We commemorate the issuance of the award as a celebration of the rule of law as a means to settle disputes amicably, achieve peace, advance a rules-based and equitable international order, foster cooperation among friendly, responsible and civilized nations and clearly mark out who would be in the wrong to insist on claims contrary to this award,” Locsin was quoted as saying.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration issued ruling on a dispute between the Philippines and China over maritime claims in the South China Sea, particularly who has the right to exploit resources in the strategic territory.
China had decided to boycott the court proceedings, saying that the latter did not have the jurisdiction to decide on the matter. Beijing had also refused to accept the South China Sea arbitration award issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague.
Earlier this month, the Philippines has warned Beijing of “the severest response” if Chinese military exercises in the disputed South China Sea spill over into Philippine territory.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., in a video message cited by CNN on Friday, was quoted as saying that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been conducting naval exercises around Paracel Islands since July 1.
The disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea is being claimed by China and Vietnam. (ANI)