South China Sea ruling slammed as illegal, invalid

Experts have called the ruling awarded in 2016 by the so-called South China Sea Arbitration Tribunal illegal and invalid from the outset, saying that it contradicted historical facts, undermined international law, and was driven by political manipulation.

Their remarks came on Thursday during a seminar hosted by Dalian Maritime University in Dalian, Liaoning province, to analyze the irrationality and illegality of the arbitration case, which was unilaterally initiated by the Philippines.

On July 12, 2016, the tribunal rejected China's right to territorial sovereignty and ruled that it has no historical rights over the South China Sea.

Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, said the ruling distorted and defamed the history of the South China Sea. "The South China Sea has been an important area for life and livelihood of the Chinese people since ancient times, and the islands in the region are an inseparable part of China's territory," he said, adding that Chinese activities on the islands and their surrounding waters date back more than 2,000 years.

During World War II, international documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation confirmed that China's recovery of the South China Sea islands and restoration of sovereignty over them were part of the postwar international order, Wu said. "History clearly tells us that whether in the past or in the present, China's defense of sovereignty over the South China Sea islands is a defense of the post-WWII international order… rather than a disruption or subversion of international rules," he said.

Wu noted that the root cause of the current South China Sea disputes lies not in China changing the status quo, but in some countries making illegal territorial claims.

Yu Minyou, head of Wuhan University's China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, said the tribunal overstepped its authority and violated its obligation to peacefully resolve international disputes. Yu also criticized the United States, a non-regional actor, for intervening in such disputes and escalating tensions. The US "attempted to coerce China into accepting and implementing the arbitration results through military threats, significantly escalating the tension toward conflict", he said.

Contact the writers at jiangchenglong@chinadaily.com.cn