US marks 9th year of Hague ruling, slams China’s defiance

As the Philippines marks the ninth anniversary of its landmark victory at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the United States renewed its call for China to respect the 2016 decision that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea.

In a statement released Saturday, the US government said the ruling issued by an arbitral tribunal under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) “unanimously ruled China’s expansive South China Sea maritime claims have no basis in international law.”

“This decision, legally binding on both the Philippines and China, was a significant milestone and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between parties in the South China Sea,” the statement read.

Since the tribunal handed down its decision on 12 July 2016, China has repeatedly refused to recognize the ruling, continuing to assert unlawful maritime claims and taking what the US described as “increasingly aggressive actions” against its neighbors.

“Beijing’s expansive claims directly infringe on the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia, and undermine peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” the US said.

Reiterating its foreign policy stance, the United States emphasized its commitment to a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” noting that it seeks to preserve peace and stability, uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, maintain the free flow of trade, and oppose coercion to settle maritime disputes.

“The United States calls on China to abide by the 2016 arbitral ruling and to cease its dangerous and destabilizing conduct,” the statement concluded.

The 2016 ruling, which stemmed from a case filed by the Philippines against China in 2013, rejected the so-called "nine-dash line" claim that Beijing uses to justify its control over nearly the entire South China Sea. Despite the legal victory, Chinese vessels continue to assert presence in areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, prompting diplomatic protests and growing concern from regional and global allies.