Hague decision favours the Philippines

PETALING JAYA: China has violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) through its large-scale activities in the South China Sea, an international tribunal ruled.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, yesterday found China had interfered with the Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, constructed artificial islands and failed to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone.

“Fishermen from the Philippines (like those from China) had traditional fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal and China had interfered with these rights in restricting access.

“Chinese law enforcement vessels had unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels,” the tribunal said.

In a landmark judgment, the tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines, which had brought an arbitration case after a stand-off with China at the Scarborough Shoal in 2012.

The five-judge court also ruled that China had no legal basis to stake historical rights claim to resources within the sea areas falling within the “nine-dash line”.

“Although Chinese navigators and fishermen, as well as those of other states, had historically made use of the islands in the South China Sea, there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive control over the waters or their resources,” it said.

The tribunal said China’s recent large-scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands at seven islands in the Spratlys had caused “irreparable harm” to the marine environment in the Spratlys.

“Chinese authorities were aware that Chinese fishermen have harvested endangered sea turtles, coral and giant clams on a substantial scale in the South China Sea (using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment) and had not fulfilled their obligations to stop such activities,” it said in an 11-page summary of the ruling.

The tribunal also considered China’s entitlements to maritime areas and the status of the area, whether China’s actions were legal, the construction of artificial islands in the area, and if China’s actions had aggravated disputes.

It found that none of the reefs claimed by China was capable of generating an EEZ and that it could – without delimiting a boundary – declare certain sea areas, “within the EEZ of the Philippines, because those areas are not overlapped by any possible entitlement of China”.

China had invoked “historical rights” in asserting its claim to the region, which is widely believed to be rich in natural resources besides being a major international trade route.