What is the nine-dash line?

No way through: Policemen setting up a road block on a street leading to the Philippine Embassy in Beijing as Manila warns its citizens to avoid political debates over the disputes in the South China Sea. — EPA

BEIJING: At the heart of the South China Sea dispute is the “nine-dash line”, Beijing’s claim that encircles as much as 90% of the ­contested waters.

The line runs as far as 2,000km from the Chinese mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. Beijing maintains it owns any land or features ­contained within the line, which confers vaguely defined “historical maritime rights”.