New US report dismisses Beijing’s claim to South China Sea ‘historical rights’

The US government stepped up its criticism of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea on Wednesday, issuing a report that declares “historical rights” a meaningless term.

Referencing the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and an international ruling dismissing most of China’s claims in the South China Sea, the US State Department said in its report, titled Limits in the Seas, that they “gravely undermine the rule of law in the oceans”.