(VOVworld) - China’s claims to historic rights over waters within the nine-dash line are contrary to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague issued, in the afternoon of July 12 (Vietnam time), the ruling on the case brought by the Philippines against China’s nine-dash line claim in the East Sea. This is the first international ruling regarding the East Sea disputes.

The PCA said China has caused permanent and irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem at the Spratly (Truong Sa) archipelago, and that it also has no historic title over waters of the East Sea. The Hague Tribunal also finds no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the nine-dash line. China has interfered with traditional Philippine fishing rights at Scarborough Shoal. Despite the international community’s protest, China brazenly claims sovereignty over 80 percent of the East Sea through the nine-dash line claim. It has also continually reclaimed and constructed an array of infrastructure facilities on artificial islands in the East Sea.
On January 22, 2013, the Philippines filed a lawsuit with the PCA against China’s claims to sovereign right, jurisdiction and historic rights over waters within the nine-dash line, which run counter to the 1982 UNCLOS and exceed the limits of China’s maritime entitlements under the convention.