The PCA strikes down China’s nine-dash line

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) has favoured the Philippines in its legal battle against The People’s Republic of China at The Hague, Netherlands. The case challenged China’s nine-dash claim over the disputed islands in the South China Sea.

In a landmark ruling by the United Nations (UN) Arbitral Tribunal, China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources, in excess of the rights provided for by the Convention, within the sea areas falling within the “nine-dash line.”

The PCA also emphasised the effects of China’s large scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands on the islands of the West Philippine Sea. With that, China had harmed the coral environment and violated the international obligation to preserve and protect fragile ecosystems and habitat of species. China was also proven guilty in harvesting endangered species such as sea turtles and giant clams. Thus, the ruling nullifies China’s claim to the said resources in the region. This decision upholds international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The case was handled by five international law judges from different countries - Judge Thomas Mensah (Ghana), Judge Jean-Pierre Cot (France), Judge Stanislaw Pawlak (Poland), Judge Alfred Soons (The Netherlands), and Judge Rüdiger Wolfram (Germany).