The Legality of China’s Claim of Maritime Rights and Interests in the South China Sea: A Critique of the Award Given by the South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal

Abstract

A critical analysis of the award issued by the South China Sea Arbitral Tribunal (“the Tribunal”) provides a clearer understanding of China’s claims in the South China Sea (“the SCS”) and their legitimacy. From China’s point of view, its claims in the SCS are consistent and well-defined, asserting sovereignty over the Spratly Islands as a whole. This article argues that following World War II, the SCS “dashed-line”, as depicted on China’s administrative maps, was marked as a national boundary line. This interpretation of the line was uncontested by the relevant countries for a significant period of time. The prolonged acquiescence of these countries to China’s claims in the SCS can be attributed to the dashed-line’s consideration of their interests. By disregarding Chinese administrative maps and contravening fundamental legal principles, the Tribunal relied on dubious arguments to infer the nature of the waters within the  dashed-line. It henceforth concluded that China’s claims in the SCS lacked legal basis under the law of the sea. The Tribunal also forcibly divided the Spratly Islands, unilaterally determined the scope of China’s interests in the area, and rejected China’s sovereignty over certain islands within the Spratly group. It deliberately interpreted China’s 2009 reiteration of rights as the first instance of such claims, thereby negating the acquiescence of the relevant countries, and undermining the legitimacy of China’s historic rights. The bias and fallacies evident in the Tribunal’s judgment paradoxically highlight the path and methods required to substantiate and defend the legitimacy of China’s maritime rights and interests in the SCS.