14 Nations Reaffirm South China Sea Ruling, Reject China's Maritime Claims

The US, the UK and 12 other Western and Asian nations issued a joint declaration on Sunday. The statement reaffirmed that China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea are illegal under a 2016 arbitration decision.

India Today reported that the 27-member European Union released a separate notification, characterising the ruling as a "landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes".

China countered the declarations, repeating its stance that the verdict was "null and void and has no binding force". The Chinese government added that Beijing "neither accepts nor recognises it".

These diplomatic statements coincided with the anniversary of the July 12, 2016 arbitration ruling. The decision was delivered by a tribunal in The Hague under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The countries stated the decision "is final and legally binding".

Fourteen Nations Oppose Coercion

The 14 countries signing the joint statement include the US, the UK, the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.

"We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on ‘historic rights’," the US-led statement declared.

"We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilising or unilateral actions including by force or coercion that threaten peace and stability in the region," the joint statement stated.

The coalition voiced firm resistance against deploying state assets to disrupt maritime activities. They strongly opposed using coast guard, military and maritime militia forces to harass, obstruct and intimidate lawful operations at sea or in the air. They stated that these actions "endanger the safety of personnel and fishermen and seriously degrade regional peace and security".

The alliance also demanded that all parties uphold "freedom of navigation and overflight as well as other internationally lawful uses of the sea as reflected in UNCLOS", and that territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully under the 1982 UN convention.

Beijing Rejects Tribunal Authority

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded by declaring that the tribunal and its conclusions "seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration".

Beijing maintained that the decisions "gravely infringe upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS and are unjust and unlawful".

Beijing rejected the 2016 ruling and continues to defend its claim to almost the entire South China Sea. The ministry stated: "China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards." It added that Beijing "does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China".