All is Not Well for China and Its Expansionist Designs in the Neighbourhood
News 18Last week marked the 50th anniversary of an Arbitral Tribunal Award of 12 July 2016, rejecting China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea. Importantly, the award rejected Chinese claims to the South China Sea on the basis of historic rights as expressed by its Nine-Dash Line. In a statement, US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, also affirmed “that an armed attack on the Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke US mutual defense commitments.” The Philippines was the country that placed the issue before the UNCLOS Tribunal in 2013 because it has had to face steady Chinese encroachment of its EEZ. In June 2019 the ASEAN had issued its first outlook on the Indo-Pacific which called for “cooperation for peaceful settlement of disputes” as well as the promotion of “maritime safety and security, and freedom of navigation and overflight.” The Chinese have, instead, sought to undertake confidence building measures like the legally non-binding “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and, thereafter, sought to work out a legally binding Code of Conduct, which is aimed at ensuring that the dispute does not get out of hand.