In the Matter of the South China Sea Arbitration

An Arbitral Tribunal Constituted under Annex VII to the

1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
- Between -
The Republic of the Philippines and The People’s
Republic of China
• A five-judge tribunal constituted under the Permanent Court
of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague released the much-
anticipated Award concerning the Philippines’ challenge to a
number of China’s maritime claims and activities in the South
China Sea on July 12, 2016.
• The Philippines initiated the arbitration in January 2013
under the dispute settlement procedures of Annex VII to the
1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
(UNCLOS).
 The arbitration is related to disputes
between the Parties regarding the legal
basis of maritime rights and entitlements,
the status of certain geographic features,
and the lawfulness of certain actions taken
by China in the South China Sea.
GENERAL CATEGORIES OF PHILIPPINES
RELIEF TO THE TRIBUNAL
1. China’s right and entitlements in the South China Sea
must be based on the Convention and not on any
claim to historic rights; its claim to rights within the
nine-dash line marked on Chinese maps are
without lawful effect.
2. Resolve the dispute concerning the entitlements to
maritime zones that would be generated under the
Convention by Scarborough Shoal and certain
maritime features in the Spratly Islands that are
both claimed by the Philippines and China
GENERAL CATEGORIES OF PHILIPPINES’
RELIEF TO THE TRIBUNAL
3. China violated UNCLOS by interfering with the
Philippines rights and freedoms within its
Exclusive Economic Zone.
4. China aggravated and extended the disputes between
the Parties during the course of the arbitration by
restricting access to a detachment of Philippine
marines station at Second Thomas Shoal and by
engaging in the large scale construction of artificial
islands and land reclamation at seven reefs in the
Spratly Islands.
TRIBUNAL RULING
1. China’s claims to historic rights and resources within its
nine-dash line have no legal basis.
2. None of China’s claimed land features in the Spratly’s are
island capable of generating a 200-nm exclusive
economic zone.
3. China violated Philippines sovereignty rights by
 Interfering with PH oil exploration activities at Reef Bank
 Prohibiting fishing vessels from operating within the PH EEZ
 Failing to prevent Chinese vessels from operating
 Conducting land reclamation in areas within PH sovereignty.
TRIBUNAL RULING
4. China violated its marine environmental
protection obligations under UNCLOS by causing
“severed harm to the coral reef environment”
with its land reclamation activities and harvesting
endangered species.