China has once again rejected the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling, describing it as “illegal, null and void” while reaffirming its sovereignty claims over the disputed waters on the 10th anniversary of the tribunal’s decision.
In a statement issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing said it “does not accept or recognize” the arbitration award and opposes any claims or actions based on the ruling, maintaining that the decision has no legal or binding effect.
The statement was released in response to a joint declaration by the United States, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, which reaffirmed support for the 2016 ruling and called for adherence to international law in the South China Sea.
China reiterated that it has sovereignty over the South China Sea islands—including the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups—and the associated maritime zones, including internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
The ministry argued that China’s sovereignty and maritime rights had been established through historical discovery and continuous administration dating back more than two millennia, asserting that Chinese navigators first discovered the islands during the Western Han Dynasty around 200 B.C.
According to Beijing, China was the first country to continuously and peacefully exercise sovereignty and jurisdiction over the islands and surrounding waters.
China maintained that the arbitration tribunal lacked jurisdiction over the dispute, arguing that territorial sovereignty issues fall outside the scope of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The 2016 arbitration ruling, initiated by the Philippines under UNCLOS, concluded that China’s expansive “nine-dash line” claim had no legal basis under international law. China refused to participate in the proceedings and has consistently rejected the tribunal’s findings since the award was issued on July 12, 2016.
