Experts have commentated that, by unilaterally initiating the arbitration on January 22, 2013, the Philippines violated agreements with China including a pledge to resolve disputes through negotiations and consultations. It also violated the provisions of UNCLOS, abused its dispute settlement procedures and infringed upon China's right under UNCLOS to independently choose dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures. The Philippine's unilateral initiation of the arbitration is thus illegal and null and void according to China. Furthermore, these submissions are related to more complicated territorial sovereignty issues, over which the court has no jurisdiction.
"Strictly speaking, the arbitration by PCA must be established on the basis that both sides of the conflict agree to take it to the court, and China refused to take it to the PCA. So speaking from principles, the arbitration should never have happened," Tao Duanfang, an independent commentator, wrote in a piece published on Baidu's online opinion platform Baijia.
In February, the U.S. and the EU told China it should respect the ruling.
The court has no powers of enforcement and its rulings have been ignored before.
Joint exploitation
China maintains its sovereignty over the reefs and islands based on its historical claims, which it argues are backed up by abundant historical documents. The Philippines' denial of these historical arguments is founded on claims based on proximity.
The U-shaped, nine-dash line encircling most of the South China Sea is the core of China's claim. It was first published on a map drawn by the Kuomintang's Republic of China government in 1947 and then inherited by the People's Republic of China in 1949.
China's sovereignty over the South China Sea was never officially disputed until the 1960s. The Chinese people have engaged in fishing, patrolling and other activities on the islands and reefs since ancient times, until Japanese troops took control of the islands during their invasion of China in WWII. They were then returned to China after the end of the war by the "Cairo Declaration" and the "Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender" issued in Potsdam in July 1945. For decades after then, no country questioned China's rights in the area, as part of the post-war order. The U.S. always recognized China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands, as seen from its official maps and activities such as informing the Chinese government prior to flybys near the islands.
The territory of the Philippines did not include the Nansha Islands or Huangyan Island according to various territory treaties signed by the U.S. from 1898 to 1930.
It all started in the late 1960s when massive reserves of oil and natural gas were discovered in the South China Sea. After then, the Philippines and several other countries bordering the South China Sea began encroaching upon the reefs and islands. Some, including the Philippines, claimed islands for their own, completely ignoring China's sovereignty.
China hasn't been a perpetrator in this matter, but a victim, wrote Guo Jiping, a political commentator. In the face of the situation, China has maintained patience and refrained from escalating the conflict. China was the first country to propose the "joint exploitation" of the South China Sea. China has insisted on using peaceful means like negotiations to resolve disputes.
However, a Philippine naval ship harassed Chinese fishing boats near Huangyan Island and tried to seize Chinese fishermen in April 2012, which escalated tension in the area.
The Philippine government under President Aquino in January 2013 then abandoned its promises and unilaterally filed for arbitration for the South China Sea dispute.
