Spratly Islands dispute. The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute among Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" (reefs, banks, and cays etc.) located in the South China Sea.
Philippine stance Its position was that because most of the features in the South China Sea, such as most of the Spratly Islands, cannot sustain life, they cannot be given their own continental shelf as defined in the convention.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision confirming that the Philippines has sovereign rights over its 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.
The South China Sea Arbitration Through the Prism of Authoritarian International Law. The 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in favor of the Philippines marked a landmark moment in the geopolitical and legal disputes over the South China Sea (SCS).
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision confirming that the Philippines has sovereign rights over its 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.
South China Sea Dispute Causes The main cause of this dispute is the claim of different territories over the Sea and territorial demarcation of the sea. The Sea is said to be a major source of natural resources for the different territories.
The two countries have disputes over the sovereignty of some islands and shoals in the Spratly Islands. These disputes are linked to other disputes in the South China Sea. China conducts grey-zone operations in these waters.
A territorial row between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea has turned increasingly violent, with the two sides trading allegations of intentional boat rammings, and Manila accusing Chinese coastguard personnel of using water cannon against its troops and engaging in fist fights with spears and knives.
On 22 January 2013, the Republic of the Philippines instituted arbitral proceedings against the People's Republic of China under Annex VII to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “Convention”).
On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal adjudicating the Philippines' case against China in the South China Sea ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines, determining that major elements of China's claim—including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters— ...