Most international well-known news over the South China Sea Arbitation ( Philippines vs China)

Causes

The Philippines filed a complaint in 2013 after China took control of a reef about 140 miles from the Philippine coast. 

It accused China of:
1. violating international law by interfering with fishing, endangering ships and failing to protect the marine environment at the reef, known as Scarborough Shoal.
2.reject China’s claim to sovereignty over waters within a “nine-dash line” that appears on official Chinese maps. 
3.dredging sand to build artificial islands out of several reefs in the South China Sea


Result

On 5 July 2016, The tribunal released a landmark decision, which largely agreed, declaring that there was “no legal basis” for the nine-dash line and concluding that China had unlawfully built an artificial island in Philippine waters.

International Law the Philippines used during the arbitation

The Philippines filed its complaint under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which lays out rules for the use of the world’s oceans. The treaty came into force in 1994 and has been ratified by both China and the Philippines, as well as 165 other states and the European Union.

The treaty says a country has sovereignty over waters extending 12 nautical miles from its coast, and control over economic activities in waters on its continental shelf and up to 200 nautical miles from its coast, including fishing, mining, oil exploration and the construction of artificial islands.

The treaty sets out detailed rules for defining these zones, what to do when two nations’ zones overlap and how to resolve disputes.

Chinese Government's response

China has boycotted the international tribunal that was set up to hear the case.
It says the panel of five judges and legal experts has no jurisdiction because the sovereignty of reefs, rocks and islands in the South China Sea is disputed.