A UN tribunal has ruled that there is “no legal basis” for China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, handing the Philippines a dramatic victory in its almost four-year court dispute with Beijing.
The ruling constitutes a sharp rebuke to China’s claim to 85 per cent of the South China Sea, demarcated by the “nine-dash line” on Chinese maps.
The 4m sq km sea is crossed by ships carrying $5tn worth of cargo every year and also has large energy reserves, including an estimated 11bn barrels of oil and 190tn cubic feet of natural gas.
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