China cries foul as 14 countries, including Japan, reject Beijing’s claim over South China Sea | World

China has summoned Japan’s second-in-command in Beijing to lodge a formal protest. The diplomatic clash erupted as Tokyo on Monday joined 13 other nations in reaffirming a landmark international ruling that rejected Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Following the clash, China has accused Japan and its partners of undermining regional peace and stability.

The joint statement described the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as “a significant milestone” and one that is “final, legally binding, and definitive between China and the Philippines with respect to the maritime entitlements and claims” addressed by the tribunal. The 27-nation European Union also released a separate statement, reaffirming the ruling as a “landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes.”

What was Beijing’s response?

China’s Foreign Ministry lodged a strong protest over the ruling, stating that it “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi’s statement, maintaining that the country is “not a party in the South China Sea” and is “in no position to pass judgment on China’s territorial sovereignty” in the sea area.

“On July 12, Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi made a statement ten years after the ‘2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea.” The statement blatantly endorses the illegal “award,” attacks China’s lawful claims, and mischaracterises Japan as a “legitimate stakeholder who uses the South China Sea.” China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it,” the Global Times reported.

To reinforce its narrative over the sea, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a video shared on its X platform, said, “What the South China Sea Waves Tell Us”, invoking the old civilisational times, stated that the water body is critical for China.

Why did the row erupt?

The 14 nations, including the US, Australia, Japan, the UK, and the Philippines, marked the 10th anniversary of the 2016 South China Sea ruling by reaffirming that China’s expansive maritime claims have no legal basis under international law.  They called for disputes to be resolved peacefully and warned against the use of coast guard or military forces to intimidate other countries at sea.

The affirmations came on the 10th anniversary of July 12, 2016, as the Arbitral Tribunal’s landmark and unanimous decision on the South China Sea constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The nations also urged China to abide by the 2016 ruling and reaffirmed their support for a free, open, and peaceful Indo-Pacific region.

What did Tokyo say?

In a statement issued on Sunday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that for China not to accept the ruling goes “against the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes” and “undermines the rule of law in the international community.”

Why is the South China Sea so crucial?

The South China Sea is known in Vietnam as the EAST SEA and in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea, and has portions claimed by 7 countries, including China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.  

In addition, the islands sit at a prime location along the major commercial shipping routes to northeastern Asia and are also extremely rich in fossil fuel deposits, with an estimated 17.7 billion tons of natural gas and oil. 

These claims have led to increased spending on naval projection by the nations involved. Although violent disputes and standoffs have usually only been charged up between 2 nations, which are the PRC and the Philippines, the creation of China’s artificial islands has jeopardised any peaceful resolutions. 

Moreover, China has based its rationale for the Nine-Dash Line on its historically held sovereignty over the region of the South China Sea. China sees this territory as part of its “ancestral property,” which the Chinese people have passed on from one generation to the next.

What is China’s strategy in the South China Sea?

China’s South China Sea strategy works through three parts. On the diplomatic front, China says it’s willing to resolve disputes peacefully under international law, pointing to former foreign minister Qian Qichen’s 1995 statement that disputes should be settled based on provisions including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

At the same time, China regularly contests other states’ sovereignty and maritime rights claims, a move that forces those governments to actively defend their positions under international law. On the administrative side, China has stepped up the presence of its maritime enforcement agencies to assert control over the waters it claims, often triggered by other countries’ fishing or oil and gas activity in disputed zones. 

Militarily, China has relied on an indirect approach, using naval patrols and drills to project strength and discourage challenges, without using force to remove other nations from disputed areas. The continued fortification of artificial islands, led chiefly by China, is where the risk runs highest. These build-ups raise the chances of military flashpoints and accidental conflict in the region. 

With the US, UK, and Australia continuing their own naval patrols to challenge these claims, the artificial islands remain the likely flashpoint for future diplomatic standoffs or confrontations.

(Written by Bhavye Dhalla. He is an intern with IndiaTV Digital.)

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