The court also found that Beijing had infringed on Philippine sovereignty because their construction interfered with the country's fishing and petroleum exploration.As expected, Beijing dismissed the ruling. Beijing can take a do-nothing approach or it can make a gesture of goodwill by working with Asean to conclude the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. But the rest is not history because the implications of the ruling are still not clear. If they were islands, China would be entitled to claim 200 nautical miles of exclusive economic zones (EEZ), also known as continental shelves of islands. A rock would give China 12 nautical miles of the territorial seas.The court found that China had caused widespread environmental destruction because of construction activities, violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 16, 2016 15:11 UTC