For years now, China has been creating artificial islands in the SCS, and sparked worldwide tensions when it unilaterally set up an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea in 2013. The ruling is likely to have a geo-strategic ripple effect in a region that has for a long time been a hot zone for confrontational military manoeuvres. Finally, it is but a few months before China hosts the G20 meeting. Nevertheless, there are several implicit ironies in this maritime standoff, and these may lead to greater restraint among the belligerents. First, while China has rejected UNCLOS principles in its claims against the Philippines, it is expressly invoking the Convention’s provisions in its claims against Japan, regarding the dispute surrounding the fuel-rich Senkaku Islands.

Source: The Hindu July 13, 2016 13:38 UTC