However, that was really one of its most useless rulings: China’s claims in the South China Sea are not based on maritime entitlements specified by the Unclos. The Spratlys and other island groups in the area claimed by China and other countries, including the Philippines, are within that nine-dash line. As the disputes in the South China Sea heated up though the 1990s, the Communist Party of China has used the line to strengthen visually in its maps its claims over the South China Sea. In its arbitration suit against China, the Aquino 3rd government’s lawyers interpreted it as the area in the South China Sea which China claims it has “historic rights to living and non-living resources” established since ancient times. *Observer Research Foundation, “ORF South China Sea Interview,” South China Sea Monitor, Vol.

Source: Manila Times December 31, 2019 17:15 UTC