"Sea lanes of communication passing through the South China Sea are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development. "Former NSA, Shivshankar Menon said he expects China to continue its aggressive expansionism in the South China Sea in the near future. NEW DELHI: The verdict of The Hague, rejecting China's claims to economic rights across large swathes of the South China Sea, is a damning indictment of Beijing. "China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea shall under no circumstances be affected by those awards. "The verdict is a welcome development for India's economic (especially oil exploration in the South China Sea off Vietnam) and strategic interests.

Source: Times of India July 12, 2016 17:15 UTC