Military and economic might matter, but China would appreciate after last Tuesday’s verdict on the South China Sea (SCS) which went against it that power confers no licence to disregard international law and conventions, or the prevailing norms of international conduct. The world thinks poorly of nations that take that route. Prior to the ruling of the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration that China had “no legal basis” for its claim of “historical rights” in the South China Sea, Beijing’s behaviour with its smaller neighbours — who also have a claim on this international waterway — was haughty and arbitrary. And Beijing’s reactions to the verdict were combatively disdainful.
Some of China’s leading figures threateningly — and absurdly — spoke of the eventuality of “even conflict”. This lowered its prestige. It became clear that here was a leading power in panic. China called the ruling “null and void”, a meaningless expression in this context. It had boycotted the arbitration initiated by Manila in 2013, saying in the dialect of a bully that the PCA had no jurisdiction. The Philippines had been driven to approach the Hague after bilateral negotiations with Beijing meandered for 17 years.
For years, China has been intent on sea-grab by claiming about 90 per cent of the waters of the resources-rich SCS. Its assertion apparently rests on a map of 1947 — a time before communist China even came into being, and relies on what Beijing calls the “nine-dash” line, which no one else had heard of until recently. At any rate, the “nine-dash” mumbo-jumbo is in serious conflict with the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), which Beijing has ratified. It appears to go right up to the maritime doorstep of countries like the Philippines and Vietnam (and others), China’s small neighbours.
India has from time-to-time been at the receiving end of Beijing’s bristling behaviour in the SCS for helping Vietnam set up oil and gas exploration and extraction facilities in the SCS. India has firmly asked China to respect UNCLOS and address bilateral disputes with maritime neighbours without the use of force or the threat of use of force. After the verdict, New Delhi also asked Beijing to fully comply with international law.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman has responded that this was Beijing’s view too. This is the first positive development to emerge after the Hague ruling, and in relation to the SCS disputes generally. China should now work out with its neighbours each other’s exclusive economic zones in the disputed waters. It shouldn’t even dream of imposing an air identification zone over the SCS unless it wishes to court trouble and further international ignominy.
