The Hague rules against China's nine dash line claim / 南海仲裁案出爐 否決中國九段線主張　　　　　　　　　　

On July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague issued a ruling on the Philippines' claim against China in the South China Sea, upholding the Philippines. The ruling dismisses China's nine dash line claim and rules that the maritime features in the South China Sea including Taiping Island, currently claimed and administered by Taiwan, the Spratley Islands and coral reefs cannot be claimed by China as part of a 200 nautical mile economic exclusion zone. Within five minutes of the announcement China's Xinhua news agency announced that China did not accept the ruling. In three major parts to the ruling, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague rejected China's claim to a U-shaped nine-dash line territory in the South China Sea as having no legal basis. Secondly, the disputed features including the Spratley Islands, and Taiping Island, were found by the tribunal to be rocks rather than islands and thus only 12 nautical miles of marine territory can be claimed around them and not a 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone. Thirdly, it ruled that China's behavior on Huangyan Island where it constructed an artificial island was a violation of the Philippines' traditional fishing rights. The court also strongly criticized China's construction of artificial islands at seven features in the Spratlys. It said this had caused "severe harm to the coral reef environment" and accused China of reneging on its obligation to preserve and protect fragile ecosystems. ==PERFECTO YASAY JNR Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary== We call on those concerned to exercise restraint and sobriety As expected, China's Xinhua News Agency issued an announcement saying that China did not accept the ruling. At the same time it reported that it had started successful trial flights on the airports it built on Mischief and Subi reefs in the Spratleys. Philippines brought the claim to the Hague in 2013 against China on the legality of China's nine-dash line claim over the South China Sea under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although China is a party to the Convention, it refused to participate in the process. More recently China used its official media to criticize the arbitration as illegal. To compound its stance, it held large-scale military exercises by the East China Sea Fleet of the PLA from July 5-11 in the disputed waters to show its determination to lay claim to the area. ==ANCHOR China Central TV== This arbitration on the South China Sea is a political farce picked by the Philippines aided by the US and abetted by Japan to discredit China's claims to territory. Both the Philippines and China are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, however, there is no provision to enforce the ruling. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 南海仲裁案頭號關鍵議題，中國宣稱在南海擁有的U型九段線歷史性權利，12號遭海牙的常設仲裁法庭否決，認為沒有法律根據。其次，包括太平島在內，南沙群島的各大爭議島礁，仲裁庭都認定是岩礁而非島，只能主張12海浬領海，不能主張200海浬專屬經濟區。第三部分有關於中國在南海的行為，判決也認定中國對黃岩島海域侵犯菲律賓的傳統捕魚權，興建人工島破壞珊瑚礁生態。 ==菲律賓外長 亞謝== 我們呼籲相關各方保持冷靜自制 仲裁案一如遇期吃鱉，中國新華社幾乎同時發文強調不接受，還報導中國分別對南沙群島美濟礁、渚碧礁新建機場成功進行校驗飛行。 菲律賓在2013年依據聯合國海洋法公約提出仲裁案。中國雖然是公約締約國，但主張菲律賓的訴求最終涉及主權跟海洋劃界問題，超出仲裁庭的管轄範圍，從一開始就高分貝批判。近日更連續透過官方媒體放話批評仲裁不合法，是廢紙一張，解放軍的南海東海艦隊，從七月五號到11號，在南海舉行實兵實彈大規模軍事演習，展現捍衛領海領土的決心。 ==中國中央電視台主播== 這場南海仲裁案的實質 是一齣菲律賓挑頭 美國操控 日本幫腔 給中國抹黑的政治鬧劇 而根據聯合國海洋法公約規定，仲裁法庭的決定對爭議雙方都具有約束力，但並沒有強制執行力。 記者 施慧中 報導