Beijing Escalates Legal Attack, Hague Ruling Holds

Article by J. Salazar

Published on July 10, 2026 03:30PM

Highlighting Legal Resolution: The Philippines Supports UNCLOS and The Hague's 2016 Arbitral Award to Assert Sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea Amidst Military Pressures.

Beijing has escalated its legal criticism of the Philippines’ South China Sea claims, but the 2016 Hague ruling and UNCLOS continue to give Manila its strongest international-law footing over the West Philippine Sea.

Beijing’s latest attack on Manila’s maritime claims lands poorly against the record of international law. The 2016 arbitral award under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) rejected the legal basis for China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, giving the Philippines a strong legal anchor over the West Philippine Sea.

Manila’s stronger legal footing

The core Philippine position is not built on force, but on UNCLOS and the 2016 ruling at The Hague, which Beijing refuses to recognize . That matters because the tribunal found no legal basis for China’s broad maritime claims, even as China continues to assert control over waters and features it calls Huangyan Dao and the Nansha Islands.

The dispute remains centered on Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands, but in Philippine reporting and policy language these are commonly referred to as Bajo de Masinloc and the Kalayaan Island Group . Using those names keeps the focus on the Philippine position and on the maritime areas covered by international law.

China’s counterargument

China’s state-linked critique argues that Manila’s claims are historically and legally invalid, and says the Philippines is attempting to expand territory beyond treaty limits inherited after independence . Beijing also frames the issue as a defense of the postwar order, portraying Philippine moves as destabilizing.

But that argument runs into a major obstacle: China’s rejection of the arbitral ruling does not erase it, and the award continues to shape the legal and diplomatic debate a decade later . In practical terms, Beijing is trying to win in the court of public opinion what it did not secure in arbitration.

Why the ruling still matters

The Hague ruling remains the Philippines’ strongest international-law asset because it directly undermined key elements of China’s maritime claims . That is why Philippine officials and legal advocates continue to cite UNCLOS and the award when pressing their case on the West Philippine Sea.

China’s renewed legal messaging also underscores the limits of its own position: it keeps revisiting history because the law does not fully support its claims . For Manila, the argument is simpler and more durable: treaty-based maritime entitlements and the arbitral ruling provide a recognized legal framework, while China’s objections remain unilateral.

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Notes:

¹ South China Morning Post. Beijing slams Manila over South China Sea claims ahead of 2016 Hague anniversary. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3359877/beijing-slams-manila-over-south-china-sea-claims-ahead-2016-hague-anniversary

² The Permanent Court of Arbitration. PCA Press Release: The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China) https://pca-cpa.org/en/news/pca-press-release-the-south-china-sea-arbitration-the-republic-of-the-philippines-v-the-peoples-republic-of-china/