Global Protest against militarization of the South China Sea Misinformation alert. The Scarborough Shoal Ownership Claim by the Philippines is Bogus and not worth the current level of grief possibly leading to war.
Read: The Actual Decision
A July 2016 UNCLOS Tribunal ruling DID NOT rule that Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines. It ruled that the Scarborough shoal is a rock, entitled only to a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and not a candidate for ownership by any nation.
China has announced the baselines of its territorial sea around the Scarborough Shoal that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.
Th tribunal could not rule on sovereignty over the shoal but found that China may have violated the traditional fishing rights of Filipinos by not allowing them to fish there. Interestingly, the tribunal stated that it would have found the same regarding Chinese fishermen if they were prevented access to the shoal by the Philippines.
The arbitral tribunal said that the Scarborough Shoal has been a traditional fishing ground for fishermen of many nationalities, including the Philippines, China (including Taiwan) and Vietnam. The tribunal accepts the fact that both the Philippines and China claim that they have traditionally fished in the shoal and that these claims are accurate and advanced in good faith.
The arbitral tribunal further said: “Traditional fishing rights constitute a vested right, and the tribunal considers the rules of international law on the treatment of the vested rights of foreign nationals to fall squarely within the other rules of international law applicable in the territorial sea.”
As clearly stipulated by the arbitral tribunal, both Filipino and Chinese fishermen have the right to fish in the Scarborough Shoal using small boats and traditional methods, China’s actions of totally preventing Filipino fishermen from fishing in the Scarborough Shoal are against international law and the UNCLOS, and are not compatible with the respect due under international law to the traditional fishing rights of Filipino fishermen.
The court ruled on the legal status of every feature raised by the Philippines in the Spratly Islands. None of the Spratly’s, including the largest natural features, are legally islands because they cannot sustain a stable human community or independent economic life therefore not a candidate for ownership by any nation.
As such, they are entitled only to territorial seas, not EEZs or continental shelves. This is nothing worth fighting over. Of the seven Spratly’s occupied by China: Johnson Reef, Cuarteron Reef, and Fiery Cross Reef are rocks.
Hughes Reef and Mischief Reef are below water at high tide and generate no maritime entitlements meaning not a candidate for ownership by any nation. The court disagreed with the Philippines on Gaven Reef and Kennan Reef. In summary, the tribunal did not award sovereign rights to the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal.
Ownership Claim by the Philippines is Bogus and not worth the current level of grief possibly leading to global war.
- A July 2016 UNCLOS Tribunal ruling DID NOT rule that Scarborough Shoal belongs to the Philippines. It ruled that the Scarborough shoal is a rock, entitled only to a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea and not a candidate for ownership by any nation.
- It could not rule on sovereignty over the shoal but found that China violated the traditional fishing rights of Filipinos by not allowing them to fish there.
- Interestingly, the tribunal stated that it would have found the same regarding Chinese fishermen if they were prevented access to the shoal by the Philippines.
- The Actual Decision