when an international court rules against you,

and you’re all like...

Hi, welcome to China Uncensored, I’m your host Chris Chappell.

China has been committed to peaceful development in the South China Sea.

And nothing says peaceful development

like stockpiling surface-to-air missiles

and fighter jets

on artificial islands that China is totally not militarizing.

Those are civilian fighter jets.

And civilian surface-to-air missiles.

But there's one country that just doesn’t want to see peace in the South China Sea.

"It is exactly one country

and let me not avoid mentioning the name:

that is, the Philippines…"

That's right. The Philippines.

It seems they disagree with China's territorial claims.

Now, the Chinese regime has always said

"sovereign countries should resolve disputes through dialogue."

"[All sovereign nations have rights] to resolve the issue

through direct dialogue with countries who are involved in the (dispute)."

Except of course when the regime finds dialogue inconvenient.

Like at the recent Asia-Europe Summit.

"The Asia Europe Meeting is not an appropriate venue

to discuss the South China Sea issue.

But back in 2013,

despite all China's done to resolve disputes

through saying they want peaceful talks at appropriate venues,

the Philippines sought out international arbitration over the South China sea dispute.

Well, on Tuesday,

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea tribunal in the Hague

ruled on China’s claims.

So here are the 5 things you need to know about it.

Number 5: What’s on the line

Five trillion dollars a year in shipping goes through the South China Sea.

But there’s also a fortune in natural resources

like oil and fishing underneath those waters.

According to that United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,

which China signed,

200 nautical miles off a country’s coast is its Exclusive Economic Zone.

That means within those 200 miles,

all those sweet, sweet resources belong exclusively to that country.

The problem is China’s claim overlaps everyone else’s.

And that Hague tribunal was about whether those claims are legitimate.

Number 4: The Military Build Up

The week before the ruling,

China’s People’s Liberation Army sectioned off a chunk

of the South China Sea for military drills.

Just you know, to remind everyone that China has a military,

in case anyone’s forgotten.

Which would be really hard to do

considering a lot of China’s claim to the South China Sea

revolves around building artificial islands

on submerged reefs and stockpiling weapons there.

The US has responded by sailing its military through disputed waters.

So everything is really tense,

and there are a lot of guns!

What could go wrong?

Number 3: Are China’s Claims Legitimate?

Nope! At least that’s the unanimous decision by the Hague tribunal.

“The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis

for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas

falling within the ‘nine-dash line.’”

"This is an absolutely huge decision.

It doesn't come as a complete surprise

but to have the international court rule on the illegitimacy of the Nine-dotted line

is a huge development.

The Tribunal also found that the artificial islands built by China

“don’t freakin’ count.”

And it gets worse for China.

The tribunal also ruled that China

violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in several ways.

Interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration.

Constructing artificial islands.

And failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing.

All in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Number 2: La la la I can’t hear you

That’s apparently now a legitimate legal defense.

The Chinese regime has made it very clear it’s not happy with this whole state affairs.

“We will have nothing to do with this illegal so-called arbitration court case

which might create any sort of legal meaning or relevant court order."

Now China is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

That should mean

“China will be legally bound by the tribunal’s decision,”

according to Jerome A. Cohen, Director of the US-Asia Law Institute.

The problem is China will do what it wants,

and with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council,

it has a lot of power to do just that.

In fact, very likely China will take another country as it’s model

—the US.

Back in 1986, the US was aiding Nicaraguan Contra rebels.

Uhh, not that Contra.

The US was trying to undermine the socialist government of Nicaragua, you understand.

When the International Court of Justice in The Hague

awarded Nicaragua $370 million dollars in damages,

the US basically did what China is doing now

deny the court’s jurisdiction,

boycott the proceedings,

and ignore the verdict.

And when resolutions came through the UN Security Council to make the US obey the ruling,

the US, as a permanent member of the Security Council,

simply vetoed them.

So very likely, China will do the same.

"So yes, it is not strictly enforceable

but it is significant

and if it were not significant

then Beijing would not be reacting so vociferously as they are."

and finally Number 1: China isn’t the only one that disagrees with the ruling

China has managed to wrangle a coalition of all its allies with,

sometimes less that transparent governments.

Countries like, Liberia, Madagascar, and Cambodia.

In all, the Chinese regime says it has about 70 countries behind it.

But here’s where it gets weird.

This might be one of the few times that China and Taiwan agree on something.

The 9-Dash Line the Chinese regime bases most of its claims on

actually was first claimed by the Republic of China

that is, the government of China

before the Communists seized power.

In 1949, at the end of the Chinese civil war,

the Republic of China fled to Taiwan.

Taiwan is still officially the Republic of China.

And while the communist People’s Republic of China

refuses to recognize the Republic of China as a legitimate government,

at least they both agree on the South China Sea.

Or from the Communist Party's perspective,

at least they agree with..themselves.

“We again express that we will not accept this,

and also maintain that this arbitration ruling

does not bear any legal consequences for the Republic of China."

So what’s next for the South China Sea.

Was this truly a victory for China’s neighbors?

Or will nothing change?

Leave your comments below.

Thanks for watching this episode of China Uncensored.

Once again I’m your host Chris Chappell, see you next time.