A decade after the Hague’s South China Sea ruling, Beijing should continue engaging in good-faith diplomacy and explore international mediation, analysts say, arguing that the unenforced decision had failed to curb regional maritime tensions.
The assessments came after a weekend of fresh accusations over the 2016 decision by an international tribunal that most of China’s claims to historical and economic rights in the South China Sea were invalid, a ruling that Beijing firmly rejected.
On Sunday, the ruling’s 10th anniversary, a coalition of 14 countries led by the United States and the Philippines called the decision “legally binding and definitive”, and criticised Beijing for refusing to recognise or implement it.
Beijing responded on the same day by describing US-led military deployments as the “primary threat” to regional peace in the South China Sea.
It dismissed the Hague ruling as “null and void”, calling it a politically motivated process that lacked state consent. It has also refused to recognise the tribunal’s authority to hear the case and said it would not implement its findings.