It is confusing and frustrating that China has continued its claim over almost the entirety of the South China Sea. This despite the July 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, which ruled that China’s claim in the South China Sea, including its land reclamation activities, is unlawful and does not adhere to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), which was signed in 1982.

Fragile peace in South China Sea. (2022, April 4). SunStar Bacolod, p. 4.