Anticipating an adverse decision from the UN Arbitral Tribunal on its sweeping territorial claim over almost the entire South China Sea, China has declared it would establish an international maritime center as it seeks to shore up its claim, which is at the center of an escalating regional dispute. In a report last week, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said the declaration came as the UN tribunal prepares to decide the case related to China’s claim in the South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities. The declaration is seen to counter mainly a case lodged by the Philippines in the UN tribunal as a means to settle competing territorial claims in the region, where China has made sweeping assertions of sovereignty. China has refused to participate in the arbitration case.

Doronila, A. (2016, March 18). China seeks new maritime tribunal to replace UN. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A17.